buffalo grass

[chevycouple]

My farrier/friend was telling me about this grass to plant in my paddocks. He says it is slightly expensive but it is tough so it will be able to handle the big horses, it stays pretty short so I don't have to worry about over growth and it is has great nutritional value. The only thing I forgot to ask about is watering. Anyway please let me know if you have used in in the past or if you use it and what you think about it pro/con's

Thanks

 

[Margo_C-T]

We planted buffalo grass around the sides and front of my house many years ago. It is a great grass to hold the soil,as it spreads via rhyzomes(kind of like some bermuda grass) and is quite drought-resistant, once it is well-established. However, it is hard,and slow, to get established from seed, and the seed is expensive. I am not sure how well the horses like to graze it, as I have no buffalo grass out in the area where I can turn the horses out; it is listed in my husband's range grasses book as being one of the most important grazing grasses of the 'dry plains', though! It WILL take time to get established well enough to tolerate being grazed and/or trampled by livestock,however, so if you plant it, be prepared to water it well to get it started(once it is well-established, it is VERY drought-tolerant), and be patient until it gets a strong root system! I plan to try to reseed some of my back yard with it a bit later this fall....my well is no longer strong enough to allow for much yard-sprinkling(not that we need it here, just now....!)-I had to just 'let it go', but hope that if I can get some buffalo grass going back there, it would need almost no watering later on.

Good luck, and let us know how it does, if you decide to plant some!

Margo

 

[Billy G]

It is a native grass here in the Panhandle of OK, does not grow very fast but all livestock love it and do great. After it is established it is very hardy. No precipatation it goes dormant, rains it starts growing again.

 

[chevycouple]

Thanks you guys...The paddock we are going to plant it in is a dry lot right now and it will be able to stay empty as long as needed (as long as I don't get to impatient LOL) We are going to put up a second paddock so they will rotate on that one while the other one gets ready. Then they will have to switch and eventually have two paddocks for 4 horses to rotate on or go two and two. My mini will have his own but we will see how he does with that one by himself. If there is going to be snow in the forcast I will plant right before the first snow fall. I hope to have a white winter like we did two years ago. Thanks again

 

[Marsha Cassada]

Call your Extension Agent or Dept of Ag to be sure, but I believe it is too late this year to plant buffalo grass. It cannot get a root system before winter.

I am a fan of native grasses. We planted our new home construction site in native grasses. But I have to say that buffalo grass will not hold up to traffic like bermuda does. Instead of straight buffalo grass, have you considered a pasture mix? The Dept of Ag will custom mix what is appropriate for your location. You will get a nice mix of prairie grasses, including buffalo. But you will probably have to wait till next May to plant.

And yes, buffalo is very hard to get started. You have to water like a maniac for a few weeks. But ours is in the third summer now and we have only put the sprinkler on every 10 days--it has been triple digit temperature since June with little rainfall. We only did that because of worry about fire close to the house.

Here is a photo of our "yard". The buffalo is 20 feet out from the house, then the pasture mix starts. The buffalo only gets about 8" tall. He hasn't had to mow much this summer, since there has been so little rain.

 

[chevycouple]

Thanks alot I didn't even think about the dept. of Ag. There is a place localy that mixes seed including an equine blend so I will have to get in touch with them about buffalo grass and planting and maybe a mixture.

 

[wildoak]

Neat picture of your house Marsha, all nestled up to the rocky hill. Very picturesque

Jan