Giant Ragweed?
- Thread starter Catscratch
- Start date
Tree Spud
5 year old buck +
I'm with Nova ^^^
Extremely invasive ... I have two 5-8 acre areas that it took over. It spread like crazy. The areas became monotypes as the ragweed grew 10'-12' tall, stem density was a stem every 2"-3" and the canopy effect allowed no light what so ever to reach the ground. The only animal sign I ever saw was an occasional deer trail winding through, no bedding at all.
The only way it could be cut was with a large brush hog mower, stalks were tougher than corn stalks and would puncture atv tires. The stalks also would get jammed in under carriage. Gly would knock it back if you could hit it early, but the seed bed was so large that it would rebound very quickly. Seed dispersal was crazy as it popped up everywhere.
I don't have allergies but the pollen would drive my eyes nuts with irritation.
I would rather add bush honeysuckle than ever consider giant ragweed ... other than the above, I am okay with it
Extremely invasive ... I have two 5-8 acre areas that it took over. It spread like crazy. The areas became monotypes as the ragweed grew 10'-12' tall, stem density was a stem every 2"-3" and the canopy effect allowed no light what so ever to reach the ground. The only animal sign I ever saw was an occasional deer trail winding through, no bedding at all.
The only way it could be cut was with a large brush hog mower, stalks were tougher than corn stalks and would puncture atv tires. The stalks also would get jammed in under carriage. Gly would knock it back if you could hit it early, but the seed bed was so large that it would rebound very quickly. Seed dispersal was crazy as it popped up everywhere.
I don't have allergies but the pollen would drive my eyes nuts with irritation.
I would rather add bush honeysuckle than ever consider giant ragweed ... other than the above, I am okay with it
TreeDaddy
5 year old buck +
I'm with Nova ^^^
Extremely invasive ... I have two 5-8 acre areas that it took over. It spread like crazy. The areas became monotypes as the ragweed grew 10'-12' tall, stem density was a stem every 2"-3" and the canopy effect allowed no light what so ever to reach the ground. The only animal sign I ever saw was an occasional deer trail winding through, no bedding at all.
The only way it could be cut was with a large brush hog mower, stalks were tougher than corn stalks and would puncture atv tires. The stalks also would get jammed in under carriage. Gly would knock it back if you could hit it early, but the seed bed was so large that it would rebound very quickly. Seed dispersal was crazy as it popped up everywhere.
I don't have allergies but the pollen would drive my eyes nuts with irritation.
I would rather add bush honeysuckle than ever consider giant ragweed ... other than the above, I am okay with it
Ditto this^^^^^^
i can't imagine propagating this stuff
bill
Took me a little search to find this article I read a few years ago-
https://thecontraryfarmer.wordpress.com/2008/09/09/the-irony-of-giant-ragweed/
Two side notes- the late Gene Logsdon was an interesting guy, always on the forefront of sustainability in agriculture, and I’ve seen references of Native Americans cultivating GR in lots of journals.
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https://thecontraryfarmer.wordpress.com/2008/09/09/the-irony-of-giant-ragweed/
Two side notes- the late Gene Logsdon was an interesting guy, always on the forefront of sustainability in agriculture, and I’ve seen references of Native Americans cultivating GR in lots of journals.
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Catscratch
5 year old buck +
KDid, I had actually read that exact article before starting this thread (thanks for posting it). 47% digestible crude protein sure grabbed my attention!
I may have an advantage some of you don't with control measures in that I can put a herd of cattle on it and have it grazed down to nothing in no time. With that said I certainly don't want to introduce a gly resistant seed to the area. I'm pretty certain I'll strip disc some spots this spring and see if any comes up. If not then I'll check a couple of creek bottoms in the fall for seed to propagate local genetics. I love quail and want them just as bad as I do deer. I see it as a win win if I can get it started on upland pasture... AND control it. Some of you guys have me scared though so caution is in order! Thanks for the comments!
Last July I mowed down some GR (here in Northern Indiana we always called it horseweed) and left it about 1-2 feet tall. At that time the stuff I didn’t mow was about 5-7 feet tall, and getting rank. The mowed strip responded with a ton of new growth at deer level, and that became the most utilized food plot on the farm until September. I watched night after night as deer that bedded in my sister’s weedy soybeans got up, wandered across my white clover fire lanes, and beelined to the GR. Do I want it all over my place? No, obviously. But as a previous poster commented left alone it will canopy and shade out some competition. I’m strip discing a spot that has been full of canada thistle, to see if GR competition will discourage that stuff from spreading. From the evidence that I saw last year, it could help.
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