burning down fescue

[jimg]

In not too long Im going to burn my fields down and replant. Presently its a mix of fescue, weeds and orchardgrass. So far the fescue is in the majority but w/ this drought and hot weather the weeds are running a close 2nd and the orchardgrass only exists on the extreme margins where its constantly shady. Im not sure f the exact time but this stand is fairly old (> 20yrs I think) and well established. Im going to have the coop do the work and they use a generic Roundup (they couldnt say what the brand was but Im sure I can find out). Ive heard fescue can be difficult to kill esp in well est stands. Has anyone else heard or experienced this? Has anyone burned a stand down? What chemical did you use and what was the concentration? When I told the coop I thought the fescue would be hard to kill they said they could also apply at double concentration. While I dont want to put down more chemical than is necessary, I **really** dont want the fescue to persistent either.

 

[lhfarm]

About 3 years ago, we planted prairie grass in our old fescue, orchard grass hay field. I couldn稚 get the co-op sprayer up my drive, so I sprayed myself. It could have been my error in application or it could have been the concentration, but the bottom line is the fescue returned.

The DNR suggests I do a actual burn in late winter and then spray the fescue again when it starts to green. I壇 give serious consideration to a double dose.

 

[Birdhunter1]

Spray and burn for a few years to make sure you've got it killed, then replant with your new stuff.

 

[bjr]

One of the best things I've ever done was plowing. We have something up here in E. WA called punture vine or TackWeed. Nasty little head on them, truly like thumb tacks. We spray useing 2-4D and glysohpate cocktail frequently. I finally purchased a plow and it's help the weed problem considerably, not totally gone, but made a big difference. I'll replant orchard grass next year (it doesn't seem to be affected by the heat in the late summer as much as the ryegrass fescue variety). Plowing has been a positive thing for me for weed control. bjr

 

[TNhobbyfarmer]

If you spray glysophate approximately 2 qts per acre, it should kill your fescue and everything else graveyard dead. I doubt you will get much residual regrowth. At least that's been my experience.

 

[shaley]

Through a 20oz bottle of dish soap (Dawn) in the chemical tank and a normal rate will kill just fine. It's absorbed through the leaves and the soap will break the surface tension. Use about 1 teaspoon or 2 per Gal.

 

[RobertN]

Do not know about the chemicals. But, as a firefighter, I would recomend you get familiar with your local fire station before you burn, especially as dry as it has been this year. They could give you burn info, and if you're lucky, maybe place an engine on standby for you. Maybe mix it in with thier training schedule...

Out here, we wouldn't even think of doing something like this; however, it is dry through much of the year here, compared to the typical rain you might get in the summer.

In not too long Im going to burn my fields down and replant.

 

[TNhobbyfarmer]

Do not know about the chemicals. But, as a firefighter, I would recomend you get familiar with your local fire station before you burn, especially as dry as it has been this year. They could give you burn info, and if you're lucky, maybe place an engine on standby for you. Maybe mix it in with thier training schedule...

Out here, we wouldn't even think of doing something like this; however, it is dry through much of the year here, compared to the typical rain you might get in the summer.

Robert: I think when Jim says he is going to burn down his field, he is talking about killing the vegatation with herbicides not, not a fire burn. It's waaay to dry in TN to do any fire burning.

 

[jimg]

If you spray glysophate approximately 2 qts per acre, it should kill your fescue and everything else graveyard dead. I doubt you will get much residual regrowth. At least that's been my experience.

Good news! The 2qt concentration is what the coop does. Im going to burn down during late Aug or early Sept next year. I also thought Id apply a pre-emergant to make sure none of the many weed seeds dont get a foot hold. Did you do this as well?

BTW I *really* dont want to have to plow or disc. My plan is to burn down, wait then no till in my new crop.

 

[Farmwithjunk]

Fescue thrives here in central Kentucky. And NO ONE seems to want it for hay, very few want it for pasture (especialy the horse folks) and even the folks wanting to establish "native" wildlife areas want to get rid of the fescue.

Almost everyone here will do chemical burndowns to kill it off. 2qt glyphosate works as well as anything. For what it's worth, plowing and discing fescue sod does just about NOTHING to get rid of an established growth. Plow it under and a year later, you have ANOTHER healthy stand of fescue.

Talk with your co-op. They MIGHT suggest adding FERTILIZER (liq. N) to the tank mix. Healthy fescue takes up glyphosate better than a poor stand. Give it a jumpstart as you hit it with Round-Up and the kill takes better.