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$10.00 1 LB Virginia Wild Rye
Permanent Native Grass
Switchgrass-
$10.00 1 LB Switch Grass
a native, perennial, warm-season, sod-forming tall grass with vigorous roots, which reproduces from underground
stems and seed. This grass is found growing throughout the bluestem belt of the eastern and central Great Plains and
on certain prairie sites in other parts of the United States. Switchgrass is best adapted to lower areas of moist soils,
but is winter-hardy and drout-resistant, thus found growing under a wide range of soils and climatic conditions. Switchgrass
is very nutritious and readily eaten by all classes of livestock, either as green forage or in prairie hay. It is usually
seeded in mixtures with bluestems, Indiangrass and sideoats grama. Best seedling stands have been obtained where plantings
were made on a clean, firm well-prepared seedbed. Two distinct strains are recognized -- the upland and the bottomland.
The bottomland strain has a much coarser stem and is from 1 to 3 feet taller than the upland strain and is less desirable
for grazing and hay. Blackwell, a new and improved variety, yields excellent forage and shows considerable resistance
to stem rust, a disease that is injurious to most native switchgrass plants.
Indiangrass -
$10.00 1 LB Indian Grass
is a native, perennial, warm-season tall grass which reproduces from seed and short, scaly underground stems.
The beautiful golden plume-like seed heads, 4 to 12 inches long, are on stems from 4 to 8 feet tall. Indiangrass is
found growing throughout the bluestem belt of the United States and is one of the most important tall grasses. It is
very nutritious and readily eaten by all classes of livestock, either as green forage or dry prairie hay. This high
producing tall grass is a decreaser on bluestem ranges when continually grazed shorter than 5 to 8 inches during the growing
season, and is replaced by less productive plants. It is easily established from seed and is being planted more each
year in pure stands. The vigorous seedlings endure a wider range of extremes as regards to drouth than most lowland
species. This probably explains, in part, the habit if this grass of readily invading disturbed sites throughout the
prairie. This important tall grass responds to nitrogen fertilizer with increased seed and forage production.
Big Bluestem -
$12.00 1 LB Big Bluestem
is
a native, warm-season, perennial, tall grass with short scaly underground stems and roots that saturate the top two
feet of soil and may reach depths up to twelve feet. It begins growth in early April and seed stalks 3 to 8 feet tall
appear from late August to October. The grass is sometimes called "turkey foot" bluestem because the seed head
usually branches into three parts resembling a turkey's foot. Big bluestem is found in valley bottomland sites almost
to the Rocky Mountains. It grows on most all the better soils in the true prairie belt, especially in the eastern half
of Oklahoma and the Flint Hills of Kansas. Few, if any, of the prairie grasses can equal big bluestem in quality
or quantity of forage produced. It is relished by livestock and usually eaten in preference to other grasses in
the mixture. If big bluestem is never grazed shorter than 6 to 8 inches during the growing season, enough green leaves
are left to promote fast regrowth and the dead leaves will soon form a good protective layer of litter on the ground.
When continually grazed closer than 6 to 8 inches during the growing season it decreases and is replaced by less productive
plants.
Sideoats Grama -
$12.00 1 LB Side Oats Grama
is a native, warm season, perennial, mid grass with short scaly underground stems. Growth begins in early April
and the seed stalks which appear from July to September are from 18 to 36 inches in height. The small oatlike seeds hang down
uniformly on one side of the seed stem as indicated by the name "sideoats". Leaf blades are flat with hairs and bumps
along the edges. When dry , the lower leaves of this grass are usually curled and whitish in color. Sideoats is the most widely
distributed of th gama grasses and is found throughout the United States. It grows on well drained uplands, shallow ridges,
and rocky areas, and is also found on soils ranging from deep to very shallow. It produces high qualiry, nutritious,
green forage that is readily eaten by all classes of livestock. Sideoats will increase and tend to replace taller grases on
ranges that abused. It will also gradually decrease if continually grazed closer thn 2 to 3 inches during the growing
season. Sideoats is a good producer and can be harvested with a small grain combine. The combined seed has been sucessfully
planted in pure stands and mixtures with other adopted seed on thousands of acres of formerly cultivated land. A seeding rate
of 15 to 25 pounds per acre is reccomended. The desirable seed rate depends on the quality of seed and upon the other
grasses used in the mixture. Seedling vigor of sideoats is good, and failure to obtain a satisfactory stand seldom occurs
if a minimum of care is used in seed bed preparation and seeding. This grass is considered excellent for conservation use
and responds to nitrogen fertilizer for increased seed and forage production.
Eastern Gamma Grass - is a native, warm-season, perennial, tall grass that grows in large clumps from 1 to 4 feet in diameter.
It spreads by thick (1/2 to 1 inch) knotty, short jointed rhizomes and produces seed from July to September on stems 3 to
9 feet tall. This "granddad" of the grasses is found throughout the eastern half of the United States and extends
west on favorable sites to Colorado. It grows on a variety of soils in low areas where additional run-in water and deeper
soils favor its development. This grass grows in pure stands in lowlands where it is usually bordered on one side by
sloughgrass and on the other side by switchgrass. On wet, deep prairie meadows it is associated with big bluestem.
Eastern gammagrass is palatable, nutritious and readily eaten by all classes of livestock. Cattle particularly like
this grass and it has been killed out by close grazing on most ranges. This tall, leafy grass produces a tremendous
volume of forage and is probably our most productive hay grass. The addition of nitrogen fertilizer will increase
forage production on the good sites.
Little Bluestem -
$20.00 1 LB Little Bluestem
This native grass provides nutritious grazing during the growing season and
has been used for hay since the first days of settlement. Cattle have for many years been shipped from the south to
the southwest to fatten on the little bluestem ranges in the Kansas Flint Hills and the Osage Hills of Oklahoma. Little
bluestem produces 3/4 to 2 tons of forage per acre and makes good winter grazing when supplemented with protein and minerals.
When little bluestem is continually grazed closer than 4 to 6 inches during the growing season, it is finally killed
out and replaced by less productive plants.
Virginia Wild Rye & Canada Wild Rye -
$10.00 1 LB Virginia Wild Rye
are native, cool season, perennial, bunchgrass which
reproduces by tillering and seed. It reaches a height of 2 to 3 feet, differing from Canada wildrye in being shorter, with
seed heads, that remain straight and upright after maturity, and with much shorter awns. This winter-hardy native grass will
grow in more dense shade and seems to prefer a heavier more fertile soil than Canada wildrye. On the other hand, Virginia
wildrye requires more moisture for its growth , and is more frequently found in moist lowland areas. It is very palatable,
nutritious and eaten by all classes of livestock. A good forage and hay producer, however, it should be harvested early since
mature plants are tough and often infested with egort. This grass decreases in rangeland that is overstocked, or over
used, and must be properly managed to maintain a stand. Virginia wildrye can be seeded in mixtures with warm-season
native grasses, or in pure stands in early fall for winter pasture. Can be harvesrted with suitable combine.
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