Winter Disk or Spray in the Spring?

[Thomasc19]

Hi all,

I have an orchard that I would like to have clover growing in instead of grass that is currently being mowed

What do you think should be my next step?

1 - Rototill the ground now and frost seed clover and chicory in the March

2 - Wait until August to spray, then plant rye and wheat in September and frost seed in March 2025, then crimp the rye and wheat when it matures - I'm a little worried about spraying close to my trees

3 - Rototill the ground now and let nature take it's course with natural regeneration

4 - Something else

Below is a picture of the orchard in August of this year

Thanks!

 

[Telemark]

Don't rototill in an orchard. You can spray the grass with gly before the trees leaf out.

 

[Telemark]

Ah, I see it is a newly planted orchard. You could probably get away with tilling or disking part of it as long as you kept away from the trees. That still leaves you with patches of grass around the trees that need to be spot sprayed.

 

[bigboreblr]

I have 2 year old antonovka trees in my nursery. End of 2022, they got nibbled up by rabbits when the fence fell down. 2023 I grafted kerr onto the pinky sized trees. Dug up some trees in the nursery. I had significant roots 4 to 6 feet away about an inch or two down.

Could be wrong, but I am looking at a peach tree? They do not get too big.

Tall grasses compete for water. Legumes attract voles. Are you dealing with any vole or rabbit damage?

You can get away with spraying for now, but you might want to get a hood for your sprayer soon. Prevents herbicide drift.

Tall grasses nenar your trees is going to attract animals that damage your trees. How often can you go there and mow?

Most of us put trees in to be able to hunt over them. You could put limited rows of no-till items. Even running a lawn roller will put some damage / stress to the root systems once established well.

Clover if you can get away wth it, maybe some rye in the fall, maybe put some oats and roll them in for now. Clethodim can be sprayed just fine to control grass.

 

[RGrizzzz]

Perennial clover usually does best when fall planted.

 

[bdmartin57]

New guy here, planted 2000 hardwood/hardmast seedings but wasn't able to spray gly or seed with clover beforehand as I was delayed in clearing scrub trees and brambles due to health and weather. Now I'm mowing between my 8' spacing rows. 2 questions; Should I spread clover in the fall or wait until winter? Should I spread only along the plowed rows or over the 3+ ac of mixed fields?
1st pic is of Wild Plum in a manageable field, 2nd pic is of White Oak in an overgrown field. Of my 91 ac, 65 is wooded, 15 ac in fields and 11ac mixed.

 

[jsasker007]

I would throw the clover and chicory seed on there now and then mow the grass in 2-3 weeks. After the new seeds start growing and competing with the grass every time you mow the clover and chicory should get thicker. Next year you could lightly disc and the grass will be set back while the clover rebounds nicely. jmho
You could throw some winter rye in there this fall and that will help to suppress weeds in the spring.

 

[bdmartin57]

I would throw the clover and chicory seed on there now and then mow the grass in 2-3 weeks. After the new seeds start growing and competing with the grass every time you mow the clover and chicory should get thicker. Next year you could lightly disc and the grass will be set back while the clover rebounds nicely. jmho
You could throw some winter rye in there this fall and that will help to suppress weeds in the spring.

Thanx for the insight, Think I should plan on 3-4 lbs /ac of the mix?

 

[jsasker007]

Thanx for the insight, Think I should plan on 3-4 lbs /ac of the mix?

If you are broadcasting the seeds you can go about twice that. When I seed clover and chicory I go roughly 3-4 times the amount of chicory to clover because eventually the clover will out compete the chicory and will be mostly a clover field. Go heavy on the chicory and it will take a few more years for the clover to dominate. jmo

 

[bigboreblr]

Any update on this thormac?

Starting to be a good time to spray clethodim. Might be spraying it today at my home trees.