I got a base grass of coastal and bahia on real deep sandy soil; ph runs about 5.6 to 6. Since gas and fertilizer has gotten higher, I am interested in establishing legumes in the base grasses in order to cut the nitrogen bill. I am interested in both winter and summer legumes. Last fall planted hairy vetch, and
crimson clover on 50 acres of thinning coastal and had a beautiful stand. I let it go to seed. I just planted 3 acres of alyce clover to see what it would do by planting this late. I just broadcast the innoculated seed over a field where the coastal and bahia were thin,, right after a hay cut. I am looking for more information on what type of legumes that will grow on this type of soil. I know I can lime but prefer, to plant something suited for the soil I got than to try to change the soil to fit the plant. I am a lazy cowboy and prefer the cattle to do the harvesting, not me, so I like year round pastures, dense sod in a pasture "salad" type grazing situation. I do harvest the excess grass that they cannot when the growing condition are right. I am looking for good working pasture combinations and something that reseeds or comes back year after year .Any information would be considered.

Charles,
Consider the following site: http://overton.tamu.edu/clover/cool/species.htme for more information on Legumes on sandy loam

Your Coastal will continue to get thinner and the Bahia will flourish. Why? Because Bermuda grass prefers a ph of about 7 and Bahia will grow well in poor conditions. Unfortunately, Bahia does not offer near the nutritional value of Coastal and is very difficult to get rid of without killing other grasses around it. Applying that lime now could save you a lot of headaches later. Also, beware of any fertilizers that contain sulphur as it tends to lower ph.

I like the idea of adding some year round Legumes. Be careful about any herbicide applications that interact with seeds present in the soil.