What implement works best for controlling weeds, foxtails.

[ericm979]

The grass in the first and second pics is cheat. The seeds tend to stick in animals coats but it's not as annoying (or as dangerous to some animals) as foxtails. Neither is native to California. Unfortunately they out-compete our native grasses. I'd rarther have cheat than either foxtails or thistle. All of them are annuals and propagate by seed so mowing before they set seed would reduce the number of plants the next year. It might be worth calling up the local extension agent and asking what's a good seed to spread to compete with the plants you don't want.

Over here it's wetter and if you leave cleared land it'll eventually get covered with coyotebrush, elderberry, scotch broom and poison oak. The areas I mow end up with cheat and some other probably non-native grasses, and this year a lot of Italian thistle.

 

[Catman8]

The grass in the first and second pics is cheat. The seeds tend to stick in animals coats but it's not as annoying (or as dangerous to some animals) as foxtails. Neither is native to California. Unfortunately they out-compete our native grasses. I'd rarther have cheat than either foxtails or thistle. All of them are annuals and propagate by seed so mowing before they set seed would reduce the number of plants the next year. It might be worth calling up the local extension agent and asking what's a good seed to spread to compete with the plants you don't want.

Over here it's wetter and if you leave cleared land it'll eventually get covered with coyotebrush, elderberry, scotch broom and poison oak. The areas I mow end up with cheat and some other probably non-native grasses, and this year a lot of Italian thistle.

What is a (local extension agent)? I was thinking I could mow before they went to seed but looking at the foxtail plant it has already started to seed close to the ground.

 

[jeff9366]

Cheatgrass: Google

Eradicate Cheatgrass: Google

 

[smstonypoint]

What is a (local extension agent)?

See County offices - Agriculture and Natural Resources - University of California to find the phone # of the Cooperative Extension office in your county. The local staff (or specialists within the University of California system) will provide advice at no cost to you.

Steve

 

[Egon]

Thanks for all the great ideas so far, one thing that I need to understand is what method kills the weeds, is grinding the weeds and roots up and mixing them under the soil going to kill them or are you just replanting them for next year, are we trying to turn them under before they seed. I used my roto tiller today on a small area with two passes, took a little over an hour and was about 8" deep, it ground all the dead grass into the dirt, is this going to help slow down the growth or is it important to break the ground deep with a field cultivator like others have suggested.

View attachment 508764View attachment 508765

If you want to eradicate the plants growing in your field keep it black with cultivation for the summer. As for the implement whatever works. If a cultivator use one that has the broad shovels. The spike toothed will not do what you want.

Replant grass for a late fall or spring start.

 

[Catman8]

So you guys are saying I have cheatgrass not foxtails, thanks I will have to compare the two just for my own knowledge.

My neighbor across the street has been using a company to spray his yard for the last five years, He has no weeds whatsoever just bare dirt, this year he stopped the spraying service and the weeds are as thick and as plentiful as my property. So what that tells me, is the seeds are in the ground and even after five years of spraying, the weeds will just come right back because of the seeds. I guess that's what you guys are talking about planting something that will choke it out.

 

[ericm979]

What is a (local extension agent)? .

County extension. It's a program for getting knowledge from universities to farmers and rural people (and back to the universities). It's part of the land grant university program, so it's been around for a long time. It's generally free.

https://nifa.usda.gov/extension

One web site for finding your local office: Find your local county extension office with this list of the agricultural extension offices across the US

 

[ericm979]

So you guys are saying I have cheatgrass not foxtails, thanks I will have to compare the two just for my own knowledge.

From the pics it looks like you have both.

 

[AGRIMAN]

I would run a disc over it first to prep it, then break (plow) it deep and bury the seeds. Some will eventually come back, but they will be thin for a while.

I would plant some bermuta grass and let it choke it out. if you are looking to keep it dirt, I would run a disc over every few weeks.

 

[Catman8]

I would run a disc over it first to prep it, then break (plow) it deep and bury the seeds. Some will eventually come back, but they will be thin for a while.

I would plant some bermuta grass and let it choke it out. if you are looking to keep it dirt, I would run a disc over every few weeks.

Would turning the weeds over with a plow have a different affect than tilling or using a cultivator.

 

[2ndhalf]

Regardless of how you till your soil you will have weeds the very same year. You have to plant something to choke out the weeds. I would call your extension agent and ask them what a good cover crop for your growing climate is. Then ask them how to prep soil to plant that and do exactly as they tell you.

Bottom line is... something is going to grow on your land... it is up to you to decide what that is. Below is a guide you should read and decide what you want growing to fit your upcoming needs on that land.. are you wanting cattle some day?

http://ceshasta.ucanr.edu/files/234771.pdf

 

[jeff9366]

Yes. Different, but not necessarily better.

Learning to plow is a long, process and the result would not necessarily be superior to tilling in Texas, where most areas do not have an extended period of heavy frost. The two main reasons to plow are 1) to break sod in Primary Tillage 2) To mechanically process heavy clay soil for alternate freeze/thaw cycles to break down. Lesser reason 3) To bring fresh micro-nutrients to the crop root zone about once every ten years as micor-nutrients are depleted.

In Texas plowing would likely be a once-in-ten-years event for your field, and then you require a Disc Harrow, tiller, heavy Landscape Rake or another alternative implement to level 12" to 14" furrows created by the plow.

Why do you have such negative feelings for your roto-tiller? Do you NOT have roto-tiller operation "figured out?" Have you read roto-tiller's Operator's Manual from cover to cover several times?

The most common size plow is 12", which will turn soil 5" to 7" deep. Your roto-tiller will likely till 8" deep, if necessary, once you thoroughly understand its operation.


Good infö from 2NDHALF in Post #31.

 

[Egon]

The rototiller would do a nice job but may seem slow.

In long past days grass fields would be ploughed then worked down with a disk or tiller. After the first growth of plant life it would be blackened with a cultivator, Rod weeded or cable weeder and then harrowed with a diamond tooth harrow. This procedure would be repeated at intervals dictated by the rate of new plant growth. Basically allowing germination of seeds present and then cultivating to kill them over the summer. Next spring more germination would be allowed and then cultivation and seeding of the desired crop.

[video]http://www.oacc.info/Extension/ext_weed_summerfallow.asp[/video]

. ( Summerfallow ). Long since out of practice due to loss of land production, soil erosion, emergence of sprays, and loss of soil nitrogen.

 

[Ford850]

Why can't it just be mowed occasionally before it goes to seed?

 

[fishwhiz]

Every time you turn the soil, you will bring up new weed seeds. A sequence of mowing as close to the ground as possible, then watering to get remaining seeds at the surface to germinate, then more mowing and burning new growth can work the quickest since you only need to exhaust the surface seed source. If tilling is your only option, then till as shallow as possible, then water, then till again... repeat as necessary until you exhaust the seed bank BEFORE the weeds nearby go to seed. Finally seed heavily and get it greened up before the weed seed hits again.

All of this depends on which weeds you are dealing with since some can tolerate repeated short mowing.

 

[bruceatlam]

Best solution that I've found is to disk it before the weeds drop their seeds. Simple and relatively quick. Two times a year will probably work well. Your larger problem is the weed seed that blows in from neighboring property.

 

[jeff9366]

Best solution that I've found is to disk it before the weeds drop their seeds. Simple and relatively quick. Two times a year will probably work well. Your larger problem is the weed seed that blows in from neighboring property.

Are you not just planting annual seeds for germination the next Spring?

 

[Catman8]

Jeff9366, I don't have negative feelings for my tiller, I finally got the hang of it and I worked out all the bugs and it's working really good. I just felt it was slow going but maybe that was from my first impression when I was doing things wrong. A lot of people on this forum said you need to be careful not to over till because you can ruin your soil structure, and turn your dirt to dust, and me just learning did not want to do that. So I was just thinking there was a faster implement to use that I wouldn't have a chance of ruining the soil structure.

 

[Catman8]

Why can't it just be mowed occasionally before it goes to seed?

I tried flail mowing but the ground squirrels dig up the soil and make mounds of dirt and mowing an uneven field is not like mowing a golf course. I have noticed when I mow, the next growth has seeds coming out at the base of the plant, mowing that close to the ground is not possible with a uneven field. So that's why I was looking to till the weeds under before they even have a chance to grow, and then maybe find another grass that will take over as others have suggested.

 

[Catman8]

This is an area around my house that I used the roto tiller on to control the weeds and you can see the new growth already cumming up, I ran a chain harrow over it and that did not work to remove the new growth.

Unfortunatly, I don't have the time to plant a crop or another type of grass at this point in my life, way to many projects that are a priority, so in the meantime I just want to turn the weeds over before they have a chance to produce those nasty foxtails and then drag an implement over the top of the new growth, as you can see from the second picture a chain harrow does not remove even the smallest new growth, there has to be some type of drag implement that would cut just deep enough to remove the new growth without over digging the soil. Do you guys know of one?

I appreciate everyone who has posted on my thread