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Switchgrass

Here is a short update on a couple different switchgrass plots of ours in different stages of their lifecycle (I've been posting pics of these two quite a bit this spring). This first one is 4 yrs old and is what I would call established. Parts of it have been stunted due to the competition of the brome really holding it back. As I mentioned before we sprayed this area with Oust XP and Gly in late April juuuust as the native grasses were popping up. It took a while for the brome to show signs of the chemical application but they are finally showing...
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You can see the small patch in the middle of this top flat where the brome had really started to get thick, choked the switch out pretty well but there's still some in there, it is just a little stunted compared to the rest
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This south facing hillside had bad brome issues and it was really holding the switch back, hopefully the switch (and the rest of the remnant prairie grasses) can take off now!
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Some weeds popping up in here which is just fine, makes for even better habitat IMO
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Close up of a switch plant
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While spraying I made one pass down a hillside that I knew had some remnant big blue stem in it... pretty clear where I sprayed. That brome got hit hard and the native grasses are doing better there.
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Next is an update on the switchgrass/big blue stem field we are establishing this year. Things are looking fantastic. It is well on its way to being our best established native grass field yet.
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Just a little sweet clover popping up. We'll keep on eye on that as it can get invasive. For now the deer are liking to browse on it
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Not too much growth
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Can you tell where they missed spraying Oust XP and Gly last fall? This shows why it is so important to kill the cool season grass before seeding natives. Other wise it is just about guaranteed you won't get the results you hoped for
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A few years ago I did frost seed some switch into this area, before killing the brome. You could see faint signs of it over the years but it was basically so stunted it was non-existent. Well that switch is finally enjoying the freedom from the brome and is growing pretty well.
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The tell tale sign of a switchgrass plant... the hairs near the leaf/stem joint and the purple stem
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Im starting to really get worried. Frost seeded switch from Osenbaughs on about January 25th this year and it is still bare as can be... Is it still early for germination? :confused: It had plenty of time to stratify. Very few weeds growing also. Sprayed with gly and the generic oust last fall.
 
Im starting to really get worried. Frost seeded switch from Osenbaughs on about January 25th this year and it is still bare as can be... Is it still early for germination? :confused: It had plenty of time to stratify. Very few weeds growing also. Sprayed with gly and the generic oust last fall.

Ha ha. Happens to everyone I know. Give it some time. It's there. Patience grasshopper. It will show. Late June or July it's gonna surprise u. :). If u do get any weeds - watch & control that but if u did herbicide right- it'll start popping up and with a good growing season it could be decently tall in August.
 
I hope you are right! :) My wife makes fun of me crawling around in it trying to find fresh sprouts! It's only about an 1/8 acre and it's in my front yard.. Just looks like $*** right now.. lol. The wildlife will love it.. my neighbor is all worried the whole neighborhood is going to burn down if someone flicks a cigarette into it from the road... haha..... and he has over 100 acres in crp less than a 1/4 mile away.
 
Oh ya, honestly you can't rule out any prairie planting as a failure for at least two years. It takes time to establish. From the sounds of it you've got a great start to yours if there's very few weeds at this point. Ours is looking very bare now except for a very few weeds and some old switch I seeded in there years ago.
 
Looking good LHA. I think I shall try something similar on a patch of ground next year. I've never tried to "resurrect" a prairie, but with the info here I will give it a shot.
 
Awesome series of pictures! Thanks for sharing! We've done what you're doing many times, it can work but definitely takes more effort to fight spring killing any cool season grass. Looks like you smoked it pretty good... for now. haha

5/28/2015 update

Can't tell by this picture, but "The good stuff" has started to emerge in the last two days. Weed control is holding strong.

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Emergence 5/28/2015. Some of the seed def was too deep due to ground being so soft when I drilled. I think it will be OK though.

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Update in April I burned off a first year stand that was over run with foxtail last year.. Put down more atrazine.. May 1st Switch grass was coming up great but lots of other composition grasses I couldn't Identify. I sprayed with 6oz Platuea . This weekend I was out and it's clean as a whistle Switch grass is clean looks like it did stunt it a bit but its alive, cool season competition nuked !!

I have a newly seeded area that is still clean and a few seedlings there but should get going soon. Thought I would see more but its been cool and wet.

I also did a June 1st planting last year that I actually tilled up for the heck of it and it looks awesome this year worked really well for me and I couldn't me more happy with it. Just added more Atrazine this spring. Should look awesome come August
 
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I want to plant a mix of switch, big blue, and Indian grass. Can Atrazine be used on Indian grass its first year pre emergence? The label only talks about using it on established stands.
 
I don't think so on that one. Indian and Atrazine are not friends. J - have you had success with Indian coming through Atrazine?? I haven't and as far as I know, it should not be done. But, maybe I'm missing something on that one.

Here's the rule on how I view my plantings from my experience & how I plant my ground - does not mean I am not missing something though.....

Flat bottoms, straight switchgrass, clean seed bed, frost seeded, no trash on top (say beans year before) with heavy atrazine & round-up in spring.

Mix of decent soil on hills.... Half Big Blue, half switchgrass, same thing- heavy atrazine & round up. BB will do better on clay type areas if some of ground mediocre.

Really hilly stuff, clay, rocky, poor soil, etc.... Indian and Big blue. Heavy Round-up & 12 oz to acre of Plateau/Panoramic after a fall kill. Spray in spring with the plateau & round-up and often I'll add some to my spraying the previous fall for residual control. Indian is the best "rough soil" big native I've ever seen, ever.

All this doesn't account for what I do with forbs & small natives or stuff like wild rye, etc but that's how I plant the "big 3" if I'm doing that. There's of course lots of examples where I go crazy with forbs and often mix Panoramic tolerant forbs in my mix with indian and BB.
 
I don't think so on that one. Indian and Atrazine are not friends. J - have you had success with Indian coming through Atrazine?? I haven't and as far as I know, it should not be done. But, maybe I'm missing something on that one.

I have only used it on small remnant clumps and it did ok, I'd go with you on this one and say it avoid it on plantings. You know WAY more about this stuff than I do! :)
 
Atrazine can not be used in a establishment year on Indian grass , after that it can be used once established . Read back into Paul's post he covers it.. :)
 
DNR was telling me to avoid big blue like the plague, kind of surprised by that. When it goes down in winter it will take everything else with it
 
DNR was telling me to avoid big blue like the plague, kind of surprised by that. When it goes down in winter it will take everything else with it

As in laying down? Yes- bb does not do well with snow. But a % I simply don't care for diversity as it usually stays up thru January depending on yr. maybe 20% of my natives contain BB. It's tall and grows in variety of soils. No- it's not my favorite thing to plant but I do have a lot and reasons for it. All natives have some down sides when u start researching & talking to folks. Switch can easily & often thin away. Even with burning. It can get diseases, etc. Sometimes a whole switch field needs to be wiped out, completely killed off and redone a year or 2 later after killing an old thinning stand that doesn't respond to burns & herbicides. It happens. Thinning switch is a problem.
Then there's Indian. Simply & quickly- put Indian in good quality black soil- it will not last a long time. BB stands could regenerate for 90 years with seed under right conditions. Indian may die off on "good soils". All of them have draw backs. Diversity is good. Why i could keep going as to why to do forbs as well. Another discussion. Same reasons- they have great benefits as well & have problems (say burning ur natives, etc). Ups and downs to all of them. Nothing is perfect.
 
Sligh1- good stuff I did hear that BB can last 100 years if managed properly, great to know .. Didn't know switch can thin out good to know as well.. My stands are 2nd and 3rd growing season.. So ill monitor. Thanks for the info.. Everybody has what they like , I like Switch grass and I do have some stands with BB mixed seems good to me...
 
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Thinning switch I did not know either. That explains a small patch I have that neither spray or fire would improve it. Time for more seed. Maybe with BB and some indian. Always something to learn.
 
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