How To Maintain Switchgrass For Whitetails And Wildlife
Вставка
- Опубліковано 10 кві 2023
- While the steps for maintaining your switchgrass aren't difficult, they HAVE to be done or your switch grass will be taken over by weeds, shaded out, grow poorly or die. Here is how to effectively maintain your switchgrass...
- Навчання та стиль
I'm glad you finally see the glory of quinclorac! For everyone here, it is THE solution to foxtail. Switch is VERY resilient to Quinclorac. We tried everything, but this is the only thing that knocked it completely out like we needed.
The only bad thing is that if you double up on spray...or spray to early, you can easily kill it. To a general audience I hate to recommend it...been recommending to clients in person for years. On the channel tho it scares me as "more is better" for many hunters and you can easily kill your switch same with 2-4D.
@Whitetail Habitat Solutions yeahhh that sounds reasonable. It does hurt it pretty bad if it's too young. We haven't personally had any issues with doubling up, but we don't measure our dose very well either, so we could be light on it to begin with. You did right by it by cautioning about dosage etc, and it's the same with most things we do, so it's not your fault if ppl go berserk and dump straight chemicals all over :)
Just cut out a new plot and your videos have been huge help!
Nice Connor that's great to hear...happy for you!
Always knew about germination rate, but didn't know companies coated their seeds. Saw some for sale at tractor supply and 50% of the bag weigh was seed coating! Love your coaching Jeff. Plan to buy your switch this week.
Wow Bill...yes that's a bad one! 50%? Doesn't surprise me tho, unfortunately.
I really appreciate it...thank YOU !
Got back surgery so can't spray and ride my 4010 john deere till healed. Sure hope my back heals cuz I'm a dv and been sick 11 years now and want to get it back so I can have one good season physically to time everything I need to do on time in my heart and my
mind so my deer have groceries and I can harvest a big buck and doe for the wall and freezer.
Trust me guys if your health keeps you from getting out to do the farm chores with all the equipment you already possess and own to do this preparing and your health says you can't; its very depressing!!!
God bless all you fellow hunters out there who can and do this exercise of growing groceries properly to harvest a big buck and doe. Its just the greatest accomplishment out their.
Thanks for all your advice and coaching. Great videos, it really helps to know how to be successful and why, thankyou man!!! Good luck to all my fellow Americans getting your chores done and being a successful harvester!!!🦌
I have been disabled/back also 4+ years. God Bless you Brother for healing in Christ's name, Amen 🙏 .
Thanks Jeff! Just planted switch this weekend! I'm going to stay on top of those weeds for sure!
Good Isaac you will be rewarded for it!
Very helpful! Thanks Jeff. Hope you are getting some fishing in!
I've got some switch grass,20 years old this year. My wife and I took a master gardeners class at Purdue,and a guy in the class had some seed packets of some kinda prairie mix,so we threw out the seed in a little patch just for fun, and the only thing left over the years is that giant switchgrass! I didn't even know what kinda grass it was until I started watching your videos.
Now I have maybe an acre of 2 year old,and some that was frost seeded in February. O%hard seed, so I probably didn't need to get it out so soon. Anyways, I got simazine sprayed on all of it.
That's really cool Tim! Hopefully full of wildlife?
I have been waiting for this video. Thanks
would like hear process on how to plant switch into existing CRP
One thing I’ll add is to not drive over the switchgrass much during the establishment year. Made that mistake on one line of it, but where I didn’t drive on it much or at all it’s established much better.
Great outline for success Jeff! Have planted switch the last three years doing your method of proper weed control and have had great results. Doing one more section tomorrow as screening for access and a new kill plot location.
That's great to hear Mike! Happy for you...it's fun too 😊 Enjoy it all!
Getting a strong understanding switchgrass installation coming into year 4. Patience and persistence and it will explode!
So True Alex! It sure does and so rewarding when you can finally just let it go for a decade or more 😊
@@whitetailhabitatsolutions9751 I hope to have access to this farm for a decade! Such a fun proving grounds for when I get a piece.
Thanks Jeff, mowing sounds right I need switch next to house and I have pets so strong chems are out
You can make it work!
Can you please start showing these weeds that you talk about? Like doing a video showing the different types of weeds and which ones are the harder ones to kill, etc.
We can...but one thing that is important is that they are all bad, and all need to be killed. If mowing doesn't work, if Simazine doesn't work...then you need to escalate to Quincloric.
I've maintained switchgrass that I've planted going back to 12 years now. I've burned and mowed all the different spots over the years I always have had the best luck with burning. The following growing seasons always seem to be the best after a burn. I guess couldve been a coincidence?
Do you expect this warm spell hitting the Midwest, specifically southern WI, to cause frost seeded switch to germinate earlier? Should I be spraying glyphosate and 2,4-D now before next week’s forecasted rain or is there still plenty of time before germination?
Can you do a video on how long we should fence off trees like crab apple/ apple and tips on pruning trees?
Hi Jeff so I just burned off an older switchgrass seeding. A couple days ago. Just wondering if I can spray that with simazine to kill of some unwanted cool season grass. Or can I spray Roundup at first green up to kill the cool season grass that's creeping in ..?
Quick question Jeff, will simazine help with golden rod that grew in with my switch last year (3 foot switch, 1 growing season) if I go and spray it here in March while everything is still dormant?
What kind of sprayer do you use for food plots? Thankyou
Out enjoying a turkey hunt this morning
Nice Drew I'm jealous!
Hi Jeff, how low can you mow if the first year switch about a foot tall? Limited with height of current equipment of about 4.5".
Our mistakes is the best teacher I’ve learned that the hard way, I have this 33 acre parcel it’s majority field and the border is open woods, I have a easy to read satellite map to show, but my property is a pass through parcel, I’m overwhelmed on what to try to do to shift his fall pattern into my favor, a nice potential shooter too
My hunting spot by my house is a pass through also. The deer would come across my property in the morning or evening but they where always in a hurry, it seemed. I planted switchgrass in May 2021 to screen view up to the house and planted some small food plots just to slow them down. Now I've had deer down there hanging around in daytime instead of cruising past early or late. And turkeys.
Hey Jeff, thanks for the video. I'm in central MN and planted switch last year with little to no germination. Hoping they were dormant and will germ this spring. We are just loosing snow cover and I'm planning on spraying simazine this week or next, is it still advisable to spray 24d/gly 3 weeks after green-up or is that too risky with the young switch if it germs or do you think with our weather the germination will be pushed back to end of may/early june? Thanks for your time!
Hi Wrch the Simazine will be great, but you never want to spray 2-4D and Gly on 2nd year switch or older as it will kill it.
Thanks for the break down on a yearly perspective. I am on year two with minor weeds and trimming down weeds to switch height worked great on my first year switch. Is there any benefit to fertilizing switch? Increased height?
Hi Russell that is great to hear! If light green instead of a deep green...100#s of 46-0-0 but that's it ..
Hey Jeff, great content as always! I am starting my habitat journey in the winter of 2023/2024. I am going to do some prairie pockets associated with switch of big Blue, little blue and maybe some others. Will these step work just as well on those pockets? I would think so, as you have stated grass is grass. haha Thoughts?
Hi Daniel...if you are down in MO....southern IL, Southern IN and South those grasses can work. However if north of that line those grasses all fall down during the Fall and winter because of snow. Even switch has it's limits. If the cover falls down, that means no deer cover, and no cover for small game species including rabbits and pheasants. That's why solid switch is the only way to go for screening and escape cover. Even in bedding areas you want solid switch pockets...then browse growth around those pockets.
@@whitetailhabitatsolutions9751 I agree 100%. I tried many programs in the area for cost share, but no one would allow for the high volume of switch we are going for. So I took your advice and just paying for it out of my own pocket. I am just thinking of good pheasant habitat for all seasons. My plan is to do a mix of like 25% switch, 25% BB, 25% LB, 25% other and then have solid switch pockets and other solid regen pockets. Going for max diversity on our 10 acres. Might be too ambitious on such a small parcel..
2nd full growing season, spring Simazine, mow once in June/July, spray 24D if needed… Sound right? Just don’t want to kill it, first timer here
Spring Simazine before Spring green up. Then mow when weeds and switch are about 10 to 12" high. And I typically do not recommend 2-4D as you can easily kill young switch and injure old switch. I know this from personal experience!
Will it help to use a weedwacker on the foxtail for 1st and 2nd year switchgrass?
Hi Aaron! A brush hog is better! But a weed whip would work if taking it down to the top of the switch
Jeff, just purchased my 2nd bag of Northern switch from WHS. We are having a rapid warm up with temps sustained in the 80's for several days. I was able to get some Simazine down but it is too early for Gly/2-4-d. Could the switch start germinating with this sustained warmup?
Hi Brad! You are very safe to wait for weeds to get 10" high and then spray. The soil temp has to reach roughly 58 degrees and have plenty of moisture.
One reason why my favorite method is to wait to broadcast the seed after a 2nd spraying of 2-4D and Gly. You should be good tho as long as the local weed base isn't too tall 👍
Also...thanks a lot for trying our seed it means a lot to me!
@Whitetail Habitat Solutions Thanks for the reply and info. I am going to wait to broadcast the seed I just ordered. I am most concerned about what I frost seeded in November. Our 4 inch soil maps are showing 53 degrees with several more days in the 80s until it cools down again. No rain though, so that may be the ticket. Keep the videos coming!
To help feed deer in Northern MN/WI, any pro/cons to keeping some hay bails around and breaking them up throughout the long winter months?
I think that they attract and concentrate predators to deer may be the biggest plus or minor on the list.
I thought about that this winter
Some people tell me I should keep bushes on my property when I plant switchgrass because I don’t have much more diversity. How could I do that without kill the bushes but killing the weeds?
You want to plant the switch in blocks, around groups or clusters of shrubs if you have them you spray everything in the areas you want the switch, and then you don't spray the shrubs. It doesn't create any kind of problem, because you don't want any shrubs actually growing in your switch
What setting do you use on the earth way when planting your switch?
Right around 1.5...or slightly under 1.5.
When you mow your 2nd year switch, let's say for the second time of the year. What height off the ground are you mowing it to? 3"??
Hi Ryan! I would mow when weeds are around 10 to 12" the first time and then around the same the 2nd and 4rd if needed. That puts me around early May for my first mowing this year where needed
@Whitetail Habitat Solutions thanks for that info but when finished mowing what height are you left with? I don't want to mow too far down and kill my switch.
@@whitetailhabitatsolutions9751 Jeff, what height is mower set at 3-4 inches or to the height of the switch...?
Can switch take off and grow in a stubble corn field or should the field be disc up first.
It sure can! Do not disc as it will raise more weed concerns. A corn stubble field can be perfect for beginning the switchgrass process...
I received my switchgrass from northern whitetails about a month ago should I plant when the soil warms up or wait until the fall.
Spring green up. When spraying simazine, is there still frost in the ground? Or is it typically melted by then?
Hi Naomi! Sometimes frost IN the ground but no ice or snow ON the ground. I hope that makes sense for you? We just sprayed Simazine in the last week down our way...
Ok sweet, Thank you!!! Makes complete sense. We went from 2’ of snow to a field in three days! Thank you Jesus! Rock and Roll WHS crew
Might be a dumb question… But have you ever just pulled the weeds instead of spraying?
I couldn't afford a crew big enough to do so...AND they would still always come back. I would estimate I would need a crew of 5-10 people, full time for roughly 6 months.
Been wanting to spray my Switch with Gly but it looks like my Switch is up already here in Northern Indiana. Can that happen this early
Hi Ronald...it is REALLY early for your area. I would have my doubts it is switch, but a good guide are the local farm fields. If the corn is popping in the area then it is possible.
@@whitetailhabitatsolutions9751 It is switch. I went and checked my other spots and it's switch. About 2 inches tall.
First
I think so Kurt!
How do I buy youre seed
Hi Daniel the link is always in the description...but here is a short cut 😊 Thanks for checking us out!
www.whswildlifeblends.com/store
@@whitetailhabitatsolutions9751 what is the best rye to plant in nh. I need 1/2 acre of coverage
You talk a lot about chemicals, how do I spray buckwheat without killing my switch, or vice versa
Since they are so close together
Be careful on those edges. I have a 2 nozzle boom and wander sprayer and run the edge between plots and switch with the wand.
One thing I do is never use boomless sprayers! Don't know if that helps? I also leave about a 1 foot buffer between crops...
Your switch grass upkeep is just waaaaay to hard to follow. I won't be able to enroll a university research team to plant some switch. How about a simpler method.
That's what it takes...just have to follow the directions 😊 Employ a 3rd grade class? 😁
Or ..much easier:
1. Buy seed. Broadcast. Practice no weed control. Fail.
2. Repeat often.
3. Buy your seed from us 🤣