Harvesting Native Grasses

[john volkman]

I can't drive the side by side past a switchgrass seed head and not strip it by hand as I drive by only to drop it somewhere else. Not as sophisticated as your process but it makes me feel good.

i do the exact same thing!

 

[john volkman]

i have about 10 acres of pollinator plantings and its pretty easy to collect a good amount of seed once its ripe, you need to beat the birds to the forb seeds though, they are after them right when they are ready. I started looking for little pockets of cool season grass in late summer, then spraying it with gly so i can then frost seed either NWSG or wildflowers into it late winter, it works good and over time you can really improve little pockets of cover all over the property. Im also game for a seed excchange next year!

 

[omicron1792]

i have about 10 acres of pollinator plantings and its pretty easy to collect a good amount of seed once its ripe, you need to beat the birds to the forb seeds though, they are after them right when they are ready. I started looking for little pockets of cool season grass in late summer, then spraying it with gly so i can then frost seed either NWSG or wildflowers into it late winter, it works good and over time you can really improve little pockets of cover all over the property. Im also game for a seed excchange next year!

Great input. Thanks! Love the grass exchange idea, I’m in. I’m up to about 20 acres of native grasses, about 200 more to go! Ha

 

[Skye King]

I'm too old and stupid to figure out any apps. I have my daughter do it with her phone and yes it does work pretty good. If I could just get her to go with me to check out some of things growing past my yard would be fantastic. She's 19 and has no interest in anything that I like. Guess she takes after her mother---poor kid.
PS. If you don't hear from me after this post please send the search and rescue as I fear my wife will kill me if she reads this. THANK YOU

Ain’t nobody older than me (my name should be “older than dirt”. All it would take for you to get similar with that app are a few cuss words and you would be an expert. At least, that’s what I did.

 

[Skye King]

Ain’t nobody older than me (my name should be “older than dirt”. All it would take for you to get similar with that app are a few cuss words and you would be an expert. At least, that’s what I did.

See? I can’t even type. Familiar not similar

 

[Skye King]

We almost need a native grass/wildflower seed exchange like we do with scions.

That would be awesome! I have been trying to figure a way to establish native grasses on my property without having to spend a fortune. But, since I don’t have any seed to share I guess I need to send money.

 

[omicron1792]

I'm too old and stupid to figure out any apps. I have my daughter do it with her phone and yes it does work pretty good. If I could just get her to go with me to check out some of things growing past my yard would be fantastic. She's 19 and has no interest in anything that I like. Guess she takes after her mother---poor kid.
PS. If you don't hear from me after this post please send the search and rescue as I fear my wife will kill me if she reads this. THANK YOU

In all seriousness I can help you get working Picture This app in five minutes. I use it daily at the farm and I really think you would enjoy it.


Just DM (direct message) me on here and I’ll walk you through it.

 

[omicron1792]

That would be awesome! I have been trying to figure a way to establish native grasses on my property without having to spend a fortune. But, since I don’t have any seed to share I guess I need to send money.

That’s benefit of this board. I’ll send you a starter pack of native seed in a gallon zip lock bag if you’ll direct message me your address. For free! So many people have helped me here it would be my honor.

What I ask is you

1. Take your time and plant them well. I’ve given lots of info on my success on how to plant them. A frost seeding of a 1/2-1 acre should be perfect for amount of seed I send. Rake, light disc, or burn the area to expose 50% bare dirt.
2. Spray 2quarts/acre gly and 4oz/acre of imazapic at spring green up, whenever that is for you. The stuff I send you that you will frost seed won’t have germinated yet.
3. Pay it forward to someone else on the board!

Happy thanksgiving!

 

[Skye King]

In all seriousness I can help you get working Picture This app in five minutes. I use it daily at the farm and I really think you would enjoy it.


Just DM (direct message) me on here and I’ll walk you through it.

That’s benefit of this board. I’ll send you a starter pack of native seed in a gallon zip lock bag if you’ll direct message me your address. For free! So many people have helped me here it would be my honor.

What I ask is you

1. Take your time and plant them well. I’ve given lots of info on my success on how to plant them. A frost seeding of a 1/2-1 acre should be perfect for amount of seed I send. Rake, light disc, or burn the area to expose 50% bare dirt.
2. Spray 2quarts/acre gly and 4oz/acre of imazapic at spring green up, whenever that is for you. The stuff I send you that you will frost seed won’t have germinated yet.
3. Pay it forward to someone else on the board!

Happy thanksgiving!

That will be awesome of
You. How do I dm you my address?

 

[omicron1792]

That will be awesome of
You. How do I dm you my address?

I sent you a message. Check the envelope icon at top of page

 

[T-Max]

You gonna teach him what it means to “slide into his DM’s?”


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[Skye King]

Don’t be picking on an old man. My son does enough of that. Remember, old dudes are dangerous. A lot of us are old jungle fighters.

 

[BuckSutherland]

Time to give this thread a bump....


I have pockets in the timber on my land that I have cut open with the chainsaw. I have stuffed those pockets with conifers and shrubs. Now I would like to add some native grasses into the mix and I would love to go around my area and just start stripping my own local grasses to plant. I have never done it before and thought this is a great idea. There is a large WMA few miles from my land. In the wet areas there is some native grasses that grow 5-7 feet tall along the edges. I'd love to plant small clumps of it to obscure vision. I have some great spots for it.


1. What is the best time to start collecting?
2. Anyone spraying chemicals in the fall to try and open an area up?
3. Does the seed need to stratify in the freezer for the winter?
4. How much seed would I need to plant a combined area that is roughly the size of a basketball court?
5. Preferred seeding method?

 

[omicron1792]

Seeding in the woods it’s best to just hand spread. The big four grasses are all great, plus good forbs. You can spray the area now with about 6oz/acre of iMazapic. Then now through all winter anytime you see plants you like collect seeds into a ziplock, then when at farm just spread them by hand right on ground. At greenup next spring spray 2oz/acre of imazapic again. And that’s it

 

[H20fwler]

I was just thinking about this thread yesterday when I saw my bluestem had bolted and was pollinating!

I would love to get some of the bushy bluestem from omicron this fall.

 

[omicron1792]

I was just thinking about this thread yesterday when I saw my bluestem had bolted and was pollinating!

I would love to get some of the bushy bluestem from omicron this fall.

Happy too my friend. Remind me in about a month. Love that grass!

 

[BuckSutherland]

We harvested some of this grass this past weekend. Any idea what it is? Growing in lower wetter spots. I'm hoping to grow it on more upland sites. We stripped about a quart ziplock bag of the heads. It pulled off pretty difficult. I am guessing we were to early to harvest?? What should I do with the seed we kept? I have it in a plastic bag in the garage at the moment.

 

[T-Max]

Is that Johnson grass?


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[KY wild]

I have been collecting Milkweed seed this fall for planting in the spring, I currently have a ziplock bag full but plan to add more as pods mature. I want to try to also collect butterfly weed seed although I have never tried butterfly weed in the past. I want to take them and add zinnia seed from my garden and try to plant a large plot this spring by my lake at the farm. I enjoy watching the butterflies and maybe help the monarchs a bit

 

[S.T.Fanatic]

Phragmites?


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