My turn to try Teff.

So there have been several different people on here who have tried Teff and I guess it's now my turn.  I'll try to remember to update this thread as I go along this summer so the next person who wants to give Teff a try won't have to search around as much.

 

Anyway, I have a 5 acre field that is coming out of silage corn last year and will be going back into timothy in the fall (it was RR corn, so I know there isn't a herbicide issue).  My plan is to put teff on it this spring and try and get two cuttings.  After the second cutting, I'll plow it under and fall seed the timothy in.  I'm hoping that this will allow me to not lose a year of production on the field and still fall seed the timothy I normally grow.  I want to have the teff in by mid-May so I can take the first cutting in mid to late June and the second in late July or early August.  Depending on how spring goes, I may be able to get it planted sooner than that, but we'll see.

 

Does this seem like it would work?  Any suggestions on doing something a little different?

 

Some other questions I have...  

 

Fertilizer:  I took a soil sample of the field today and will be dropping it off tomorrow to have it sent for testing.  I'm expecting a week or so before I get results.  From what I've read, I don't really want to put any nitrogen on, but is there anything else I should look for?  I'll post the soil test results as soon as I have them.

 

Seeding:  I'm planning on using seed from my local dealer who I've been pretty happy with for my timothy, birdsfoot and alfalfa that I've seeded in the past.  If interested, the website for their Teff is http://ift.tt/1SkHYX3.  Also, their teff seed is coated.  I have an older Brillion seeder with just the small seed box, but it doesn't have Teff listed on the setting chart.  Is there a seed that is close enough in size that I could compare it to?  Is coated teff seed similar in size to Timothy seed?  I may be able to borrow another farmers newer Brillion seeder, but I try not borrow equipment if I don't have to and I don't know if his seeder has a teff setting on it either.

 

I'm sure I'll have more questions as we go along.  As usual, thanks in advance for your help.

 

Josh

My turn to try Teff.