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Switchgrass

So will SG keep getting taller after it seeds out or does it quit gaining height after seeding out? My guess is that it would keep getting taller, especially mature SG, but what about first year seedlings? At what time of year does mature SG normally stop gaining height? Early to mid-September?

Quote: "this has been one of the coolest in along time... " The coolest ever as a matter of fact! Here in SW Wisconsin we are on pace to beat the record for the coolest July ever (as far back as weather records have been kept). The next coolest July behind this year was way back in 1891, and we are about 2 degrees below that record, which is quite a bit when you are talking about average monthly temps and all time records! Our weather this month has felt more like late September than July!
 
Switchgrass will grow well into mid to late August and it's possible for first year switch to reach full height if it has good weed control and soil nutrition.

I can't reacall a year when mine has grown so slowly! 66 degress at 10:00 a.m. yesterday...in mid July!:confused:
 
Just finished reading this thread again - the information keeps getting better and better :way:
DbleTree thanks again for all of your help ... here is a picture from June of this year of a strip of CIR planted last spring. I was able to roundup broam the fall of 07' and drill CIR in Mid-March of 08'. The only other treatment to this strip was mowing once last year and once this year in mid-May.

Also notice the brown strip above/to the left ... that part was missed with the original Roundup spray and I started over this spring :grin:

10-p1000068.jpg


I also tried a less productive method this year in frost seeding into broam this past Feb 09' and killing it in early May with a combination of Roundup and Atrazine.

My results look very similar to Whitetail Fanatic's. I don't want to be the bearer of bad news and I hope I'm wrong but I think I have foxtail coming up in my plots, which looks very similar to Fanatic's photos. I have mowed my stand once so far (July) ... here is a picture of what I believe to be mostly foxtail from early June.


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Since taking these pictures and mowing I have notice more CIR coming up ... I will try to get more pictures.
 
My foxtail was bad year one, but I clipped it last year and have not seen it since :)
I do however have alot of "ragweed" I believe, but I think I will just sit on it and let the switch take over, if that is a possibility??? Hopefully next year, year three, it will "take over."
 
huntyak said:
My foxtail was bad year one, but I clipped it last year and have not seen it since :)
I do however have alot of "ragweed" I believe, but I think I will just sit on it and let the switch take over, if that is a possibility??? Hopefully next year, year three, it will "take over."
Click to expand...

You can easily nuke any broadleaves with 1-3 quarts of 2-4D which is very inexpensive but either way it should be good to go next year and then you need to think about burning in late April to keep junk under control and the switch thriving!

Good looking CIR Chris!:way:

10-p1000068.jpg
 
Thanks Paul. You suggest burning in April of the third year or at least the fourth? Although I see quite a bit of ragweed, there seems to be alot of sun getting to all the plants. It has been cool this summer which clover seems to love but not the switch as you stated above.
 
OneCam, the seedlings in your photo from this spring's planting looks like it is mostly, if not all switchgrass, at least the plants that you can clearly see in the lower-center part of the photo, wouldn't you say so dbltree?? If not I have solid foxtail growing in my planting, but I'm sure that's SG. That's what mine looked like earlier this summer, as you can see in the photos I took on June 28 (post #348), purple at the bases with several shoots coming out of the bases of the bigger seedlings. I have very few weeds in mine and a few that I was sure was foxtail, and now I have confirmed that because some of those foxtail plants are seeding out and some of my SG is starting to seed out. Don't worry if it looks like the SG is not thick that early in it's first year (as long as you don't have many weeds). Even if you only have several SG seedlings per square foot, with good weed control imagine what it will be like when it gets bigger, especially it's second and third year. Mine looked pretty sparse early this summer too, as you can see from the pictures on June 28, but now that the SG is taller and thicker, you can't hardly see any bare ground except for looking down close to where you are standing in it. I don't want time to go any faster than it already is, but I can't wait to see it after it's second and third year of growth!!! I will try to get some more pictures soon. We will be spraying 4.7 more acres soon with glyphosate to get ready for frost seeding this coming winter. We already had great habitat and food plots on our farm, but with over 7 acres of CIR SG, it should really be awesome in a few years! Thanks again dbltree for doing this thread and all the great info here.
 
I took some pics yesterday (July 24, 2009) of some 2nd year Cave In Rock switchgrass that I frost seeded fro a friend in late winter 2008. My friend recieved cost share to late to prepare the area in advance, so despite my misgivings I frost seeded it into "uncut, unsprayed" sod in late winter.

At first green up I sprayed the area with roundup but 3 weeks later of course the dormant cool season grasses, re-emerged and I went back over it once again.

No atrazine and no mowing involved with this stand, so the whole things went completely against the grain for me, but we sort of thew a "Hail Mary" pass and hoped for the best...:rolleyes:

So here's how it turned out by the second year...

2ndyearswitchgrass.jpg


2ndyrCaveInRock.jpg


Good rich moist soils helped...

2ndyrfrostseededswitchgrass.jpg


ThickCaveInRockSwitchgrass.jpg


You can see the seed heads forming rapidly here by the end of July

2yroldswitch.jpg


CIRSeedhead.jpg


I did ALL of it with a hand seeded and a backpack sprayer! 7 acres in all and much of it I had to haul water and seed up a steep hill to an inaccessable field but by golly we got er done! :way:

This shows the clumpy nature of the CIR switch

Switchclumps.jpg


These couple pics are of where a tree planting when through the switch seeding and we sprayed Oust XP on the tree planting.

Note the switch is unaffected and doing fine!
OustXPtreatedswithgrass.jpg


Switchinoustarea.jpg


There are some pockets of brome that did not get completely killed because of the spring spraying, so we'll go back next spring, burn it and spray with Oust XP and/or Atrazine and finish cleaning the stand up.

Anyone can establish switchgrass with very minimal equipment via frost seeding in late winter, just prepare ahead of time by killing the sod this early fall and applying atrazine, simizine or Oust Xp next spring. :)
 
Man, you guys would be cussin me if you saw the switchgrass that I nuked today. Stuff was awesome and thick, and did I mention tall? :grin:
 
dbltree said:
I took some pics yesterday (July 24, 2009) of some 2nd year Cave In Rock switchgrass that I frost seeded fro a friend in late winter 2008. My friend recieved cost share to late to prepare the area in advance, so despite my misgivings I frost seeded it into "uncut, unsprayed" sod in late winter.

At first green up I sprayed the area with roundup but 3 weeks later of course the dormant cool season grasses, re-emerged and I went back over it once again.

No atrazine and no mowing involved with this stand, so the whole things went completely against the grain for me, but we sort of thew a "Hail Mary" pass and hoped for the best...:rolleyes:
Click to expand...
That is encouraging to see! I planted 3 acres of previous cow pasture and did so in a similar fashion - no previous year prep, no atrazine since it's restricted here in MI and I couldn't get a hold of any, etc. So far this year I've seem some growth here and there, but it's not terribly impressive - have my fingers crossed for next year! Right now I have a good amount of non-NWGs despite a RU burn down and clipping once after the switch germinated. I'd post some pictures, but unfortunately I killed my camera planting trees early this year and haven't gotten around to replacing it. :(

I'm planning to do another RU application next spring when the cool seasons start up. Hopefully that will spring board the switch for their second year of growth!
 
Our first year CIR SG is only knee high now, but I was walking through it during mid day yesterday and kicke out a deer that was bedded down in it. In all the years that field has been in CRP it has been just cool season grass, and I've never seen a deer bed in that field when it was cool season grass. Now with first year SG only knee high they are already bedding in it! They love this stuff. Can't wait to see how the deer use it when it's 5 to 6 feet tall!

Quote: "Thanks dbltree & whitetail addict for all your help! "
You're more than welcome schweg2
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My friend Skip has created some amazing habitat on his place and I joined him yesterday for a walk through his CIR switchgrass.

He frost seeded this past winter on killed sod, sprayed with a gly/atrazine/S-metolaclor combo in early April. Results are awesome but growth varies depending on soil quality and that's something everyone should be aware of.

This is CIR switchgrass frost seeded in late winter on fairly poor soils, what I often refer to here in SE Iowa as an "ole clay knob"...:p

FirstyrCIR1.jpg


This only yards away on better soil

FirstyrCIR2.jpg


and just like with corn, better soil equals better growth

FirstyrCIR3.jpg


This is on rich moist lowland soils where growth is night and day difference!

FirstyrCIR4.jpg


Like any crop, if one soil tests and fertilizes and limes then the switch will probally be/do better however few can afford to do that and yet given time the switch will eventually do quite well.

Late spring burning will help convert the straw/thatch left from the yearly switch growth will help convert the dead plants to usable nutrients and the massive root systems over time will create better deeper top soil.

Nice work Skip...you have some awesome habitat that will reward you for years to come :)
 
Wow, That is great first year growth. My second year switch is just stating to look like that. I only mowed the first year and decided to go with atrazine this year and it made a HUGE difference, just hated the mess it left in the sprayer.
 
dbltree, is there any point in spraying a first year cir stand this late in the summer? I have a stand that looks very similar to sexy skips first picture. It has a little foxtail and some random broadleafs showing. I would say 80% switch and 20% weeds. Would I gain anything now or just reapply atrazine next spring and let the switch go? Average switch height is 24" right now. Also if you would spray it, what would you use?
 
If I had 80% switch and 20& broadleaves that may be browsed....I would consider myself lucky!! That will provide just as much cover and better food than 100% pure switchgrass. I would want it to stay that way permanately.
 
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