Switchgrass without a drill 2025

[Mattyq2402]

For those of you who do not have access to a no till drill and you are limited to frost seeding, what are your steps from prep to seed? I’ll be flying to the farm next month and can do any steps that could be required prior to a frost seed. Field is currently hay field that was transitioned to corn last year so it’s got some weeds. Should I be spraying, spreading, etc now? What’s best herbicide recommendations and timing for frost seeding? I ask because I saw Mr Sturgis was an advocate for fall time frost seed. Should I wait and run for beans in this section next spring or can I make a frost seed take if I can nuke the current weeds?

Running RC br.

I have gly, 24 d, simizine.

 

[Tree Spud]

It would help for answering questions to add your your temp zone to your avatar image.

I wouldn't broadcast in fall as seeds bouncing on dry, uneven ground can lead to poor distribution pattern.

I broadcast in mid spring when there is still some snow of the ground. Seed sticks and you can see your distribution pattern and rate of spread.

SG requires ground temp to be 65 F to start germination so any weeds that have emerged before that point, can be sprayed with gly. You can also spray any weeds/grasses now, just not sure of benefit without knowing your location. Here we have had our 1st hard freeze this week so things are dying.

 

[gjs4]

sub'd

 

[Bill]

It would have been better to follow the corn with switch but you have what you have. Spud is right if you can time it to broadcast when there is snow it helps. You can see the seed on top. As the sun warms things up the seed sinks. hire a sprayer to apply gly and atrazine (license needed to spray atrazine) in the early spring. If "you" have to be the sprayer use gly and simazine. (No license needed to spray simazine) same stuff basically.

It will look like a failure the first year or two but give it time. If it looks like a failure year two spray the gly and atrazine again the third spring. Switch grass is easy but you have to be patient.

 

[omicron1792]

It would have been better to follow the corn with switch but you have what you have. Spud is right if you can time it to broadcast when there is snow it helps. You can see the seed on top. As the sun warms things up the seed sinks. hire a sprayer to apply gly and atrazine (license needed to spray atrazine) in the early spring. If "you" have to be the sprayer use gly and simazine. (No license needed to spray simazine) same stuff basically.

It will look like a failure the first year or two but give it time. If it looks like a failure year two spray the gly and atrazine again the third spring. Switch grass is easy but you have to be patient.

This is the way.

Can do second spraying of atrazine if needed later in the year. Can also do early spraying of gly and atrazine in year two after green up but before switch has come up.

Simazine works just as well as atrazine if you use higher dose in my experience.

Also doesn’t hurt to spread some seed now. Then some more in the spring. Hedge bets and do both.

 

[Mike O]

I frost seeded mine late winter Feb/March and it did great. I have always heard that a large percentage of your switchgrass is hard seed and needs that weathering effect to germinate. Unlike you I was planting into an area that had never been farmed so that whole first spring and summer I sprayed with roundup about every 4-6 weeks to suppress weeds. I also hit it with roundup one last time in the spring before the switchgrass had germinated but the cool season grasses began to grow (You really need to be careful if you try this because if done too late you smoke your switchgrass). I then hit it with Simizine.