Weeds In Plot

[Jerry-B-WI]

Well all good information from all... but just a bit of additional thoughts are worth mentioning ...

Not all weeds are bad ..many weeds are well used by deer, turkey and upland game birds ..Goldenrod,Sumac, Green Briar, Honey Suckle, Poke Weed, Ragweed to name a few but the deer actually naturally seek them out as their digestive system demands a variety of food stuff ...

A clean plot looking like a mono culture commercial field crop is not necessary ..it looks nice but actually it is not always a good return on investment of $$ or time nor required to be a Cracker Jack food plot ..

As plotters we are not growing a cash crop ..we are growing a field of diversity that deer for example are looking for both a smorgasbord meal as well as feeling comfortable with their surroundings ..so in my area the only thing I really get after is Cockerburr, Thistle (deer love Thistle but I do not), and Water Hemp ..and to handle the flare up of those I use a home made "wiping stick" shaped like a hockey stick made entirely out of 2" PVC that has a 12" wick rope (portion of the stick that is parallel to the ground) that draws liquid from the PVC that is the reservoir/handle/wiping device ..and all you do is wipe the wick over the tops of the plants with the wick portion which is drawing your mix of 4oz/gal Gly for the Cockerburr or Thistle and the same ratio mix of glufosinate-ammonium (which is often refered to as "Liberty" Link) for the Water Hemp as most Water Hemp nation wide has become RoundUp resistant

Every time you till the ground you will bring up new seed bank to reinvigorate weed growth

Do not let the weeds go to seed ...even if I have to tread on some growing plot plant life to mow the tops off the weeds.. I will not let the weed head out

Bear

Could you post a picture of your wiping stick? I might be interested in making one. I did make it into the plot with my string trimmer and wacked the tops off of 99% of the devil's pitchfork, the plants had blossomed but not formed seed heads yet.

 

[Brokenbear]

Mine is at the farm but this is the one it was patterned after
This is what it looks like and most farm supply stores will will carry the wick and wick fittings and a big box store for the PVC or you can buy them already made up

 

[Brokenbear]

Note there is a regular herbicide "Wick Rope" that has a core and outside braided cover that is more effective than plain braided nylon rope and farm stores in row crop county will have it ..they will also have the fittings to transition the wick into the tube to pickup the chemical

the one I use is for small patches ..I am including the below link for those of you who may have larger weed patches to address and need a larger solution from this below link

hand held roundup wiper applicator at DuckDuckGo

DuckDuckGo. Privacy, Simplified.

duckduckgo.com

Bear

 

[Brokenbear]

Could you post a picture of your wiping stick? I might be interested in making one. I did make it into the plot with my string trimmer and wacked the tops off of 99% of the devil's pitchfork, the plants had blossomed but not formed seed heads yet.

Then you are gaining on it .. habitat and food plotting are works in progress if you love the land .. it’s also ok to set a vision of expectations and once achieved to be satisfied to maintain that status quo ..
so fairly.. it is different strokes for different folks and seldom do I find a process wrong .. but I do find some occasionally that don’t fit my vision

Bear

 

[SD51555]

Well all good information from all... but just a bit of additional thoughts are worth mentioning ...

Not all weeds are bad ..many weeds are well used by deer, turkey and upland game birds ..Goldenrod,Sumac, Green Briar, Honey Suckle, Poke Weed, Ragweed to name a few but the deer actually naturally seek them out as their digestive system demands a variety of food stuff ...

A clean plot looking like a mono culture commercial field crop is not necessary ..it looks nice but actually it is not always a good return on investment of $$ or time nor required to be a Cracker Jack food plot ..

As plotters we are not growing a cash crop ..we are growing a field of diversity that deer for example are looking for both a smorgasbord meal as well as feeling comfortable with their surroundings ..so in my area the only thing I really get after is Cockerburr, Thistle (deer love Thistle but I do not), and Water Hemp ..and to handle the flare up of those I use a home made "wiping stick" shaped like a hockey stick made entirely out of 2" PVC that has a 12" wick rope (portion of the stick that is parallel to the ground) that draws liquid from the PVC that is the reservoir/handle/wiping device ..and all you do is wipe the wick over the tops of the plants with the wick portion which is drawing your mix of 4oz/gal Gly for the Cockerburr or Thistle and the same ratio mix of glufosinate-ammonium (which is often refered to as "Liberty" Link) for the Water Hemp as most Water Hemp nation wide has become RoundUp resistant

Every time you till the ground you will bring up new seed bank to reinvigorate weed growth

Do not let the weeds go to seed ...even if I have to tread on some growing plot plant life to mow the tops off the weeds.. I will not let the weed head out

Bear

There's still a big misunderstanding out there about the weed seed bank. It'll never go empty. Nature has unique ways to outlast anything we do. They are woke up or put back to sleep by some catalyst we provide. Know your why. Be like Koonu.

 

[FarmerDan]

There's still a big misunderstanding out there about the weed seed bank. It'll never go empty. Nature has unique ways to outlast anything we do. They are woke up or put back to sleep by some catalyst we provide. Know your why.

This is a top notch statement and worthy advice! No matter what you plant for whatever reason and where, you will always find plants growing you did not intend/plant (weeds). By the way, I am of the opinion weed seeds in certified, cleaned seed are not the cause of or for your weed problems.

What you do and why, I think, are complicated decisions.

I'm trying to think of the where's and why's of weed control in food plots. As I do my mind becomes a muddle of possibilities. Anybody want to start? What? Where? When and WHY?

 

[SD51555]

This is a top notch statement and worthy advice! No matter what you plant for whatever reason and where, you will always find plants growing you did not intend/plant (weeds). By the way, I am of the opinion weed seeds in certified, cleaned seed are not the cause of or for your weed problems.

What you do and why, I think, are complicated decisions.

I'm trying to think of the where's and why's of weed control in food plots. As I do my mind becomes a muddle of possibilities. Anybody want to start? What? Where? When and WHY?

I had a few different university articles bookmarked over the years that were great writeups about the conditions the stimulate and favor certain weeds. I think all of those links have quit working. I committed mine to memory, but there were bunch more I can't remember.