William Waterfield (Andover)
Whilst we normally leave the specifics of our seed mixtures up to the company selling them, it is worth noting the relative seed weights of the grasses and common legumes we include in our grass seed mixtures.
Working on the basis that what we are actually trying to do is establish a plant population that will perform, it is useful to know the relative seed weight (Thousand Grain Weight (TGW). Recently I was discussing a possible lucerne crop and how much Timothy should we add to the mixture to help with weed suppression. If we replaced 1kg of lucerne with 1kg of Timothy, we would get 7.5 times more seed; if it was with Meadow Fescue we would have 82% of the seed numbers.
Table 1 relative Thousand Grain Weight of common legumes
| Scientific name | Common name | Variety | TGW (g) |
| Trifolium hybridum L. | Alsike clover | Dawn | 0.7 |
| Lotus corniculatus L. | Birdsfoot trefoil | San Gabrielle | 1.2 |
| Medicago lupulina L. | Black medic | Virgo Pajberg | 1.6 |
| Trifolium incarnatum L. | Crimson clover | Coutea | 3.1 |
| Medicago sativa L. | Lucerne | La Bella de Campagnola | 2.4 |
| Trifolium pratense L. | Red clover | Merviot | 1.8 |
| Onobrychis viciifolia Scop. | Sainfoin | Esparsette | 19.2 |
| Trifolium repens L. | White clover | Riesling | 0.5 |
Table 1 relative Thousand Grain Weight of common legumes
| Lolium multiflorum Lam. | Italian ryegrass | Teana | 2.9 |
| Festuca pratensis Huds. | Meadow fescue | Rossa | 2.14 |
| Lolium perenne L. | Perennial ryegrass | Orion | 2 |
| Phleum pratense L. | Timothy | Dolina | 0.32 |
For help with formulating a seed mix suited to your land, contact William at w.waterfield@fcgagric.com or your local FCG Office.