Latest to fall plant hay?

SE Ontario here. Just wondering what the latest dates are that I can get away with fall planting a hay stand (timothy/alfalfa, 80-20 mix, or timothy/clover mix) and still have it catch enough before winter?

I know alfalfa needs a few weeks before a frost to survive, so I'm looking at early October probably. Not necessarily set on planting alfalfa either. I probably wouldn't be able to plant until mid September, but I think that might be too late?

Two hours south of Chicago we like to get it in the ground the first week of September. You may be okay going a week later, it just depends on how the weather man treats you.

For alfalfa it should be in by now. It needs to build up a reserve in the roots to keep over winter. I am not sure on the other grasses.

Last week of August here, mid Mi. for alfalfa.

just checked on this yesterday here in okla,folks at osu tech say it needs to be up and have five leaves to survive the first winter.HERE that means planting last of aug - first of sept on a average year. just my opinion of course,but from what i understand,as far north as you are most folks dont plant legumes in fall at all,but as soon as ground stays clear in spring.here we dont plant alfalfa much in spring because it lots of times gets too hot/dry before its established good.

Sounds like I'm a bit late to the game. If that's the case, is there any harm in plowing the field under sometime this fall and leaving it over winter? Then come spring, disc/plant?

The fields are relatively flat, erosion shouldn't be much of a concern.

Plowing now will let the sod rot over the fall and spring. Fall
plowing is still popular here in the east. Wind will take it if we don't
get snow cover early though.

In 83 I had some setaside that I wanted to seed by mid August, but took longer to clear rocks and trees. Seeded Sept 10, had a fine stand. Neighbor used to cut silage before school started (having help at home) and seeded alfalfa on that ground. Latitude is just north of Minneapolis, average first killing frost date is in October, earliest was Labor Day.

I know it depends on location, but when's the best time to plow in your experience? Sep, Oct?

thats another thing i wondered about.(here) they say not to plow.their theory being that you bury weed seeds,and when they come back in spring since your alfalfa is so young and tender its very hard to do much to control weeds,as most things would damage it too much.of course we dont plant it in spring.so if you were able to plow now,leave it over winter and then give ground a real light disking in spring before planting to kill young weeds then you might be ok.but it may be worth your time to talk to someone around you,problem the way i understand it is if you get weeds in a young stand theres not a whole lot of weed control options that wont hurt it.i'm not a big alfalfa grower, but i was thinking of putting in about 20 acres for the wildlife.if we dont get any rain soon it will be a waste of money to plant anything though.

The grass seed would do best seeded after a hard frost,this fall. I used to sow it with fall wheat. It will lay all winter and come up great in the spring. Your too late for fall seeding Alfalfa as far north as you are.

I would plow the ground this fall. Leave it rough. The freezing and thawing will break it up real fine. Then as early in March or April next spring when the ground is dry. Lightly work the ground and level it to suit yourself. Then seed the timothy/alfalfa with a nurse crop. I would recommend oats. The oats will provide a quick cover and help suppress weeds. Then I would mow the oats/timothy/alfalfa in Mid to late May, while the oats are pretty green. I can use hay-ledge so I usually chop it. IF you don"t have the tools or the need for silage then mow it a little later. Try to catch the oats just after the milk stage. Then mow it and let it get good and dry. Then bale the mix just like any other hay. IF weeds get too big earlier then mow them before they seed or smother the alfalfa. The alfalfa is the hard part. The timothy is easy to get a good stand. Also remember that the seeding is the important thing. If the cover crop gets wet or too coarse so be it. Just do waht is best for the new seeding.

I also would not put the mix at 80/20 I would go 60/40 or 50/50. The reason being is that the grass will slowly spread and the alfalfa will thin. So if you start with too little alfalfa then you may only have it for the first few years.

Consensus seem to be that I'll be OK to seed in timothy/other grass by mid September, alfalfa is too late (which isn't a big deal because I wasn't set on planting it. I just planted 30 acres this spring with it so I don't really need it).

I have about 50 acres in total that need to be replanted, so I was looking at fall planting to avoid weed pressure and not have to use oats for cover -- I've already got oats coming out of my ears.