Ground prep for sorghum screen

[Woodstick]

I'm going to plant strips of sorghum for a screen around an established clover plot. I've read that no till is best for weed control and moisture preservation in sorghum. I don't have a drill. I do have a pto tiller, disc, harrows, brushhog, roller, and a tank sprayer. Would a light tillage, broadcast, drag, then cultipack work? Should I broadcast and disc? What about sow into sprayed clover, then brushog? I've never grown sorghum before.

 

[Jordan Selsor]

I'm no expert but a big fan of sorghum screens. Skipped them this past season due to time limitations and regretted it!
It's grows great in my mediocre rocky soil. I disk lightly and seed heavy. The stuff grows so aggressively I never had much trouble with weeds..
Plan to do it again this yr with some corn mixed in.

I like your idea of seeding into clover plot then mowing. Bet it works well for you! May have to try it myself!

 

[scott44]

Not sure what you have to burn down, two years ago I sprayed and rolled after broadcasting the seed into waist high grass and it worked fine so last year I wanted to try it again but didn't have the enough thatch to cover the seed so I lightly disced it and had good results. If you go with the throw/roll just be patient with it, it might not look like much for awhile but it will turn out OK in the end.

 

[willy]

Like Jordan, I am a fan of forage sorghum for a screen. However I mixed mine this year with sun hemp and it made a huge difference in how long it stands erect. What I planted this year is still standing upright whereby in the past years whereby the other years I planted forage sorghum only it bent over after freezing rain and/or snow. I have had both this year and they were not fazed. The sun hemp keeps it standing.

My soil prep was as Jordan did.

Here are some pics. My Dad is standing in front of the strip that is 15 to 18' wide. He is 5'10" and I am standing a bit downhill taking the photo. The other viewpoint is from the blind it screens off. Those are soybeans over seeded with rye.
The area that looks like it has fallen down is what I chopped off or broke off approx. 4-5 above the ground for a shooting lane.

 

[Woodstick]

It was covered in multifloral rose and autumn olive for about 20 years. There are daisys that come up in the summer. I'm not opposed to tilling, but am afraid it will stir up more seed than I want to see sprout.I could till and wait for the junk to sprout then spray before seeding.

 

[scott44]

Here's some pics of the 2 ways I've planted sorghum with the same results.

2 years ago I broadcast my mix into the waist high grasses and then rolled and sprayed it.





How it turned out.



What I worked with this spring, lightly disced it broadcast seed and lightly disced it in.

 

[Bowsnbucks]

Scott - Is there something else planted in with your sorghum / sun hemp ?? Just wondering. Can't tell from pic. ^^^^

 

[scott44]

Scott - Is there something else planted in with your sorghum / sun hemp ?? Just wondering. Can't tell from pic. ^^^^

It's a mix of e-wheat, milo (grain sorghum) a couple different types of millet, hairy vetch, soybeans, rye, oats. I am going to try and add sunn hemp to the mix this year.

 

[StickTime]

I just broadcasted strips by hand into a throw and mow plot and had really good results on mediocre soil. I still have 7/8 of a 50# bag left so I plan to do alot more of the same this year on some fringes to help prevent the spread of weeds as well as create a screen. mine only got about 7 ft tall but that was better than expected considering I did not fertilize the strips

 

[Islandguy]

I had similar results with sorghum/sudan grass. Burned down with Gly., lightly disced (old fescue pasture), broadcast seed, drug and rolled. Grow very well considering drought and no fertilizer. If I was to plant in the same location this year I wouldn't spray, but rather throw and mow/roll.

 

[Woodstick]

Thanks guys. Pretty encouraging sounding posts. Depending on how much material is there when I get ready to plant, I'll probably just spray, sow and fertilize, then hit lightly with the disc. I've got a little stretch of roadside to plant also. Probably won't disc that, because is pretty rocky.

 

[Northwoods Whitetails]

Usually I just kill with gly. Till 2 weeks later, add fertilizer and seed, lightly disc and pack. Finish off with a spraying of Simizine the same day.