Narrow power line near road.....what to do?

[CAS_HNTR]

We have a narrow power line that the power company came though to replace the poles and actually dozed/smoothed more than before.

It's only about 10 yards wide and in the middle of tall trees (as you can see)......I want to so something with it but don't know what.


I want to plant switchgrass actually.....but not sure about he sunlight. The line is orientated north and south, so it does get some...but not much.

Any taller shade tollerant grasses?

Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using Tapatalk

 

[mglenn005]

I would say your best bet is a clover. Not necessarily cover that you seek, but lack of sun is gonna be an issue.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[MickT]

Wild rye?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[cavey]

I dont think switch will work well for you there either, looks like they came in with a helicopter with one of those giant dangling saws... I would shoot clover in there as well, winter rye maybe to start with this year not sure when the latest you can get that to germinate this year. 10 yards is pretty tight... how brave are you with a chain saw, you could drop a few trees to open things up or even keep it as a food plot corridor and open up some wider pockets along the lines path.

 

[j-bird]

I'm thinking food plot of either clover or some fall cereal grains.... Clover is the best thing I have seen grow in low sunlight conditions. May be worth while just letting mother nature do her thing in allowing it to regen for a few years as the deer will enjoy the browse. You can then strip mow or the like every few years or the like. Woody vegetation is typically a no-no in these locations and the power company will come in with a mulcher or spray and kill everything....thus why mowing on occasion to help control the woody plants.

 

[CAS_HNTR]

I don't really want to attract deer there in a visible sort of way as it's easy to see from the road......really prefer it to be a screen of sorts, but that lack of sun has me perplexed.

 

[wiscwhip]

Someone mentioned wildrye. A combination of Canada wildrye and indiangrass might be shade tolerant enough to make it in that small opening. I would not use Virginia wildrye, as it is less tolerant of adverse soil conditions and is less drought tolerant than Canada wildrye. In conditions like those in the photo, I would think they would both be on the shorter end of their growth habit due to the limited sunlight, which would put them at about 3' to 4' tall.

 

[cavey]

You may want to see if they applied any herbicides with carry over on that stretch - or just mechanically cleared it. Any chemical carry over may inhibit what you want to plant. Since you want a screen there more than anything, but have a spot that may be cleared or sprayed - which it looks like they would just brush it out every few years (not sure thats a spot they would spray) - woody shrubs or bushes that stay shorter such as osiers came to mind. They may get browsed down though so you might have to pick a few spots to cage a handful of plants across the line. Your power company may tell you what they would tolerate being there. Either way osiers tolerate being cut back well in fact it helps them stay attractive to wildlife. They are pretty much free to obtain and easy to grow.
I might even suggest giant miscanthus rhizomes, you could pick a half dozen high points along the line and knock back some of the trees and brush out those spots to let in a bit more light. Plant them across those spots as a block. My guess is if they sprayed they did it for broadleaf and woody plants and not grasses. Just concentrate on those spots as visual blocks and let the rest just weed up. Im not sure how shade tolerant egyptian wheat is but that might be an option too. It depends on how it all works into your land plan.

Their clearing of the strip just seemed to me as an opportunity for a long strip food plot and that they left you with something easy to work with and did most of the hard part in clearing it. Plant in the ends with EW as a screen do the same for a couple high spots and toss in clover along the open stretches and see how it goes for a couple years. Get a handful as spots going with shrubs - it takes years to get them up to size anyways so you might as well start them now and go from there. I can see where your scratching your head with a bunch of thoughts on what to do here. good luck

 

[CAS_HNTR]

I'll keep adding difficulty to this one.....the road surrounds the power line!!

You can see in this aerial that the poweline us north-south but also located in a sharp bend in the road......hence my reason why food is not ideal here.

Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using Tapatalk

 

[mglenn005]

I'll keep adding difficulty to this one.....the road surrounds the power line!!

You can see in this aerial that the poweline us north-south but also located in a sharp bend in the road......hence my reason why food is not ideal here.View attachment 21505

Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using Tapatalk

At this point, you should contact someone that deals with native grasses for a perennial solution. Maybe Pure Air Natives could help you out.


For an annual solution, plant 20yds Egyptian wheat on the ends with clover in the center.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[TreeDaddy]

^^^^^^^Sorghum x sudan is another annual solution that has worked well for me

bill

 

[bueller]

That's not only narrow but it's lined with tall trees on both sides. Very little sun is going to reach the ground in there, less and less each year until they trim the trees again. If it were me I'd plant a strip of clover in the center and fast growing trees, shrubs, and/or MG on the outside edges to block the view in from the road.