Sowing & Growing - Herbal Overseeding

Suitable soils and pH

Most herb and legume species can be sown on sand, loam or clay soils with a ph above 5.6. However sainfoin and lucerne should only be sown on free draining soils with a pH of 6.2 and above, red clover, birdsfoot trefoil and alsike clover can establish on heavier soils with with a lower pH.

Sowing Rate

These small seeded mixtures can be sown from 2 - 6kgs per acre.

When to Sow

Only sow when soils are warm, generally from mid April to May and August to September, avoid sowing during peak grass growth in June as seedlings maybe smothered out.

How to Sow

The sward must be as low in height as possible through either cutting or grazing, it should then be harrowed to create space for the new seedlings an remove dead material from the base of the sward. The seed can then be brodcast and harrowed or shallow drilled (no deeper than 10mm) and well rolled.

Management

Stock can resume grazing the area after sowing, but must be removed 4-5 days after sowing, before new seeds germinate, a 5-6 week interval should then be left to allow the new seeds to establish, before a light, brief graze.

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Date Posted: 13th June 2019