outdoorstom
5 year old buck +
That switch is coming on amazingly strong...no wonder you are so happy!
Switchgrass project
- Thread starter j-bird
- Start date
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NYPLOTTER
Guest
J-bird - how's that switchgrass coming along? Mine put on some good growth the last couple weeks and one of the verities is starting to seed...not sure which.
scott44
5 year old buck +
Nice looking field of switch! Hopefully next year I'll be showing something like this. Right now all I have is some decent strips that are 4yrs old.J-bird - how's that switchgrass coming along? Mine put on some good growth the last couple weeks and one of the verities is starting to seed...not sure which.
j-bird
Moderator
Well to be honest it has surprised me - and not in a good way. It is starting to produce seed heads. That is good and bad. Seed means thickening of the stand, but it also tends to mean the end of the growth cycle in most plants for the year. I was sort of wanting it to get more like 4 to 5 foot tall. I have not re-measured it (was waiting until the end of the month). We have had a cool summer thus far and it just hasn't gotten the hot and humid conditions that we would normally see to get it to grow even more. I'm still happy with it since it's just it's first full year. My plan, based on my results thus far, will be to improve my CRP with NWSG - I simply think it will be better cover and thus more utilized for bedding, and fawning cover as well as screening my open ag fields. I'll try to get a new pic and measurements more toward the end of the month and post it.
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NYPLOTTER
Guest
I'm no expert especially with Switch but I was thinking about mine and some going to seed that the plant is going to produce seed each year regardless. So if at X height it has to put its energy into seed the height is what it is. Kinda like corn I believe.
I never really amended the soil for my switch areas and I haven't fertilized them during the growing season but I think I'm going to give a small section a shot next year to see what happens. While I was fertilizing an EW screen a couple weeks ago I hit a corner section of Switchgrass with some leftover. It's clearly taller and a darker green than the rest of the field. Some lime and a little NPK might go a long way. Ultimately I will let a soil test tell me.
Post some update pictures when you get a chance.
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NYPLOTTER
Guest
Temps here have been way below normal as well. Rain amounts for July have also been way above at like 5"+ and it's raining today. That a lot of rain for us in July.
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dipper
Guest
Be thankful my young switch is starting to dry up its getting so dry here. We are over 3" below rainfall the last 90 days.
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j-bird
Moderator
In my very first pic you see what my CRP looked like on average in June - not much. To give you an idea of what that same area looks like now - here is a pic (exact same area). It still struggles to average 48" tall (height of theyellow stick) and is mainly giant ragweed which turns to sticks once fall comes.
