Switchgrass

[dbltree]

When do you recommend doing the Oust XP dose? Same time frame as the Gly? Thanks as always!

I spray that mix after at least one full year after establishment, usually in early to mid April. Looking back thru this thread you can see pics of the switch just barely trying to emerge at the base of the plants/clumps.

Last spring was very warm in March so growth was early so each year is different requiring that you physically check for growth before spraying.

I broadcast the seed just ahead of the 10" of snow forcasted for tonight on sod that was sprayed 4 times over the summer. John Osenbaugh suggested a blend of 80% CIR Switch and 20% Kanlow Switch at 10lbs per acre. I'm excited to see how it does next year, praying for some moisture next summer!

Perfect! Thanks for the update Wayne and keep us posted on your dormant seeding in the coming years.

I talked to John Osenbaugh myself the other day in regards to seeding results with the extreme drought here in the Midwest this past year.

NWSG seedings drilled or frost seeded before April 15h (much of it in March) did very well but fields planted after April 15th did poorly and in fact many have no sign of NWSG. This is exactly what I experienced....in the past 100% of my NWSG was dormant seeded from Dec 1st to March 15th either by broadcast or no-till drill.

In 2012 however I purchased my own drill and did custom seeding for others who (not knowing) waited until May and even June to request drilling their seed. Very little if any of that has produced plants...seed most likely germinated and died, however John mentioned that some seed may remain dormant and could very well come up next year.

Winter seeding has of yet, never failed me but late spring/early summer seedings....have.

Food for thought when deciding what might work best for you....:way:

John Osenbaugh (Prairie Seed Farms) is a wealth of knowledge when it comes to native prairie grasses and an excellent source of seed...click on the link to the left of this page for contact info.

 

[ELKY]

Paul, I have a 14 acre field HEL that I would like to broadcast 8-9 acres of it into switchgrass this winter. The field was planted is soybeans this past year, but did not do very well. There is a fair amount of foxtail and other weeds coming up. The field was only sprayed once prior to planting. Should I mow and or burn before I broadcast the switchgrass? How much do you charge to drill the seed? Great Thread!:way:

 

[dbltree]

Paul, I have a 14 acre field HEL that I would like to broadcast 8-9 acres of it into switchgrass this winter. The field was planted is soybeans this past year, but did not do very well. There is a fair amount of foxtail and other weeds coming up. The field was only sprayed once prior to planting. Should I mow and or burn before I broadcast the switchgrass? How much do you charge to drill the seed? Great Thread!:way:

If the perennial grasses where killed for soybeans then foxtail is no reason to spray...it will come back if you spray gly 10X! You could mow or burn either one to clear trash from the field but switch seed is very tiny and it will make it's way to the soil easily. Rain and snow usually do the trick so what you can do is get the seed broadcast anytime now thru mid winter....make sure it gets plenty of snow/rain to soak it down good and then burn it off perhaps the first of April.

By then the seed will be against the soil and soaking wet so not likely to be affect by the burn. Spray again perhaps the fist of April and if possible get 2 quarts of atrazine or simazine on per acre to slow weed germination.

Then clip weeds 8-12" high as needed for the first summer. The seed is so easy to broadcast....save yourself some $$'s and just broadcast it with an ATV or Tractor mounted broadcast spreader....:way:

 

[2bowhunt]

Will I be ok frost seeding CIR switchgrass into a picked corn field? Will I need to spray atrazine or burn off the stalks/etc. in the spring?

 

[dbltree]

Will I be ok frost seeding CIR switchgrass into a picked corn field? Will I need to spray atrazine or burn off the stalks/etc. in the spring?

Yep that will work and you'll still have to control weeds either with atrazine or by periodic mowing 8-12" high to control weeds

 

[gatzow]

So we have had a major mid winter thaw and I just went out to check out the field that I will be planting this year. I noticed that with the ground still frozen, I have a lot of standing water.

I was planning on frost seeding that field, but am concerned with the amount of water out there. Probably 2 or 3 of the 10 acres are covered.

Knowing that there is this risk, would you wait to plant until June 1st instead of frost seeding? Or is it ok to frost seed even if there would be some water on top of it early in spring?

 

[dbltree]

So we have had a major mid winter thaw and I just went out to check out the field that I will be planting this year. I noticed that with the ground still frozen, I have a lot of standing water.

I was planning on frost seeding that field, but am concerned with the amount of water out there. Probably 2 or 3 of the 10 acres are covered.

Knowing that there is this risk, would you wait to plant until June 1st instead of frost seeding? Or is it ok to frost seed even if there would be some water on top of it early in spring?

Seeding anytime after April 15th brings a higher risk of failure or delayed germination because the switch seed will not be subjected to stratification. The seed needs to be exposed to 30 days (roughly) of cold wet chill to soften the seed hulls to allow it to germinate.

Late spring plantings can work so never say never but they just have a higher degree of risk. Not sure spreading seed on water is a good idea either so you may not have much choice. If the water dissipates at any point I would get it on asap....

 

[MNbuckhunter]

Dbltree,

I have to say I really enjoy reading all your threads. There is more information in this one place than anywhere else!

I'm hoping you can give me a little guidance as to which type of switchgrass to put in on my MN farm. The farm is in the area of "Zone 4". In doing a bit of research it looks like 3 varieties stand out...Forestburg, Dacotah & Sunburst. Any ideas on which one would be the best choice to put in? Any others I may have missed?

Also, the plot of land is currently in standing corn left up for winter. Would I be able to go in and cut the corn and then frost seed between the rows in the corn stubble?

Your expertise is greatly appreciated!

-Mark

 

[dbltree]

Dbltree,

I have to say I really enjoy reading all your threads. There is more information in this one place than anywhere else!

I'm hoping you can give me a little guidance as to which type of switchgrass to put in on my MN farm. The farm is in the area of "Zone 4". In doing a bit of research it looks like 3 varieties stand out...Forestburg, Dacotah & Sunburst. Any ideas on which one would be the best choice to put in? Any others I may have missed?

Also, the plot of land is currently in standing corn left up for winter. Would I be able to go in and cut the corn and then frost seed between the rows in the corn stubble?

Your expertise is greatly appreciated!

-Mark

We use Cave In Rock here in Iowa but Sunburst works well in northern areas and a mix of several varieties can add diversity to your planting.

Chop/shred the stalks and broadcast or drill onto frozen soils in mid winter when snow is not more then a few inches deep....:way:

 

[MNbuckhunter]

We use Cave In Rock here in Iowa but Sunburst works well in northern areas and a mix of several varieties can add diversity to your planting.

Chop/shred the stalks and broadcast or drill onto frozen soils in mid winter when snow is not more then a few inches deep....:way:

Thanks for the info. What would you recommend for weed control then? Which herbicides and when to spray each?

 

[dbltree]

Since it's corn stubble (versus sod), spray in late April with 1 qt glyphosate and 2-4 qts of atrazine(atrazine is a restricted use pesticide so you ether need license or have it applied by an ag co-op or area farmer. Legal limit is 2 1/2 qts per acre if they apply and that is not enough to control all weeds so mow as needed 8-12" high (never mow NWSG close to the ground!!!) the first summer

 

[MNbuckhunter]

Since it's corn stubble (versus sod), spray in late April with 1 qt glyphosate and 2-4 qts of atrazine(atrazine is a restricted use pesticide so you ether need license or have it applied by an ag co-op or area farmer. Legal limit is 2 1/2 qts per acre if they apply and that is not enough to control all weeds so mow as needed 8-12" high (never mow NWSG close to the ground!!!) the first summer

Man, you don't miss a beat! Thanks for the quick response and the great info again!

 

[Jbohn]

Planted 150 Lbs Switchgrass last week end , My neighbor had this Herd seeder and it by far was the best broadcast seeder I have ever used, it allowed me to adjust the setting perfect I wasted a lot of seed before with other seeders but no more I love this thing.

 

[beararchery]

Does this have to be tilled? I have a open feild Where its a old cow pasture grown up. Would i have to till this or could i go in mow, then brodcast seed? Im looking for something to give the deer a little more space to be secluded.

 

[dbltree]

Does this have to be tilled? I have a open feild Where its a old cow pasture grown up. Would i have to till this or could i go in mow, then brodcast seed? Im looking for something to give the deer a little more space to be secluded.

Tillage not needed nor recommended but it is imperative that you kill existing sod first. Go back and read first page of this thread for detailed info on establishing switchgrass

 

[deerman_2006]

I have a quick question for you Dbltree, but first off I want to thank you for all the great information you have posted on here! I have learned alot from you and also got a lot of great ideas for improving the property I hunt from your posts. Now my scenario: I am planning on seeding some cave in rock switchgrass in the next two weeks in south-central Iowa, I am seeding into an area that was previously brome grass that I sprayed twice with glyphosate last summer\early fall. I live 5 hours from this property and did not get a chance to mow this area after I killed it with glyphosate, and I was wondering if the area needs to be mowed or burned before I broadcast the switchgrass seed? I will be applying atrazine this spring when I make a trip down to plant my other plots. Thanks in Advance!

 

[Daver]

I have a quick question for you Dbltree, but first off I want to thank you for all the great information you have posted on here! I have learned alot from you and also got a lot of great ideas for improving the property I hunt from your posts. Now my scenario: I am planning on seeding some cave in rock switchgrass in the next two weeks in south-central Iowa, I am seeding into an area that was previously brome grass that I sprayed twice with glyphosate last summer\early fall. I live 5 hours from this property and did not get a chance to mow this area after I killed it with glyphosate, and I was wondering if the area needs to be mowed or burned before I broadcast the switchgrass seed? I will be applying atrazine this spring when I make a trip down to plant my other plots. Thanks in Advance!

I am not Dbltree, but your scenario sounds like a prime situation to burn first. You will need good seed to soil contact and if you broadcast switch seed over dead brome you will lose a decent percentage of your expensive seed that gets trapped in the dead brome.

Another thought would be to plant beans this year, which you could probably drill right through the dead brome, and then frost seed your switch this time next year. Nothing beats a clean bean field for a good starting point with switch.

 

[dbltree]

I have a quick question for you Dbltree, but first off I want to thank you for all the great information you have posted on here! I have learned alot from you and also got a lot of great ideas for improving the property I hunt from your posts. Now my scenario: I am planning on seeding some cave in rock switchgrass in the next two weeks in south-central Iowa, I am seeding into an area that was previously brome grass that I sprayed twice with glyphosate last summer\early fall. I live 5 hours from this property and did not get a chance to mow this area after I killed it with glyphosate, and I was wondering if the area needs to be mowed or burned before I broadcast the switchgrass seed? I will be applying atrazine this spring when I make a trip down to plant my other plots. Thanks in Advance!

First let me say that the best bet is to mow FIRST (in early August) and then spray in early fall because you will get a far better kill that way.

You can broadcast the seed into brome because the seed is so tiny that heavy rains will eventually move seed to the soil surface and soften the seed hulls which then makes it safe to burn after seeding.

Dave is correct that ideally we would like a close mowed or bare soil surface such as following RR beans but I have had successful seedings without doing either simply because I had no access to mow the field.

If weather allows you to mow or burn the field first, that would be ideal but if not it is possible to do either after seeding. If burning after seeding however, seed now and burn the end of March so the seed has had plenty of time to become soaked by winter rains....

 

[deerman_2006]

Ok, thats what I was hoping you were going to say! Thanks again for the help Dbltree and Daver!

 

[goatman]

Paul I'm going to be seeding cave-in-rock into a blackwell plot that the blackwell has died out. Would you still burn the blackwell the end of Mar.?