I'm a beginner...
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Caustic Burno
Well-known member
gus2121":2zr63trx said:
Read the label or take a picture or several if you having a problem with a
certain plant and send them to Dr Vanessa Olsen.
Spray rates and timing are crucial to control.
http://overton.tamu.edu/faculty-staff/f ... Ukvb53F_JU
I was one of those guys for years if a little was good more has to be better.
After going through some of Dr Olsens seminars made a huge impact on herbicide cost.
greybeard
Well-known member
Horse nettle is hard to get rid of in one spraying, as it has extremely long and deep roots, and the roots is where it stores it's energy. Spray at the wrong time, or at too high rate as CB alluded to, can be a waste of time and chemical. Use too strong of a concentration or too slow travel speed even with the max recommended mix rate, and you burn the leaves off the plant before it has time to absorb the chemical into the root system and that applies to most weeds and brush. Looks like it's dead, but it will be right back. I didn't have nettle here until after 2011 when I got some hay in here that I didn't know the origin of. 
The roots--the plant reproduces by seed pods, but spreads every growing season thru the roots. Sends a deep tap root down that's easily broken off by pulling the plant up, but that won't kill it. Roots also radiate out a foot or so, then send shoots up to form new (additional) berry producing plants, which in turn also send their roots out.
Scroll down to pg 32 in this old article and you can see one plant's extensive root system.
http://www.newss.org/ne42/ne_42_horsenettle.pdf
Spray it just as it begins to bloom. If you wait till berries or seed pods form and set you may knock the above ground plant back for this year, but not kill it's root system or even hurt it.
The 1qt Remedy-One qt 2,4d per 100 gal water CB mentioned will sure kill most everything I have too, including croton, sweetgum, thistle, and tallow.
I have both a 300 gal home built spray trailer and a 35 gal atv elec pump sprayer that I bought from tractor supply. Had a little old 4' wide scratch harrow that I didn't use and stripped it down to the frame and made a mount for the 35gal elec pump sprayer for using behind my small tractor when I didn't want to use the big sprayer. It's ugly as sin, but works. Takes 2 minutes to take the tank off the 4 wheeler and mount it on the 3 pt frame. Boomless nozzles like the link in the other post shows.
The roots--the plant reproduces by seed pods, but spreads every growing season thru the roots. Sends a deep tap root down that's easily broken off by pulling the plant up, but that won't kill it. Roots also radiate out a foot or so, then send shoots up to form new (additional) berry producing plants, which in turn also send their roots out.
Scroll down to pg 32 in this old article and you can see one plant's extensive root system.
http://www.newss.org/ne42/ne_42_horsenettle.pdf
Spray it just as it begins to bloom. If you wait till berries or seed pods form and set you may knock the above ground plant back for this year, but not kill it's root system or even hurt it.
The 1qt Remedy-One qt 2,4d per 100 gal water CB mentioned will sure kill most everything I have too, including croton, sweetgum, thistle, and tallow.
I have both a 300 gal home built spray trailer and a 35 gal atv elec pump sprayer that I bought from tractor supply. Had a little old 4' wide scratch harrow that I didn't use and stripped it down to the frame and made a mount for the 35gal elec pump sprayer for using behind my small tractor when I didn't want to use the big sprayer. It's ugly as sin, but works. Takes 2 minutes to take the tank off the 4 wheeler and mount it on the 3 pt frame. Boomless nozzles like the link in the other post shows.
Thanks for the links guys. I have been using grazon the past 3 years and I think I am finally getting ahead of the horsenettle. I only see a couple in spots now. But I feel like I have destroyed my cool season grass and legumes in the process. The weeds I am seeing now I feel like 24d can handle. You are right CB, I am nervous backing off the chemical. I have submitted soil samples last week and will be applying lime or whatever my soil needs this month. I would like to plant rye, clover and oats this fall and try to drown out the goat weed next year. I know it will take time, but I plan on getting there. Any more suggestions are welcome, just trying to get less dependent on chemicals.
skyhightree1
Well-known member
gus2121":hhhbmt0r said:
Get some Goats
skyhightree1":7iwycjmn said:gus2121":7iwycjmn said:
Get some Goats
:lol: :lol:
I have a couple, they eat everything but what I want them to, wife just almost killed them when they took out her rose bushes.
skyhightree1
Well-known member
gus2121":3bf8qsi9 said:skyhightree1":3bf8qsi9 said:gus2121":3bf8qsi9 said:
Get some Goats
:lol: :lol:
I have a couple, they eat everything but what I want them to, wife just almost killed them when they took out her rose bushes.
;-)
Caustic Burno
Well-known member
gus2121":34weg7w3 said:
You have to remember you are a grass farmer first.
The seed bank is money in the bank, it took several years to get to my destination.
I have it down to winter friendly herbicides mentioned above.
Had eight or ten thistles come up on the whole place that were spot sprayed.
You will never get it where there is never an unwanted come up to many factors working against you.
This is pasture after the 2011 drought.
I fight this pasture harder than any of the others as the ditch on the county road drains into it.
Any seed that fell for a mile and half to the west drains into it.
One of the factors that I can never change.
That looks great CB! I am going to spray next week with 24d and then go back and spot spray whatever it doesn't kill. I hope I have not killed off my seed bank, the spots I missed with grazon last year have some good clover coming up.
Caustic Burno
Well-known member
gus2121":3pxselws said:
After I realized I was an idiot for using Grazon and planting and using it again and planting again.
This was the true definition of idiot. When I started educating myself on the products and the goals
I was after wow did the cost go down. Years ago I started hitting every forage workshop offered
figured if I retained 5% a class I was way ahead of where I was the day before.
It took me a couple years after going grazon free to reestablish my seed bank.
That is what I am starting to realize. When I bought my place from my neighbor, we split half of his hay field. I started spraying and fertilizing, trying to keep the good rye grass growing. I would be embarrassed to take a picture right now of the difference in the field from just 3 years. He has done nothing but cut hay off his, no fertilizer, nothing. Rye grass is about 3 foot tall right now and you can guess what mine looks like. Really got me rethinking what I was doing as it just got worse every year.
Caustic Burno
Well-known member
gus2121":18uy5oeh said:
Another thing I have discovered through the years is aeration and lime.
I aerate the pastures every year and lime according to ph I now have my pastures on
a three year rotation on fertilize.
The pasture I posted looks like crap right now as I couldn't aerate till this week due to being so wet
I usually do that one in February and lime as it gets so much hard water across it. The ditch that drains into it comes off a long iron ore hill, still too wet for the lime truck.
Caustic Burno
Well-known member
gus2121":3hwpwumn said:
I have two home made root rakes that I drag with a deep tine or shallow depending on compaction.
Do the pastures in a rotation. The pasture I got to drag in the winter is miles ahead of the others.
I am in a unique anomaly this year I have had wet years but nothing like this one.
Now I am using this on Bahia and Common Bermuda and it loves it I can't say how other varieties would
react.
This is the shallow one
Deep
Caustic Burno
Well-known member
I used a regular disc with the rows set straight for years got tired of cleaning it out.
Caustic Burno":1r8lnsbg said:
I bought a 10' disk this spring to break up the roping arena. Got a good deal on it. I have been nervous about putting it to pasture until recommendations from others. I was planning on broad casting the rye clover and oats and then disking them in slightly. The areas I will plant have lots of Bermuda and bahai. Is there a wrong time of year to disk? Will it bring back a lot unwanted weeds? Thanks
Caustic Burno
Well-known member
I like to start when my rye grass starts going to seed.gus2121":1kfx3ole said:
Have three out of four pastures that have clover and rye grass I do one a week and have seen my stand get
thicker each year. I try and lime after .
The pasture that gets all the run off doesn't grow clover well as it wants to be to acidic with all
the run off too wet for wheat does ok on rye grass.
I planted a test plot of Alamo switch grass as it supposed to really like wet feet.
If it works I will let it grow and leave standing as winter forage until grazed down.
http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_P ... b11189.pdf
Any time you disturb the surface you will expose more weed seeds. But other seeds too if they are hardy enough to sit for years without germinating. With any luck the grasses will be thick enough that the weeds won;t see daylight. But if that's the case neither will the seeds you broadcast.
