Daver
PMA Member
As far as Roundup...In a normal year, you usually have until about May 10th before switchgrass begins to grow again for the year. Personally, I would get it done this weekend at the latest or forget it for the year.
Jbohn
Well-Known Member
I burned off my first year CIR in March cause I was over run with Foxtail last year I did get it mowed twice. I also put down more atrazine at the rate of (4qts) per acre.
When I arrived at the farm this week end I was happy to see that there is a good rate of switch that establish last yearA few spots it didn't germinate.
Bad thing was with little to no rainfall in the last 3 weeks I don't think the atrazine worked in to the soil
I hit it with Platuea at 6oz an acre I hope that cleans it up and kills the unwanted grasses. Should I have used more ? Label say's 12oz for fescue. I was kind of scarred to spray it, didn't want to hurt the switch that has emerged from last years planting.
Overall very happy with last year considering the foxtail mess.
I checked this years planting I prepped with oust last fall clean as a whistle.. Need some heat and it should get going..
I Talked with John Osenbaugh and he said a second year stand (12) months should not receive a 12 oz spraying at full rate of Panoramic until its mature meaning 36 month stand , FYI guys..
I could talk to John for hours. That guy is an encyclopedia of knowledge on natives. We came up with a mix that I'm drilling tomorrow.
Per Acre:
2# Big Blue
2# Indiangrass
3# CIR switch
5# Virginia Wild Rye
2# Slender wheat
Per Acre:
2# Big Blue
2# Indiangrass
3# CIR switch
5# Virginia Wild Rye
2# Slender wheat
bowman
Super Moderator
Guys, so much great info in this thread but also very long. I've been reading but thought I would go ahead and post my question. My CIR Switch is in it's 3rd year and was so thick in the core I just burnt it off this spring and it is popping up nicely.
My problem is that many of the edges and outside corners were missed with the atrazine application last year and grew up with brome and fox tail. I can see that the same areas are springing up with non-switch sprouts now.
So my question is, can I spot spray Atrazine now (May 5th) without concern of damaging the switch or will it even help? (I have a some Atrazine left) If I can, can someone tell me a per gallon mix ratio for the Atrazine for spot spraying? Thanks in advance!
My problem is that many of the edges and outside corners were missed with the atrazine application last year and grew up with brome and fox tail. I can see that the same areas are springing up with non-switch sprouts now.
So my question is, can I spot spray Atrazine now (May 5th) without concern of damaging the switch or will it even help? (I have a some Atrazine left) If I can, can someone tell me a per gallon mix ratio for the Atrazine for spot spraying? Thanks in advance!
AIRASSAULT
PMA Member
I'm pretty sure switchgrass is immune to the atrazine so you can spray the whole thing. Oust is the pre-emergence herbicide that will harm it. I would let someone confirm though before you take my word for it because I'm pretty new to switch.
LoessHillsArcher
PMA Member
Ya, I'd say you are ok to spray. I used to be super concerned about having a weed free switchgrass planting and making sure it was really clean of foxtail but honestly I've kinda changed my opinion on that. Once we get a switchgrass plot established we back off from spraying much unless the brome starts to creep back in. Those "weeds" are great for the wildlife. Of course you don't want a whole field of them but having some diversity in the switch is a good thing.
Jbohn
Well-Known Member
Atrazine is a pre emerge meaning once your cool season has sprouted it wont kill it, Atrazine works by getting into the soil and killing the seedling before it emerges . You can spray atrazine on switch any time it will not affect it. I would spray with Oust in Late October or Early Spring in the areas you have concerns about cool seasons that didn't get killed when switch is dormant.. If I was using a back pack sprayer for oust I would add 1/2 ounce per 5 gallons of water.. Your stand is established so you need to spray before the Switch has emerged or after it has gone Dormant to be safe. You could Call John Osenbaugh I am sure he could tell you what to spray if you I can identify exactly what your cool season is but you need to identify it. Or spray oust this fall and don't worry about it, frost seed the bare areas in the spring add atrazine in late March to keep cool season away fill in with new switch.
Last edited:
Hammerin Hank
Member
Frost seeded switchgrass last winter. 1/2 switch 1/2 foxtail and other weeds. It is still in dormancy. I am wondering if I should mow it now (mid may) or wait until it comes out of dormancy. I know I should mow high if it is green but does it matter if it is still dormant?
LoessHillsArcher
PMA Member
Got a couple different switchgrass plots I checked on yesterday. One is in the establishment phase, we just frost-seeded it this February & they other is in its 4th year and we burnt it this spring to help clean it up.
This is the 4yr old switch plot. We burnt it in early April and let the brome that was creeping in green up. Then I sprayed it with Oust XP and gly hoping to knock out the brome.
But that brome is tough to kill. You can see I set it back but I don't have much confidence it will die... I have a feeling it'll be coming back to haunt us yet. Oh well, we'll keep after it.
Some spots did get smoked pretty good it looks like though
And the switch grass is really starting to green up.
Now here are some pics of the field that is being established to switch this year... not much green in it since we applied gly and Oust XP last fall and just had gly and Atrazine applied a couple weeks ago.
Some spots got missed in the spray applications, not a huge deal. Right now sweet clover is thick in this spot and the brome is creeping back in other spots. Not the end of the world. Diversity is a great thing in all habitat... the trouble with brome and sweet clover is they can become "invasive" to the switch and can choke it out, so we'll just keep an eye on them and make sure to keep them in check.
This is the 4yr old switch plot. We burnt it in early April and let the brome that was creeping in green up. Then I sprayed it with Oust XP and gly hoping to knock out the brome.
But that brome is tough to kill. You can see I set it back but I don't have much confidence it will die... I have a feeling it'll be coming back to haunt us yet. Oh well, we'll keep after it.
Some spots did get smoked pretty good it looks like though
And the switch grass is really starting to green up.
Now here are some pics of the field that is being established to switch this year... not much green in it since we applied gly and Oust XP last fall and just had gly and Atrazine applied a couple weeks ago.
Some spots got missed in the spray applications, not a huge deal. Right now sweet clover is thick in this spot and the brome is creeping back in other spots. Not the end of the world. Diversity is a great thing in all habitat... the trouble with brome and sweet clover is they can become "invasive" to the switch and can choke it out, so we'll just keep an eye on them and make sure to keep them in check.
Looks like you are going to have a lot of cover. I hear you on the brome..... complete pain in the ass.
It is already well established a fall kill-off of brome is best, but I didn't commit to this project until this winter so I was forced into a decision to either wait a year or try to attack a brome kill in the spring. I don't like to wait on projects so it was full steam ahead this spring.
....maybe this helps someone plan farther in advance than my d******. This is a lot more work, but it is possible.
04/07/2015- Brome burned. I would have liked to wait longer, but it was 8" of green and I was worried about being able to start a fire if I waited much longer.
04/16/2015- Brome starting to come back after fire
04/27/2015- Brome all green- hit with gly with ams
05-04-2015- Rented drill from the county and went to work
I noticed some of the brome was hanging on and I missed a few spots so I mixed up an extra hot batch and hit it with 6 quarts/a gly on 05/08/2015. It seems to have wiped it all out as everything is turning brown. Pics from today.
05/11/2015
It seems we have had great weather so I am excited to see some growth of the "good stuff" soon.
It is already well established a fall kill-off of brome is best, but I didn't commit to this project until this winter so I was forced into a decision to either wait a year or try to attack a brome kill in the spring. I don't like to wait on projects so it was full steam ahead this spring.
....maybe this helps someone plan farther in advance than my d******. This is a lot more work, but it is possible.
04/07/2015- Brome burned. I would have liked to wait longer, but it was 8" of green and I was worried about being able to start a fire if I waited much longer.
04/16/2015- Brome starting to come back after fire
04/27/2015- Brome all green- hit with gly with ams
05-04-2015- Rented drill from the county and went to work
I noticed some of the brome was hanging on and I missed a few spots so I mixed up an extra hot batch and hit it with 6 quarts/a gly on 05/08/2015. It seems to have wiped it all out as everything is turning brown. Pics from today.
05/11/2015
It seems we have had great weather so I am excited to see some growth of the "good stuff" soon.
Last edited:
LoessHillsArcher
PMA Member
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
Yeah..... I already have it in my head that I will need to hit with gly this fall after the NWSG goes dormant.....
I'm not entirely sure what to expect for growth year 1. I did several straight switch plantings back in Michigan, but they were all frost seeded in February. This is a diverse mix of all tall wsg and was obviously spring planted. Guess I get to wait and see!
Last edited:
LoessHillsArcher
PMA Member
The first year is always tough on the natives as I'm sure you know. Keep us updated with pics if you don't mind, always something to be learned when planting natives. Seems every situation has something unique to it!
So I came across these old pictures when backing up my hard drive today. This was my first attempt at a switchgrass planting back in 2012 in MI. I was just getting my feet wet the habitat stuff and wasn't aware of resources like IW (this site is unbelievable for useful information so thank you all). Despite my general lack of knowledge that project was a huge success (Even a blind squirrel finds a nut once in a while).
Back to the point of this post..... There seems to be a consensus to not burn until the 3rd (or even 4th) year. Well in this case I burned year 1 as I didn't know any better. The second year the CIR switch was 6' tall! This was not great soil and was never fertilized either. Maybe I got lucky or maybe the burning time is different for CIR switch than other natives? I am bringing this up as I am questioning when I should burn some switchgrass plantings here in Iowa. Thoughts?
Timeline of events.... Bulldozed a bunch of invasive crap out Fall 2011. During the winter of 2012 there was a serious warm up. I think it actually hit 70 degrees. I rototilled, broadcast CIR switch, & lightly rototilled again.
Winter 2012
Year 1 growth- Summer 2012
Burn year #1- Spring 2012
Year #2 growth- Summer 2013 (For reference that is an 80# lab) Grass 6' tall.
Just another pic of year #2 growth. THICK!
Back to the point of this post..... There seems to be a consensus to not burn until the 3rd (or even 4th) year. Well in this case I burned year 1 as I didn't know any better. The second year the CIR switch was 6' tall! This was not great soil and was never fertilized either. Maybe I got lucky or maybe the burning time is different for CIR switch than other natives? I am bringing this up as I am questioning when I should burn some switchgrass plantings here in Iowa. Thoughts?
Timeline of events.... Bulldozed a bunch of invasive crap out Fall 2011. During the winter of 2012 there was a serious warm up. I think it actually hit 70 degrees. I rototilled, broadcast CIR switch, & lightly rototilled again.
Winter 2012
Year 1 growth- Summer 2012
Burn year #1- Spring 2012
Year #2 growth- Summer 2013 (For reference that is an 80# lab) Grass 6' tall.
Just another pic of year #2 growth. THICK!
Last edited:
LoessHillsArcher
PMA Member
Wow, I'd say in your case you had some amazing growth in year one. That switch got established real quick. Once switch becomes as established as yours was... regardless if it takes 1 or 3 years, burning isn't going to hurt it! Great stuff! That's some awesome cover. Crazy you were able to till in the winter! Thanks for sharing
Wow, I'd say in your case you had some amazing growth in year one. That switch got established real quick. Once switch becomes as established as yours was... regardless if it takes 1 or 3 years, burning isn't going to hurt it! Great stuff! That's some awesome cover. Crazy you were able to till in the winter! Thanks for sharing
I had a broadleaf problem spring 2012. I waited for 3 leafs on switch and hit it with 2-4D. Switch started wilting and I thought for sure I had killed it and was pissed. It rained and the switch came back with a vengeance! Maybe switch likes 2-4D? haha jk
Wow, I'd say in your case you had some amazing growth in year one. That switch got established real quick. Once switch becomes as established as yours was... regardless if it takes 1 or 3 years, burning isn't going to hurt it! Great stuff! That's some awesome cover. Crazy you were able to till in the winter! Thanks for sharing
That winter was crazy! http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2012/01/11/this-winters-weirdly-warm-weather-explained/