Winter Disk or Spray in the Spring?

[Thomasc19]

Hi all,

I have an orchard that I would like to have clover growing in instead of grass that is currently being mowed

What do you think should be my next step?

1 - Rototill the ground now and frost seed clover and chicory in the March

2 - Wait until August to spray, then plant rye and wheat in September and frost seed in March 2025, then crimp the rye and wheat when it matures - I'm a little worried about spraying close to my trees

3 - Rototill the ground now and let nature take it's course with natural regeneration

4 - Something else

Below is a picture of the orchard in August of this year

Thanks!

 

[Telemark]

Don't rototill in an orchard. You can spray the grass with gly before the trees leaf out.

 

[Telemark]

Ah, I see it is a newly planted orchard. You could probably get away with tilling or disking part of it as long as you kept away from the trees. That still leaves you with patches of grass around the trees that need to be spot sprayed.

 

[bigboreblr]

I have 2 year old antonovka trees in my nursery. End of 2022, they got nibbled up by rabbits when the fence fell down. 2023 I grafted kerr onto the pinky sized trees. Dug up some trees in the nursery. I had significant roots 4 to 6 feet away about an inch or two down.

Could be wrong, but I am looking at a peach tree? They do not get too big.

Tall grasses compete for water. Legumes attract voles. Are you dealing with any vole or rabbit damage?

You can get away with spraying for now, but you might want to get a hood for your sprayer soon. Prevents herbicide drift.

Tall grasses nenar your trees is going to attract animals that damage your trees. How often can you go there and mow?

Most of us put trees in to be able to hunt over them. You could put limited rows of no-till items. Even running a lawn roller will put some damage / stress to the root systems once established well.

Clover if you can get away wth it, maybe some rye in the fall, maybe put some oats and roll them in for now. Clethodim can be sprayed just fine to control grass.

 

[RGrizzzz]

Perennial clover usually does best when fall planted.