Switch grass in 2018.....

[Tap]

Thx Tap how big is your “small patch”? I have a 10 acre switch field going in right on the border of my property that will only add to the draw on this field.

The original planting was about 1/3 of an acre and a couple years ago, I doubled the size. Its now a kinds of an abstract U shape. The longest point is about 80 yards and the widest ipoint is about 25 yards. The one leg of the U also has a strip of speckled alder planted in it. Its a periodically wet strip going down the slope. I planted it, and the rest of my switch, mostly to reduce erosion. Even those small, narrow strips hold bedded deer almost every day. And they hold tight. I can be walking around spot spraying the plot or shaking pears off the trees and the deer don't bolt and are often 10 yards away.

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[Tap]

Thx Tap how big is your “small patch”? I have a 10 acre switch field going in right on the border of my property that will only add to the draw on this field.

I attended a seminar by Don Higgins at the Ohio show. Ask Don what switchgrass has done for the quality of hunting on his place. I wish I had room for more.

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[ksgobbler]

Ive got a strip that is 50 yards wide and 100 yds long I want to put into switch both as a visual screen and bedding. How long does it take to establish?

Also the same size strip along the road as a screen.

 

[Tap]

Ive got a strip that is 50 yards wide and 100 yds long I want to put into switch both as a visual screen and bedding. How long does it take to establish?

Also the same size strip along the road as a screen.

Mine was pretty nice in the 2nd year and was fully developed in year 3.
My site had good soil and nice moisture...zone 6. Not sure how fast it would develop in other situations.

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[ksgobbler]

Im in zone 6 with kenoma silty loam soil.

 

[Tap]

Im in zone 6 with kenoma silty loam soil.

Are you in Kansas? If so, totally different climate than here in SW Pa.

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[ksgobbler]

Yes. My plan was frost seed the bare dirt stuff. Then do an early burn like feb or early march on my other 2 plots. Cool season will be the first grasses in and hit them with round up. Seed onto the dirt in March.

 

[JFK52]

I hired a company that does prairie installations for my 12 acre restoration. They use a special planter that uses air pressure on the seed container tub to plant the prairie seeds. Some of the forb seeds are miniscule and would not plant properly with a regular seed planter. This worked for the five grass seeds I planted also. It is a very shallow planting and for the first two years you will see very little above ground growth. The prairie seeds are putting down their roots to survive.
My prairie looked like a fallow weed field the first two years after a fall planting. I mowed it three or more times each year and left the brush hog set a little higher than normal. I was beginning to think that I had wasted a LOT of money on my prairie. Then in the third season it was miracle of Mother Nature. The grasses came in thick, and the forbs bloomed like crazy. That was 25 years ago and my 12 acre prairie restoration is one of the proudest accomplishments I did on land.
My point is plant the seed right the first go round and then have the patience to let the prairie seeds establish themselves.

 

[ksgobbler]

You can rent a native grass drill from nrcs. I got one brought to me from the state for free.

 

[scott44]

In 2012 I planted this switch screen on our north fence line, for the first 2-3 years I thought I had failed but year 4 it really came on, This was sprayed the summer/fall before and frost seeded that winter with no other spraying after the initial prepping. It will work without much input but it takes time.

2013 you can see some switch.

2014 a little more switch with an e-wheat strip through it.

Last fall, that's my quad parked in the pic along with 5' tree tubes.

 

[chucker66]

I'm thinking about planting 2 stands of switch grass that would be in low lying areas around 2 ponds I have. Right now it's full of orchard grass that I want to kill that off becasue it just lays down after the snow flies. Each would only be about 1 acre. How does CIR do in these type of areas?

Thanks

Chuck

 

[Bill]

Rit,
Is this the second summer for the switch to grow or is it in its third summer now?

 

[Tap]

I'm thinking about planting 2 stands of switch grass that would be in low lying areas around 2 ponds I have. Right now it's full of orchard grass that I want to kill that off becasue it just lays down after the snow flies. Each would only be about 1 acre. How does CIR do in these type of areas?

Thanks

Chuck

I'm pretty small scale with switch growing so take this for what its worth...
My mix does well in seasonally wet areas but the areas are not perpetually wet.

Ernst Seed is a great resource.
They sell tons of varieties of mostly native plants for many applications. Ernst is also great for advice and planning help.
I highly recommend Ernst.

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[chucker66]

I did a search for seed and Ernst was the first one and $8 a pound for CIR was about the lowest I saw. Thanks for the advice.

Chuck

 

[ksgobbler]

Ill be ordering from our local elevator

 

[Rit]

Rit,
Is this the second summer for the switch to grow or is it in its third summer now?

First year. I’ll get a picture today if I have time.

 

[Bill]

First year. I’ll get a picture today if I have time.

It takes 3 years to know if it's a failure. 3 growing summers that is. I wouldn't write it off just yet. Simazine 2 Qts/acres in the spring where you want the switch to stay and you may be amazed how much is actually there. I did 10 acres of Don Higgins switch and swore it was a failure. 3rd spring I sprayed as last stitch attempt at establishing it. It went gangbusters and has ever since.

 

[homegrownbucks]

I attended a seminar by Don Higgins at the Ohio show. Ask Don what switchgrass has done for the quality of hunting on his place. I wish I had room for more.

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Curious what he said to this. It seems like it’s the ticket in his area, lower cover ag I believe. Hasn’t made as big of a difference as I’d hoped on our land which is hilly and 50/50 ag/Woods.

 

[Rit]

I did a search for seed and Ernst was the first one and $8 a pound for CIR was about the lowest I saw. Thanks for the advice.

Chuck

I am guessing that the $8 per pound is for bulk seed and not PLS. Kanlow is running around $17/lb for PLS and their website states $8 but doesn’t say that it’s PLS or bulk seed.

 

[Rit]

It takes 3 years to know if it's a failure. 3 growing summers that is. I wouldn't write it off just yet. Simazine 2 Qts/acres in the spring where you want the switch to stay and you may be amazed how much is actually there. I did 10 acres of Don Higgins switch and swore it was a failure. 3rd spring I sprayed as last stitch attempt at establishing it. It went gangbusters and has ever since.

Did you mow first? I have sections that look okay then I have sections that are dominated by weeds.