Screening a dam
- Thread starter HoosierHunter07
- Start date
TreeDaddy
5 year old buck +
jsasker007
5 year old buck +
Beats the hell out of trying to cut those roots apart!
Bill
Administrator
Yep. I broke it into two big clumps but it get them out of the ground.
jsasker007
5 year old buck +
Did you cut the clumps into smaller pieces or just relocate the clumps?
Bill
Administrator
I cut them up into rhizomes for a guy down the road. We did leave some in baseball/softball size clumps. He said those really put on the growth over summer.
Da U.P. 'eh
5 year old buck +
MG clumps, fist size or so, really take off and fill in quickly compared to those broken up into individual rhizomes. I've dug up huge clumps with the FEL and used a sawzall to cut them up into dozens of smaller clumps. Very easy and quick to propagate in other areas.
HoosierHunter07
Yearling... With promise
Any advice for prepping the area before planting the rhizomes? Should I try to spray it first? Right now I'm hoping to be getting the in the ground late April or early May.
Bill
Administrator
You can spray before planting. I've planted all different ways. The absolute easiest was when I borrowed a friends tiller and tilled the line. Walk along move some dirt with my foot, drop a rhizome, kick dirt over it and step on it. After planting you can spray simazine as a pre emergent.
Brian662
5 year old buck +
Till the area down 4-6" and depending on how much you're planting, you may want one of these for making furrows or you can do it by hand/Shovel. If using a middle buster, dig down about 3". Set the rhizomes every 18" and then come back and use your boot to cover the trench.
bigboreblr
5 year old buck +
IF you have water on both side, you just a dvider and not a dam. The band does not seem to be very steep. I think you can plant mild mannered shrubs. Something that typically grows under 10ft tall. Actual red osier dogwood or even pussy willow I think would be ok. Grey dogwood grows too big. Depending on the size of the pond and soil type, it could help you and not hurt. Soil erosion from wind.
If stone is cheap and easy to get, I'd line the edge with some grapefruit sized stones. While you getting stone, make like a garbage can sized pile of stone or two, perfect fishy fry hatching sites for certain fish speciies. Tying up and stackin dense brush then submerging it can be very good too.
If stone is cheap and easy to get, I'd line the edge with some grapefruit sized stones. While you getting stone, make like a garbage can sized pile of stone or two, perfect fishy fry hatching sites for certain fish speciies. Tying up and stackin dense brush then submerging it can be very good too.
HoosierHunter07
Yearling... With promise
Thanks for the feedback. I'll probably try tilling. I'm a little concerned about rocks. The dam has a lot of rip rap. I'm not sure how much soil is actually on top. Probably need to have a handful of shear pins on hand.
HoosierHunter07
Yearling... With promise
It's a dam, not a divider. There's another lake on the other side. But it's below mine on my neighbor's property. My overflow fills his.
Ive already got the grapefruit size rock. I like the idea of making areas for fish with them.
Bill
Administrator
I have planted miscanthus with one of those. I was planting in existing grass and it really flipped over large clumps of grass/root that made it very hard to flip back over and cover the rhizomes. My brother took an angle grinder to it and made it so the blade was only about 4 inches wide. worked better. I then noticed these at TC. Didn't buy one because brother made one.
Brian662
5 year old buck +
Yeah, I wouldn't recommend one without tilling first.
The two times I've planted miscanthus I've used the method I laid out above and it leaves a clean trench for the rhizomes.
If one chooses not to till ahead of time, I agree that a smaller footprint like a sub-soiler may be better suited.
Da U.P. 'eh
5 year old buck +
I've always just used a dibble bar. Step in into the ground, create a wedge-shaped crease, drop in the rhizome them push the crease closed. Takes about 30 seconds per rhizome. Pretty simple and the results have always been good.
