fertilizing a small pasture

[pdubdo]

Don't recommend mowing/brush hogging mesquite (I learned the hard way). It'll sprout 5 new trunks and makes basal spraying them later on a pain. +1 for Remedy for the mesquite. And good thread. I have a very similar situation minus the low pH just across the river.

 

[callmefence]

My mm tree shear is made for mesquite. It cuts below grade. Remedy tank is built into the frame with The nozzle just behind the shear. The spray function is not operational here. Lol. And honestly we don't use it much. I find it more efficient to remove and pile everything. Follow up maintenance is easy once you get everything cleaned off.

New video by Call me Fence

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[Ranch Hand]

New to Cattle Today. I have sprayed Sendero for mesquite and have a couple of questions: 1. I noticed everyone used Remedy. With Sendero are you still looking at a year for the mesquite to be completely dead? And, 2. A the mesquite is completely dead, do I just thresh it or break it off and take it (majority of it is about 8’ tall and 2” diameter)

 

[bird dog]

Yes on taking a year... sometimes two. Disturbing the plant to soon will trigger growth from the roots. When you can step on the side of the main trunk and it easily breaks off, then they are dead and ready to put in a burn pile. I usually just let the cows or mother nature break them off.

Get a routine going. Spray as many as you can this year. The leaves will burn off so its easy to see which ones you have missed. Next year respray the ones that come back and do more of those you didn't get to the first year. Consider it a three year project to get them under control and then yearly maintenance for new ones.

Make Remedy about 25% of your herbicide mix for better results. If the plants are small and you are spraying foliage, make sure all the leaves get wet to where they are starting to drip. Use a surfactant. If you are doing the basal bark treatment, spray completely around the trunk a about 18" off the ground until the fluid starts running down the trunk.

With the trees you describe your best bet is 75% Sendero. 25% Remedy mixed with Diesel. No surfactant needed with Diesel. You can treat with basal bark treatment year round but it seems to work better when its hot and dry and the foilage will let you know the product has entered the trees system.

 

[Ranch Hand]

Yes on taking a year... sometimes two. Disturbing the plant to soon will trigger growth from the roots. When you can step on the side of the main trunk and it easily breaks off, then they are dead and ready to put in a burn pile. I usually just let the cows or mother nature break them off.

Get a routine going. Spray as many as you can this year. The leaves will burn off so its easy to see which ones you have missed. Next year respray the ones that come back and do more of those you didn't get to the first year. Consider it a three year project to get them under control and then yearly maintenance for new ones.

Make Remedy about 25% of your herbicide mix for better results. If the plants are small and you are spraying foliage, make sure all the leaves get wet to where they are starting to drip. Use a surfactant. If you are doing the basal bark treatment, spray completely around the trunk a about 18" off the ground until the fluid starts running down the trunk.

With the trees you describe your best bet is 75% Sendero. 25% Remedy mixed with Diesel. No surfactant needed with Diesel. You can treat with basal bark treatment year round but it seems to work better when its hot and dry and the foilage will let you know the product has entered the trees system.

Thank you bird dog, that’s exactly what I need to know. I’m new at this and your information is very helpful. These days, surfactant is cheaper than diesel - is diesel the better surfactant?

 

[bird dog]

I believe Diesel works better on basal bark spraying for its penetrating properties. Use a cheap pump up sprayer with the diesel because it gets nasty in a hurry and eats the seals up.

 

[Ranch Hand]

Good deal. Thanks for your response!

 

[Hippie Rancher]

FYI, mesquite fixes nitrogen and pumps nutrients up from deep underground. in a planted pasture I am sure it is a pita, but in rangeland cows browse it and it is often our first green of the year. the flowers are high protein and the honey is delicious. where it gets more water (and less wind?) the trees make good shade and the wood is really good for heating and cooking. fallen beans can be a problem for naive horses, especailly after rain but otherwise also good feed. (but will sure spread more plants in the manure)

 

[1982vett]

FYI, mesquite fixes nitrogen and pumps nutrients up from deep underground. in a planted pasture I am sure it is a pita, but in rangeland cows browse it and it is often our first green of the year. the flowers are high protein and the honey is delicious. where it gets more water (and less wind?) the trees make good shade and the wood is really good for heating and cooking. fallen beans can be a problem for naive horses, especailly after rain but otherwise also good feed. (but will sure spread more plants in the manure)

If mesquite is all the land will grow, fine. Left alone it will ruin and take over good pasture land in just a few years.

Doubt I’d be concerned about it if it took 1000 acres to run 50 head. Hell, anything that grows in those conditions is a plus. But if you can run 100 head on 300, mesquite is not your friend.

 

[Hippie Rancher]

If mesquite is all the land will grow, fine. Left alone it will ruin and take over good pasture land in just a few years.

Doubt I’d be concerned about it if it took 1000 acres to run 50 head. Hell, anything that grows in those conditions is a plus. But if you can run 100 head on 300, mesquite is not your friend.

50 head to 1000? pure LUXURY!

there is grass too, and some of the best is actually growing right under the mesquites where it benefits from the litter produced by them. a lot of people actually believe the mesquites steal all the water and nutrients and that grass won't grow under them, but if you actually go look that is the place cattle will hit early on. (why "experts" often claim allelopathy, since they didn't see anything growing under there when they went to look for 10 minutes one day of one year, or just read about it)

not saying they can't get too thick or be a huge pain, but a lot of times when they get ploughed up and you see a nice grass response it is more due to ground disturbance than eliminating brush. around here when brush poisoning occurs, it is the several growing season rest that actually produces grass, not the dead brush.

 

[1982vett]

In dry conditions, grass does grow better and stay greener longer if it gets some shade. Evidence of that has shown up the past month in the yard where I park trucks, trailers, tractors and equipment. Also the yard that gets partial shade from the trees takes less water to keep green.