Gly will knock out those ferns for the short term, but ideally you must raise the pH to see them gone over the long term. Ferns are a sign of low pH in most circumstances. Correcting your pH will have the best long term results. Lime, lime, and more lime until you get your pH in the 6.3+ or so range and then once you start killing the ferns, you should see them dwindle to nothing. Too bad you couldn't have sprayed this past weekend or the weekend before and then again right before you plant over the 4th, that would have been ideal for this go-around. The other maybe more important thing is to get the lime down ASAP, before you seed your brassicas, you need to start turning the pH corner sooner than later to help fight those ferns.
This was a new plot last spring. It was just woods, and I cut out, and plucked out the stumps. I set it up for my apple trees, but I still plant stuff in between the apple trees. I did a soil test last spring, and the ph was at 5.7, and I applied about 2500 pounds of lime. The soil test only called for 2000 pounds, but I had extra to use up. Last summer I planted a brassica mixture in it, they leafed out well, but I didnt get very big bulbs from it. But in August the deer hammered all the leafs, and there wasnt much left after that. So I am not sure if it was the ph, or just the deer wiping it out. In that plot I had to weed wack the ferns down a couple times, and I also sprayed them last year as well. I also ended up with a beautiful plot full of wood aster. While they look pretty, I didnt want them in my food plot. I was informed by someone on another site to plant a form of grass in it, and that would help with the aster, so this spring I planted oats, and sunflowers in the apple tree plot. They are actually coming in nicely. But I need to plant the brassicas in a couple weeks, so they need to go. I am not sure how much it will deter the aster in that plot, but I wanted to try something. I think I will leave 1/4 acre of the sunflowers to see how they turn out. Next year this plot will go into winter rye, oats, and winter wheat.
I also added 500 pounds of pellet lime to this plot this spring. I didnt get a soil test on it this year, so I figured 500 pounds should be a decent number for maintenance to it. I am hoping it will improve every year. I also amended the NPK as per soil tests last year, and since I am planting the same this year, I plan on applying the same this year.
I have 3 plots total, the one I am hoping to keep as clover for a few years(old camp site plot), the apple tree plot which this year will have brassicas again, then switching to winter rye, oats, and winter wheat, and a back food plot that has been in winter rye, oats, and winter wheat the past couple year, which will be the new brassica plot next summer.
Maybe in a few years I will try some corn, or plant an entire plot into sunflower, and leave it in all year. I know they like the young plants, but I am not sure how well they will eat the mature plants. But my I will see if any of the 1/4 acre in my apple tree plot makes it that far. Does anyone one have any experience with sunflowers after they are mature, do the deer eat the heads? Are they a fall draw at all?
