How to kill reed canary grass?

[deerhunter93]

I have two spots - one is about 1/10th acre and the other is about 1/4 acre - that have a lot of reed canary grass in them. I'd like to make them into small food plots but I know reed canary grass can suck to get rid of. What is the best way to go about getting rid of it and starting a plot?

 

[DannyBoy]

Drown it or farm it, with combo of herbicide. RC likes wet so only you know if it's too wet for a food plot. I'd like to see some pictures.

Start by killing with Habitat, RU, clethodium (options, not a concoction) or whatever else that works. Spray this fall after you've mowed it. If you mow now, seed might not be mature. Maybe frost seed clover and continue with clethodium for plots that small?

Just be careful with herbicides that are residual, like habitat. Make sure it allows you to still plant when you want to.

 

[deerhunter93]

Hopefully these give a general idea of the two spots. The first one is in a creek bottom that stays more wet than "normal".

The second is on the uphill side of a creek.

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[Sligh1]

Agree with above. You're going to want to nuke it. Mow, week or 2 later - heavy dose of gly & ams & crop oil for example. I'd start with Alsike & white clovers - your best shot on wetter ground. Heavy seeding rate on alsike & whites and agree again on above, agressive sprayings of clethodim & crop oil until it quits coming back. That grass SUCKS & hard to get rid of

 

[arm]

I have 6 acres of the best RCG this side of the Mississippi. This spring I planted 1 acre to trees and 2 acres to corn. I sprayed with gly for both, tilled the corn plot. The grass came back in the corn but not after I sprayed it the second time. Almost no grass came back in the tree site, just weeds. It will be interesting to see what is there come next spring. The rest I will be planting to all trees next spring based on the relative success I had with it this year. Goal: trees will shade it out over time and I'll never have to worry about it again. The private lands biologist I met with this year suggested at least one planting of winter wheat before trying to replant to something else...like a food plot. Something about the ww suppressing the ryzome growth of the RCG. I think I read that somewhere with winter rye as well. RR corn or beans seems like a good idea though so you can spray and spray and spray...worked for me so far but maybe not in your small area.

 

[Windwalker]

Cleaning off wet ground

I'd round up it ,then burn it it off while rest of area is green.That type of ground will stay wet with cover on it

 

[northwoods whitetails]

I did a plot similar to yours. I hit the grass with round up in late July. 2 weeks later I spread brassica seed, urea and 19-19-19, then flattened the entire plot with a lawn roller. Turned out to be one of the best brassica plots I ever had.