burning down fescue

[TNhobbyfarmer]

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.

I'm not sure I would put a pre-emergent down. That might prevent the seeds you are planting from coming up. Check with the co-op and get their advice.

 

[jimg]

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.

All the beef cattle farmers around here have the endophyte infected variety in their hay fields and pasture b/c, as you said, it thrives w/ little or no inputs. In other words it survives well w/o any care.

Thanx for the tip on adding N. Ill ask about that. I really want this stuff dead.

On a sort of related note Bermuda seems to be the rage in hay now and raising it does seem to have some merit esp given the hot dry summers we tend to have. I was mulling over the idea of using that instead of orchardgrass although I havent come to a final decision yet. If I did go w/ it I think its possible to get 3 cuts plus 1 early by drilling in Rye or Oats. Any one tryed that?

 

[jimg]

I'm not sure I would put a pre-emergent down. That might prevent the seeds you are planting from coming up. Check with the co-op and get their advice.

It was their advice...otherwise I wont have thought about doing it. I really dont know anything about those sorts of chemicals and I sure theres a withdrawal period of some sort so the corp germinates.

 

[silverking]

I hate to twist this thread around but since you brought up what you are going to plant, I am just about ready to plant a new field and Southern States is telling us to plant tall fescue and red clover? Should I not? What should I plant?

 

[jimg]

What are you going to use it for? My purpose is to make horse hay and no one near or far is interested in feeding fescue to their horses. Previously my farm was used for beef and thats the forage of choice for cattle around here. Before you make a final choice talk w/ your county agent and do some online research. Theres a huge body of info available for free.

I suspect SS recommendation is based on what they sell most. Your area is probably a lot like mine in that everyone grows fescue but couldnt really tell you why. In short fescue is a survivor of hot dry summers, overgrazing and near neglect by the grower. If youre willing to put some extra care into your fields there are other choices. Youre in Surry or Stokes county and its stays a bit cooler there since youre up against the mtns. I suspect that gives a bit more moisture too. Orchardgrass might be a good alternative.

As I said talk w/ your county agent and see what he says.

ETA: If you need some links to forage info I can help w/ that. Let me know.

 

[kossetx]

I believe the tall fescue/clover combo is for soil fertility building and nitrogen fixing. In combo they're supposed to work real well.

 

[jimg]

Clover (a legume) will fix N so not so much needs to be applied for the fescue. Im not sure though theres any other benefit.