Waterways

[Boll Weevil]

I'm putting a waterway in one of my fields to better manage runoff and carry water to a canal and get it off the field. It will be managed by mowing and I wondered if perhaps it were an opportunity to plant something vs. just letting it grow up in whatever seedbank is present. Just looking for ideas at this point...did anyone plant their waterways and what did you chose?

 

[j-bird]

Because it's to fight erosion......common practice in my area is to plant it in fescue. I HATE fescue. Plant orchardgrass or timothy or short prarie grasses, something.....just not fescue. Most farmers plant it in a short grass simply so they can easily cross over it with their equipment during harvest and planting. Fescue is also a favorite because it forms a sod that chokes out brush and other things minimizing maintenance. Many waterways can be done with assistance from your NRCS to cost share and the like.....see what options they provide as well. Just let them know that you are interested in putting one in that is more "wildlife friendly".

 

[ksgobbler]

Native warm season grasses. Burning is easy on a waterway.

 

[wiscwhip]

I agree with gobbler. In SW TN, Cave-in-Rock and Kanlow should grow like weeds in a waterway planting. The real question is, what do you plant to help keep down erosion while the switch takes 2 to 3 years to fully establish that will not provide overly aggressive competition for the newly seeded switchgrass planting?

 

[Boll Weevil]

Thanks for the ideas. My thinking was if i could make it dual purpose (manage water and improve wildlife habitat) all the better. I don't have any switchgrass experience so will look into it and other NWSGs.

 

[S.T.Fanatic]

I would think burning with all the crop residue present would be a problem. I would strongly suggest that you plant a grass of some sort and keep it mowed. I'm not saying it has to look like your front yard but mow it a couple times of year.

The problem with un maintained waterways is that if the grass is tall it can create a "wall". In my area of the world we get well above precipitation and plenty of snow melt in the spring. What CAN happen with waterways with tall grass is if there is heavy runoff due to snow melt or rain the water will not be able to flow from the higher elevation in the field through the heavy grass in the lower elevation of the waterway fast enough and it runs right along side of the upper elevation of the waterway and carves out a ditch rendering your waterway nearly useless.

The other ugly thing about waterways is RR crops. If you dont spray your own fields you will be lucky to find someone who wont spray right through you waterways and nuke it to shit. This sounds like a no brainer but I have talked to more than one person that warned the person spraying that if they burnt the waterway down they would never spray on their farm again. You can guess what happened.

 

[Tap]

Contact ErnstSeed.com. They have a TON of native seeds for just about any application and they are quite helpful in planning.
The Ernst catalog is tremendous, too. Everyone on this site should have a copy.

 

[wiscwhip]

Agreed!!! ^^^ I have been getting their catalog for many years, both the web version now and the printed catalog back before the "internet days", simply for all the information they have in there on the stuff they supply.

 

[Boll Weevil]

I decided on Virginia Wild Rye so getting it in the ground in the next couple of weeks. It's a bunch grass that tolerates wet feet so should allow water to move off the field, hold soil in place, but still be more wildlife friendly than options like fescue. Will likely mix in a little annual ryegrass so something gets up quick while the VWR establishes although as I understand its a fairly fast establisher when compared to other native grasses. Will keep you posted on progress, and thanks for the insights.

 

[buckdeer1]

Usually you drill something fast growing like wheat or rye to hold the dirt while NWSG is growing.Mow about a foot tall first couple years.Remember when doing a water way you don't want it to run like a creek even though they can after a big rain but want it to drain good so it doesn't have standing water that can kill your grass.Most good sprayers don't kill except what they are spraying and are liable for drift.Sometimes we will put rip rap on the end before it dumps into creek or where ever leaves your property

 

[ksgobbler]

We used to burn to try and kill or hurt virginia wild rye when I worked for USFWS. Different strokes for different folks.