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Post by benmnwi on Apr 22, 2024 21:55:42 GMT -6
My clover/alfalfa plot next to my apple trees is starting to fade and get taken over by grasses.
Clethodim doesn’t seem to kill these grasses, so I’m thinking about disking up the area a couple times and planting some buckwheat to choke out the grass.
Then I might follow up with a new clover mix or perhaps brassicas this year followed by clover next year.
Any advice on what to do or not to do? I’m going to steer clear of any herbicide that could damage my apple trees, but other than that I’m wide open for suggestions.
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Post by smsmith on Apr 23, 2024 6:13:02 GMT -6
Seems cleth suppresses many perennial grasses at best. It certainly doesn't kill RCG or quack grass here.
I'd plant something that will use up the accumulated N from the alfalfa. At my place that'd be a brassica of some sort.
Edited to add...I have found that hitting my flower plot with a max dose of cleth, NIS, and liquid AMS two times about 10 days apart really slows down RCG. For the last two years the RCG hasn't gotten over 18" or so and doesn't set seed. I do wish there was a grass selective herbicide that'd really kill tough perennial grasses.
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Post by Sandbur on Apr 23, 2024 6:17:43 GMT -6
Does spring planted rye suppress weeds and/or grasses?
I was just thinking about spring planted rye, followed by brassica in early August. You could throw some beans in with the rye.
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Post by benmnwi on Apr 23, 2024 10:44:41 GMT -6
I've tried overseeding my clover/alfalfa plots with winter rye to soak up some of the nitrogen. It works OK, but the grasses still work their way in eventually. I'll probably mix in some chicory in with the clover/alfalfa since that should like the nitrogen. I looked back and it has been about 6 years since I planted the clover/alfalfa blend around my trees, so I'm pretty happy with that planting. I'm just always looking to see if there is something better to add.
I did buy some burnet seed this year that I'll add here as well. This was a seed included in Whitetail Institute Extreme blend I used 15 years ago. That was a really good blend for light soil on dry years and the past 2 dry years made me want to give that a try.
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Post by Sandbur on Apr 23, 2024 10:51:47 GMT -6
I've tried overseeding my clover/alfalfa plots with winter rye to soak up some of the nitrogen. It works OK, but the grasses still work their way in eventually. I'll probably mix in some chicory in with the clover/alfalfa since that should like the nitrogen. I looked back and it has been about 6 years since I planted the clover/alfalfa blend around my trees, so I'm pretty happy with that planting. I'm just always looking to see if there is something better to add. I did buy some burnet seed this year that I'll add here as well. This was a seed included in Whitetail Institute Extreme blend I used 15 years ago. That was a really good blend for light soil on dry years and the past 2 dry years made me want to give that a try. I tried some of a WI blend with burnet, years back. I had it on very light soil and I got some growth. I never did see where deer nibbled on it. |
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Post by benmnwi on Apr 23, 2024 11:22:04 GMT -6
I've tried overseeding my clover/alfalfa plots with winter rye to soak up some of the nitrogen. It works OK, but the grasses still work their way in eventually. I'll probably mix in some chicory in with the clover/alfalfa since that should like the nitrogen. I looked back and it has been about 6 years since I planted the clover/alfalfa blend around my trees, so I'm pretty happy with that planting. I'm just always looking to see if there is something better to add. I did buy some burnet seed this year that I'll add here as well. This was a seed included in Whitetail Institute Extreme blend I used 15 years ago. That was a really good blend for light soil on dry years and the past 2 dry years made me want to give that a try. I tried some of a WI blend with burnet, years back. I had it on very light soil and I got some growth. I never did see where deer nibbled on it. The deer liked the whitetail institute Extreme blend when I planted it, but I couldn't tell what specific plant they liked the best. I do remember them digging through the snow to get to that blend much more than other varieties I have tried. |
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Post by Sandbur on Apr 23, 2024 17:13:41 GMT -6
I tried some of a WI blend with burnet, years back. I had it on very light soil and I got some growth. I never did see where deer nibbled on it. The deer liked the whitetail institute Extreme blend when I planted it, but I couldn't tell what specific plant they liked the best. I do remember them digging through the snow to get to that blend much more than other varieties I have tried. I think deer here, are hooked on corn and alfalfa. |
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Post by sd51555 on Apr 23, 2024 20:21:23 GMT -6
Seems cleth suppresses many perennial grasses at best. It certainly doesn't kill RCG or quack grass here. I'd plant something that will use up the accumulated N from the alfalfa. At my place that'd be a brassica of some sort. Edited to add...I have found that hitting my flower plot with a max dose of cleth, NIS, and liquid AMS two times about 10 days apart really slows down RCG. For the last two years the RCG hasn't gotten over 18" or so and doesn't set seed. I do wish there was a grass selective herbicide that'd really kill tough perennial grasses. that explains why my attempt at cleth on quack was a fail. It never so much as showed a setback of any amount. And I got it at just the right time. |
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Post by sd51555 on Apr 23, 2024 20:31:58 GMT -6
My clover/alfalfa plot next to my apple trees is starting to fade and get taken over by grasses. Clethodim doesn’t seem to kill these grasses, so I’m thinking about disking up the area a couple times and planting some buckwheat to choke out the grass. Then I might follow up with a new clover mix or perhaps brassicas this year followed by clover next year. Any advice on what to do or not to do? I’m going to steer clear of any herbicide that could damage my apple trees, but other than that I’m wide open for suggestions. Go for it, but I'd wait for mid to late august to do it. I think if you break it in spring, you'll be fighting weeds right out of the gate. Go late summer and flip it to rye and whatever else you want in there. I like chicory and black eyed susan for the blue and yellow, balansa for biomass and pink and white, alfalfa for early attraction and purple, flax for blue and plaintain for broadleaf diversity, oats for tonnage, and maybe a brassica for fun. |
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Post by smsmith on Apr 24, 2024 5:40:15 GMT -6
Seems cleth suppresses many perennial grasses at best. It certainly doesn't kill RCG or quack grass here. I'd plant something that will use up the accumulated N from the alfalfa. At my place that'd be a brassica of some sort. Edited to add...I have found that hitting my flower plot with a max dose of cleth, NIS, and liquid AMS two times about 10 days apart really slows down RCG. For the last two years the RCG hasn't gotten over 18" or so and doesn't set seed. I do wish there was a grass selective herbicide that'd really kill tough perennial grasses. that explains why my attempt at cleth on quack was a fail. It never so much as showed a setback of any amount. And I got it at just the right time. If it didn't get set back, something wasn't right. Every time I hit quack with a double dose like I described previously it will turn yellow and eventually "burn down"....but then it comes back from the stored energy in the root mass. If you've ever tried digging quack grass out of a flower garden or landscaping, you know what those roots look like. The cleth label also makes it obliquely clear that sod forming grasses are going to be really tough to deal with. |
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Post by Sandbur on Apr 24, 2024 6:22:04 GMT -6
I watched a YouTube video from Ottertail County where they burned a large area of Reed Canary. I thought they said they were going to use cloth to take out the RC. I am skeptical of success with that.
I would use repeated doses of roundup through one summer. Then strips of black plastic with willow cuttings in the following spring. I would just use the plastic in strips/willows to establish travel lanes.
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