FarmerBob
Silver Member
Hi Mike...
Sounds like you got some good advice... and maybe even a little overly-optimistic advice. God and Mother Nature do a wonderful job of taking care of Their living things, but They treat everything equally... including weeds. It's up to us to segragate out what we want to keep /w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif.
I'm in the process now of taking what was once good fertile bermuda grass pasture and restoring it to 10-acres of nothing but tiff bermuda. There is still some bermuda scattered throughtout the pasture and I'm first going to attempt to make it spread into the weed infested and open areas. If I'm unsuccessful, then I'll disk and re-seed next spring.
Since I bought the property in late March, I won't be able to Roundup the entire area because the bermuda was already out of dormancy. So, I'm currently spraying the whole 10-acre tract with MSMA. This is a herbicide that will kill most broadleaf weeds, wild onions, nut grass, Dallis grass, crab grass and most other broadleaf grasses. It will not kill bermuda unless you overdose. Using the correct mix rate will stunt the growth of the bermuda for a few days and turn it somewhat yellow, but this is temporary and soon the bermuda will resume it's normal growth... minus the surrounding weeds.
Soil becomes compacted due to constant animal and machinery traffic. When the soil gets compacted, the roots of the grass can't penetrate beyond a couple of inches and this does not make for sustainable grass. I have ordered a core areator, which I'll use to remove plugs of dirt, down to about 6". This will allow the soil room to move and relieve compaction. It also makes the land drain well and puts more air, moisture, bacteria, and nutrients deeper into the soil. This will help build a deeper root structure for the grass and allow it to withstand colder winter months and hotter summer days. Aeration is best done in the spring when frequent rains can condition the aerated soil, but some farmers I know aerate again in mid-summer to allow the roots of the grass to breathe in fresh air.
I've already checked the PH of my soil and it currently has a PH of 7 (neutral), which is ideal for bermuda. After aeration, I will broadcast 19-19-19 granulated fertilizer to put needed nutrients back into the soil. Then I'll sit back and do nothing but mow weekly and help force the bermuda to "run", spot spray any weeds that appear, and hope that our 3-year drought has ended. Bermuda is a grass that grows best when the temps are consistently 70 degrees and above at night and humidity is above 60%. I'm not sure what you plan to have in the form of ground cover, but around here bermuda is KING.
Hopefully, by fall, I'll have all the bare areas covered and the weeds pretty much under control. If you live in the country, you'll always have to contend with weed control because no matter what you do, seeds will blow in from adjacent fields. Next year I'll completely Roundup the whole place in late February or early March before the bermuda comes out of dormancy but after the broadleafs and wild onions have already begun to grow. This will become an annual ritual. Some people also put down a pre-emergent herbicide to kill the seeds in the ground, but it will also kill any bermuda seeds that are waiting to sprout, so I don't plan to use it. Just remember... the thicker and healthier the grass... the less room weeds have to grow.
I hope this helps. I'm not a farmer, but I took time to visit several local farmer's who make their living raising cattle and baling hay. I'd have never attempted what I'm doing without some "expert" advice to guide me in my effort. If all goes well... I'll have 10-acres of thick luxurious bermuda next year and <font color=blue>THEN</font color=blue> depend heavily on God and Mother Nature to help me take care of it /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif. As for implements... I'd suggest a good rotary mower, a good finish mower if you're wanting it to look like lawn /w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif, an aerator, and a boom sprayer with a capacity of at least 50-gallons.
Good luck...
FarmerBob
Sounds like you got some good advice... and maybe even a little overly-optimistic advice. God and Mother Nature do a wonderful job of taking care of Their living things, but They treat everything equally... including weeds. It's up to us to segragate out what we want to keep /w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif.
I'm in the process now of taking what was once good fertile bermuda grass pasture and restoring it to 10-acres of nothing but tiff bermuda. There is still some bermuda scattered throughtout the pasture and I'm first going to attempt to make it spread into the weed infested and open areas. If I'm unsuccessful, then I'll disk and re-seed next spring.
Since I bought the property in late March, I won't be able to Roundup the entire area because the bermuda was already out of dormancy. So, I'm currently spraying the whole 10-acre tract with MSMA. This is a herbicide that will kill most broadleaf weeds, wild onions, nut grass, Dallis grass, crab grass and most other broadleaf grasses. It will not kill bermuda unless you overdose. Using the correct mix rate will stunt the growth of the bermuda for a few days and turn it somewhat yellow, but this is temporary and soon the bermuda will resume it's normal growth... minus the surrounding weeds.
Soil becomes compacted due to constant animal and machinery traffic. When the soil gets compacted, the roots of the grass can't penetrate beyond a couple of inches and this does not make for sustainable grass. I have ordered a core areator, which I'll use to remove plugs of dirt, down to about 6". This will allow the soil room to move and relieve compaction. It also makes the land drain well and puts more air, moisture, bacteria, and nutrients deeper into the soil. This will help build a deeper root structure for the grass and allow it to withstand colder winter months and hotter summer days. Aeration is best done in the spring when frequent rains can condition the aerated soil, but some farmers I know aerate again in mid-summer to allow the roots of the grass to breathe in fresh air.
I've already checked the PH of my soil and it currently has a PH of 7 (neutral), which is ideal for bermuda. After aeration, I will broadcast 19-19-19 granulated fertilizer to put needed nutrients back into the soil. Then I'll sit back and do nothing but mow weekly and help force the bermuda to "run", spot spray any weeds that appear, and hope that our 3-year drought has ended. Bermuda is a grass that grows best when the temps are consistently 70 degrees and above at night and humidity is above 60%. I'm not sure what you plan to have in the form of ground cover, but around here bermuda is KING.
Hopefully, by fall, I'll have all the bare areas covered and the weeds pretty much under control. If you live in the country, you'll always have to contend with weed control because no matter what you do, seeds will blow in from adjacent fields. Next year I'll completely Roundup the whole place in late February or early March before the bermuda comes out of dormancy but after the broadleafs and wild onions have already begun to grow. This will become an annual ritual. Some people also put down a pre-emergent herbicide to kill the seeds in the ground, but it will also kill any bermuda seeds that are waiting to sprout, so I don't plan to use it. Just remember... the thicker and healthier the grass... the less room weeds have to grow.
I hope this helps. I'm not a farmer, but I took time to visit several local farmer's who make their living raising cattle and baling hay. I'd have never attempted what I'm doing without some "expert" advice to guide me in my effort. If all goes well... I'll have 10-acres of thick luxurious bermuda next year and <font color=blue>THEN</font color=blue> depend heavily on God and Mother Nature to help me take care of it /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif. As for implements... I'd suggest a good rotary mower, a good finish mower if you're wanting it to look like lawn /w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif, an aerator, and a boom sprayer with a capacity of at least 50-gallons.
Good luck...
FarmerBob
