Foggy's Deertopia Proving Grounds - Happenings
- Thread starter Foggy47
- Start date
SD51555
5 year old buck +
Sun hemp summary from Grok:
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Bill
Administrator
I'm voting for you Foggy. Peel back one of the blades and look for those hairs.
Checkout the pic here.
blogs.cornell.edu
Checkout the pic here.
Switchgrass | Cornell Weed Identification
blogs.cornell.edu
Badgers80
5 year old buck +
You and me are both going through it with first year switch, foggy. I frost seeded it this past winter, and I’m not feeling too great about it now.
One way to ID it is to roll the stem back and forth between two fingers. If it’s nice and round all around like a toothpick or pencil, it’s likely switch. If it feels more flat on two sides, I believe that’s foxtail.
One more thing too, switch won’t have shoots off the bottom of the plant in a 45 degree angle like your plant does.
One way to ID it is to roll the stem back and forth between two fingers. If it’s nice and round all around like a toothpick or pencil, it’s likely switch. If it feels more flat on two sides, I believe that’s foxtail.
One more thing too, switch won’t have shoots off the bottom of the plant in a 45 degree angle like your plant does.
Foggy47
5 year old buck +
That pic I last posted above is NOT switch. I've got about every other kind of grass growing where there should be switch. I get tempted to nuke it all and plant brassica.....but I am not going there. Took some pics today....and I got heavy grasses coming in to the area I planted switch (green grass on the left in this pic below). Not sure how it can compete in there. Other areas (such as directly in front of the pic here are just a light thatch.....and no switch (this is meant to be a "trail crossing" of the switch). I drilled the switch over a month ago.....and had a variety of situations from bare dirt to rye thatch to prairie sod and more. Nadda.
Considering nuking a portion of the ground I planted to switch in order to plant some brassica for fall. Looks like I just screwed another year away with my plans. Been trying to come up with a plan to get rid of much of the work. grrrrrrr. I could post more pics of failed areas....but what is the point? Lots of time and money spent on what appears to be a failed attempt. Pretty disgusted.
Considering nuking a portion of the ground I planted to switch in order to plant some brassica for fall. Looks like I just screwed another year away with my plans. Been trying to come up with a plan to get rid of much of the work. grrrrrrr. I could post more pics of failed areas....but what is the point? Lots of time and money spent on what appears to be a failed attempt. Pretty disgusted.
Brian662
5 year old buck +
Don't give up Foggy, its way too soon.
Regardless of what you see a month into the project, it was a 2-3 year endeavor regardless, so let's take a deep breath and focus on the long term.
To me it looks like the most recent picture is a mat of foxtail. I've had switchgrass come through on a rank stand of foxtail like that. When the foxtail gets 12-15" tall mow it back to 8". Don't worry about the foxtail seed head, your focus is keeping sun on the switchgrass seedlings which will eventually come. What I expect is after 1-2 mowings the foxtail will set seed and the switchgrass in late August to mid September will grow another 6-12" and expose itself. Then next year about early to mid June you dust the foxtail with Quinclorac and MSO and you'll have a clean stand of switch which is ready to thicken up. My best guess (assuming the seed wasn't buried too deep, which I doubt), is that you had poor germination similar to your rag test, missed with less than perfect seed bed so instead of seeing your year 1 success with a great year 2 stand...you will see year 2 success with a great year 3 stand.
I'm asking you to please exercise patience, it WILL come, give it at least two growing seasons.
Regardless of what you see a month into the project, it was a 2-3 year endeavor regardless, so let's take a deep breath and focus on the long term.
To me it looks like the most recent picture is a mat of foxtail. I've had switchgrass come through on a rank stand of foxtail like that. When the foxtail gets 12-15" tall mow it back to 8". Don't worry about the foxtail seed head, your focus is keeping sun on the switchgrass seedlings which will eventually come. What I expect is after 1-2 mowings the foxtail will set seed and the switchgrass in late August to mid September will grow another 6-12" and expose itself. Then next year about early to mid June you dust the foxtail with Quinclorac and MSO and you'll have a clean stand of switch which is ready to thicken up. My best guess (assuming the seed wasn't buried too deep, which I doubt), is that you had poor germination similar to your rag test, missed with less than perfect seed bed so instead of seeing your year 1 success with a great year 2 stand...you will see year 2 success with a great year 3 stand.
I'm asking you to please exercise patience, it WILL come, give it at least two growing seasons.
Foggy47
5 year old buck +
Thank you both!!!.....I've been thinking I should kick this effort to the curb. I'm gonna stick it out. The thing is.....it's not what others have said they got out of their efforts in the first year....and I did take allot of time to do this correctly. Strange stuff for sure.
Part of my issue is....that we are a step or two from independent living / assisted living going forward. My wife has not done too well over the past few years....and we need to simpliy our lives now. I'm trying to get my land in shape to leave more acres as long term cover....and less food plots for my family to maintain. Nobody lives near here.....and I am not certain we are going to stay in the area either. Lots of balls in the air right now. This has just provided allot of uncertainty and angst for me. Likely not that important in the big picture.....but I got allot of similar pieces in my puzzle to solve in a short time. Most are more important than this one. .......but you know how it is.
Anyway....thanks for some opinions on what to do. Doing nothing is a good answer. Lots of disappointment in my land this year.....and a few bright spots too.
Part of my issue is....that we are a step or two from independent living / assisted living going forward. My wife has not done too well over the past few years....and we need to simpliy our lives now. I'm trying to get my land in shape to leave more acres as long term cover....and less food plots for my family to maintain. Nobody lives near here.....and I am not certain we are going to stay in the area either. Lots of balls in the air right now. This has just provided allot of uncertainty and angst for me. Likely not that important in the big picture.....but I got allot of similar pieces in my puzzle to solve in a short time. Most are more important than this one. .......but you know how it is.
Anyway....thanks for some opinions on what to do. Doing nothing is a good answer. Lots of disappointment in my land this year.....and a few bright spots too.
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Foggy47
5 year old buck +
Move the new Banks Stump 4 today with my tractor and loader. Steps were a pistol to place by myself....but I got 'er done. Decided to invest in some good storm anchors as this stand is a bit vulnerable to windstorms. Used my impact tool to drill 4 anchors at the corners. Used a short length of chain and turnbuckles. Lag screws into the corner posts. Should stay put. (not sure why my pics are so fuzzy)
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Foggy47
5 year old buck +
Yep....I think that is a good plan for you.....and I have considered it here too. I'm going to let this switch idea run it's course tho. I just do not have the ability to do more annual plantings for screens and such going forward. Not sure I will be living here in another year....or where life is going to lead me. Things are changing for us.....and I need to spend less time on my land (annual crops) and do more perennial plantings for low maintainance. I'd like to do a number of things here....but it's no longer in my plans / dreams. It is what it is.I still think we gotta try drilling in some sun hemp. You don’t have to wait to see if that’s gonna go. Mine has been *on the ground for three weeks and it’s 7” tall.
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That stand pictured above overlooks a power line easement....with some good pockets of bedding. I've wanted a stand here for a long time. I nuked and then drilled switchgrass into lanes through the areas shown.....in an effort to make bedding "compartments" for more deer and provide more screening. The deer do like to bed in this area. Also there is a large tamarack swamp on the far side of the power line.....and it holds allot of wildlife. I get allot of deer and bears that come from that area in the evenings or travel back there in the morning. I have over 400 yards of shooting potential here.....so it will take a good rifle to watch over this area. It's somewhat counter to my "hunt the woods" philosophy of recent times....but what the hey.
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SD51555
5 year old buck +
I hear ya. One option to consider is just letting it go wild and do some select mowing once a year to knock down whatever you don’t like in it. If it’s just cover your after, nature will certainly provide.
That would free you from excessive chores trying to steer it to a specific outcome. All of my cover work has just been knocking out the canopy and letting it restart on its own, and whatever that will be. I haven’t taken an updated pic of my 2023 cut yet, but that has come in bigly this year. It’s full of trails for deer to go any direction. It’ll be 6-10’ tall, and so damn thick you’d lose a cow 20’ away from you.
I do spend some time whacking out the balsam poplar where I find them, but I can do that bare handed and in minutes.
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That would free you from excessive chores trying to steer it to a specific outcome. All of my cover work has just been knocking out the canopy and letting it restart on its own, and whatever that will be. I haven’t taken an updated pic of my 2023 cut yet, but that has come in bigly this year. It’s full of trails for deer to go any direction. It’ll be 6-10’ tall, and so damn thick you’d lose a cow 20’ away from you.
I do spend some time whacking out the balsam poplar where I find them, but I can do that bare handed and in minutes.
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Foggy47
5 year old buck +
If I can keep about 10 acres of winding food plots (and now switchgrass) from becoming all timberland....that is my goal. I plan to keep about 5 acres in clover / maybe some brassica from time to time.....and another 5 in switch and shrubs. I do not want to let it get so "overgrown" in timber that it becomes difficult to hunt ......as it was when I bought it. At that time it was all pines......and little food was available. Now I have a diverse mix of oaks and hardwoods and pines / fir......and lots of hazel and brushland. I know it will change again in time......but I'm trying to reduce the work and keep enough open for food plots and habitat work.
GMan5465
5 year old buck +
Fire can play a role here. It will set back your specific areas and not let it progress into timberland. If you can maintain a few firebreaks by mowing, the burning gets easier. There’s a group in your area putting together a prescribed burn association. We have a burn trailer that has gas powered water pumps, ATV water pumps, backpack sprayers, hand tools, etc. to do the burn right. I have been involved in 3 burns including my own property where we burned roughly 20 acres in four different parts of the property. It set back my hazels. It’s a volunteer group that assists landowners in burns. Let me know if you are interested in learning more.
