My multi year battle with pigweed story:

[Jake]

And every time I'm back at the land I will have a seeder full of winter rye to spread on the plot.

Seeded Friday and got good rains and little more rain today in the forecast. Plus throw some heat at it this week and I got high hopes

 

[Jake]

One week after planting and I'm happy. I can see some pigweed sprouting in a few spots but overall 90% happy the way it's growing after a week. Tad thick on the brassicas on one end but I'm not worried.
(rye/oats/peas/brassicas/annaul clovers)

 

[Jake]

Did a no till (killed off older clover broadcast same seeds and cultipack) into one spot of clover here and that is barely sprouting. Maybe it will come on strong .Time will tell.

 

[Mortenson]

That looks really nice.

 

[Crimson n' Camo]

I'd quit spraying and tilling......Hypothetical question to think about......If you abandoned the field today, do you think it would remain a field of pigweed into perpetuity?? No.....So who's keeping it that way?

 

[willy]

I'm going to spray prowl h2o on my established clover and chicory plots next April and see how that helps with my grass and broadleaves that come up later in year. The local seed company near me uses it for their clover fields.

It is labeled to stop waterhemp and a bunch of grasses. We shall see. It works well in my soybeans.

 

[rocksnstumps]

Just mowed my clover for the third time this summer in the plot in previous pics. Had to clip the tops off the thistles again but happy to report very little if any pigweed.

Clover makes a great smother crop but have a zillion pigweed seeds just waiting for an opening. Left the clover to flower before mowing so hopefully I have 2 zillion clover seeds to fill in the spots when broadleaf weeds decline this fall.

So mowing, mowing, mowing works well to control pigweed if timing and rain amounts are in your favor.

 

[Jake]

I'd quit spraying and tilling......Hypothetical question to think about......If you abandoned the field today, do you think it would remain a field of pigweed into perpetuity?? No.....So who's keeping it that way?

What you recommend then a good plan of attack would be if this was your peice of ground going forward? I'm open to anything.

I am yes planning on getting away from tilling. Just having a hard time seeing 5% of my seed sprout on my sprayed and throw area to 95% of my seed sprout on my 1-2" lightly tilled and packed side.

My answer would be if left alone pigweed goes to seed each year and keeps coming back up year after year. Like a old timer I know who planted winter rye once and for ten years just kept discing it every August. Nothing more nothing less.

 

[Crimson n' Camo]

I’m trying to think of how to explain it without having to type a novel…..Some of y’all help me out….lol!.....

Work with nature instead of against her……Allow the needle of succession to move forward a little in your soil…..Quit tilling and keeping the conditions “pioneer” like…..Allow some native vegetation to take hold during the summer months and do the things they were designed to do. Nature is always trying to progress from pioneer to climax conditions. How would nature address the issue if you quit tilling up and spraying all of her remedies?

 

[Jake]

Crimson n' Camo. I hear ya and agree. I actually leave a strip or two do it's thing for a year once and a while. Usually grass takes over.

So let's say this is your plot.. What would be your steps and plan of attack starting fresh first thing in spring with winter rye starting to come alive?(Soil test comes back good pH/ 6.9)

 

[Crimson n' Camo]

I'd probably do absolutely nothing.........

Grass probably takes over your plots because its starving for carbon

 

[IkemanTx]

I am having a similar problem with cockleburs on my family place. I have learned that I really just can’t break ground, and I need to build a thatch later to smother germination chances.

I find it pretty funny that I am battling this, I mentioned it to my grandmother and she said she remembers her father and grandfather (my great grandfather and great-great grandfather respectively) waging war every year on cocklebur on the same place. It’s apparently been a 100+ year problem on this particular property, so I doubt I will ever truly beat it.

Perennial plots where possible, and Throw N Mow will be my answers... unless I can find access to a decent no-till drill and someone with some experience using them on our gumbo clay soils.


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[S.T.Fanatic]

I did a multi specie throw, crimp, and spray this spring. Where I had rye the year prior there was much less weed competition. Where I didn’t it’s mostly water hemp/pig weed and lambs quarter. The deer actually pound the lambs quarter so I have no problem with it. I have seen deer eat the seed heads to pig weed in the winter but I’d rather not encourage it.

What I did this past weeekend. Spread more peas and sunflowers over the entire plot. I spread radish and ptt over the area with the worst water hemp/pig weed problem and mowed those areas leaving the rest (tolerable amounts of weed for me) stand. I didn’t spray after seeding this go around but I’m guessing it will come in just fine.

Labor Day weekend I am planning on over seeding the entire plot with winter barley.


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[Jake]

Ughhhh. Pigweed came back on the side I didn't have rye last year/half of this year. I had to do something given my limited time frame today.

I could have sprayed 24d and came back in a week and broadcasted rye and packed. But didn't have 24d and didn't have the time.

Remedy- broadcast winter rye really really thick and till and pack and broadcast radishes/turnips/more rye and pack .

 

[Jake]

And before you all say no till. Here is my no till spot planted the same time as everything else and same seed mix and cultipacked.. yah no pigweed but nothing else either.. I threw 5 more pounds of rye at it and more radishes.

 

[Jake]

And pigweed I had very minor issues with at my house land isn't a issue. One plot I have had issues last year with pigweed I have now in clover and sprayed 24db and keep mowed and no more pigweed this summer.

Brassicas had a few pigweed plants but I hand pulled them.

Here are a few pics from my home land plots. All I do is spray, seed, fertilized and drag my lawn thatcher behind my ATV scratch things up and then cultipack.

 

[Crimson n' Camo]

And before you all say no till. Here is my no till spot planted the same time as everything else and same seed mix and cultipacked.. yah no pigweed but nothing else either.. I threw 5 more pounds of rye at it and more radishes.

So many folks try these no-till type methods without a good understanding of what they’re doing and then rail on the method when they get bad results…..Do you the difference in your no-till plot that failed versus this one?....This one did quite well

 

[Jake]

So if I could get a game plan drawn up for next year I'd appreciate it. Appreciate the comments already... Clover I did years past and worked great but I don't have a option for mowing here.

I will have a plot full of winter rye for sure come 2021 spring.
So do I let the rye do it's thing all summer and spray some 24d on it if need be? Then wait till rye is dead in mid August and seed rye/oats and brassicas and cultipack and walk away and come back labor day weekend and spread more rye and go hunting and forget about the plot?

Or Jeff Sturgis approach- let rye get a little height on it and temps get warmer in spring.. Broadcast buckwheat very heavy, cultipack and spray. Then seed,pack,spray in August?

Kinda leaning the Jeff way.

Thanks again to the few who still read about my misfortunes.

 

[Jake]

So many folks try these no-till type methods without a good understanding of what they’re doing and then rail on the method when they get bad results…..Do you the difference in your no-till plot that failed versus this one?....This one did quite well

I understand the no till idea trust me. Just saying my spray and throw "here" didn't work. Others swear by it and I seen it work but not 100 convinced myself yet.
I did the no till (seed spray pack)method at home into waist high spring planted oats and radishes and it is sub par. Other no till spot that was seeded out rye did way better throwing seed into it. I'm happy with that plot.

Did one plot with 1 foot tall buckwheat -spread seed and packed and spray and that is coming around but not very impressed. Seeing how a lightly scratched plot nearby seeded the same time and same seeds is knee high. But.. buckwheat plot was a first year new ground plot so it isn't quite apples to apples comparing. Next year it will be better off up against the other scratched ground plots.


Here's some of my rye into my turnips last year I felt did great. If you didn't get the hint I spread alot of winter rye over everything until first frost.

 

[Jake]

Crimson-. So bounce your method done in that pic there off me. How is the basic soil as far as pH goes? you add lime? Too dress lime if needed? You let it go and do it's thing growing as mother nature intended up until August? Then broadcast seed into it along with fetilizer and cultipack and spray?

You spray in July and come back and spot spray and broadcast seed and fertilizer and walk away or cultipack in August?

You got fall planted rye and let rye do it's thing all spring and summer and come early August broadcast seed and fertilizer and pack?