I have only a few odd areas left to seed to praire grass so I work on these an acre at a time.
I ordered 5#'s of Cave In Rock switchgrass seed from
John Osenbaugh’s Prairie Seed Farms a while back.
It's gone up to $11.90 a pound!
One thing that is extremely important with switchgrass (and other NWSG) is to buy seed locally so that it is the same ecotype.
Other seed will germinate and appear to do fine but over time it will often begin to thin and die out.
Buying "cheap" seed is not a bargain in the long run and often leads to very dissapointing results.
John Osenbaugh has been growing NWSG for a lifetime near Lucas Iowa so you can be assured that the seed you plant...will be right for you if your property is in Iowa.
He does have seeds and mixes adapted for other states so give John a call and talk to him in person if possible, before ordering seed.
Here's what 5#'s looks like and what I use to seed it by hand.
Seed is small and easily sown like clover seed.
Set the seeder on 1 or 2 and walk at a fast pace
Like frost seeding clover, start with the loweset setting and seed across the field one way and then turn and seed the field crossways of your previous path.
Better to have seed left over then to run out before your done...you can always go back over it. Besides...you need the exercise!
About 4-5# per acre seeded in Feb or March on killed sod works best.
In this case I killed the sod with roundup and used Plateau last year to provide some residual action.
Plateau can severely set back or kill switchgrass but at low levels it has worked for me to release established switchgrass or sprayed the previous year, for establishing following year seedings.
This is what the field looks like now:
The nice thing about late winter seeding (if you have prepared the site by killing the sod the fall before) is that you can do it with virtually no equiment other then a cheap hand seeder like the one shown.
If you have larger acreages you can use an ATV mounted spreader (be careful to close down the seeder...or it will end up in a pile on the ground)
or you can rent a Truax no-till drill from a local county conservation board for a few bucks an acre...providing you either have or can borrow a small tractor.
Soil type is one question brought up recently...
Swithgrass
prefers rich moist soil however it will grow on poorer soils escpecially if soil tests are done and fertility levels brought up.
In some cases however other natives such as Big and Little Bluestem will do better.
Little Bluestem will grow on the poorest soils such as dry clay knobs on steep hills.
It has good standabilty and is only slightly shorter then switchgrass.
I have mixed stands of switch and Little Bluestem and both are excellent cover still standing after our ice and snow storms
Switchgrass alone is much easier and less expensive to establish using herbicdes because Atrazine can be used.
Use 4 quarts per acre on either new seedings or established stands where weeds/grasses are making it difficult for the stand of switch to compete.
Burning in very late April to late May will set back cool season competition and an application of Atrazine after burning will allow the switchgrass to become stronger and able to dominate in the future.
Once well established timing the switchgrass burns for very late spring will severely set back cool season competition and keep your switchgrass robust for decades.
Burning a different portion each year is best so that some nesting areas will be left undisturbed.
Not burning is a good way to eventually lose your stand of switchgrass...
