USDA/NRCS and NYS DEC experts recently (5/20/08) assessed the warm season grassland establishment project at Canoga Creek Farm and Conservancy.
Their assessment was generally positive. They said "Overall the site looked very good as far as establishment. There was excellent wildrye throughout. There were differences in stand establishment and survival with the poorest along the Southern side of the field. The planted and/or volunteer clover which overlapped the warm season grasses is posing serious competition as well as golden rod and other broad leaf weeds. On the North and West side of the field there was some dense rows of warm season grasses... some of it had little weed competition but the farthest area to the North had an excellent stand of warm season grasses. We also noticed more little bluestem on the North side which may have been due to how the seed was planted. Most of the weeds are broadleaved so that an application of 2,4-D is possible and would improve the stand. This would be a good year to do this to insure a vigorous stand of warm season grasses which may then have a chance to maintain itself with future encroachment of broadleaf forbs."
The team also noticed the prairie cord grass and Canada blue joint that was planted by Ducks Unlimited and Cayuga Lake Watershed volunteers is still growing on the edge of the field in the wetland margin.
I am particularly intrigued/encouraged by the following in their brief report/assessment:
"On the North and West side of the field there was some dense rows of warm season grasses... some of it had a little weed competition but the farthest area to the North had an excellent stand of warm season grasses. We also noticed more little blue stem on the North side which may have been due to how the seed was planted."
The reason this is of interest to me is that the areas described on the field are not in the conservation easement area, but were planted at the same rate as the rest of the field. The difference, from a management perspective, has been that, given those areas are not in the easement and therefore not restricted as to use, I have been practicing classic "timely mowing and/or grazing"...basically taking a cutting of hay as appropriate on these areas. I am not ready to assert direct causality but think it warrants further consideration.
As I am attempting to convert my entire farm (160 acres) to organic, I am particularly interested in methods of establishing this warm season planting without the use of chemicals. Would there be interest in a scientific trial here? Half of the field hayed/mowed, half treated with chemicals? I think there may be some value in exploring this.
At any rate, I appreciated the focus being on establishing the warm season grasses first, and then managing as habitat for associated wildlife secondarily as appropriate, when there is sufficient establishment. I believe the southernmost swath of the field was not planted to warm season due to excessive rills, so what is there is predominately volunteer or drift. The upland pond and drainage areas were planted to clover for erosion control...should there be changes in these areas (also not planted to warm season grasses)?
I was also very happy to hear about the prairie cord grass and Canada blue joint survival/growth. A group of volunteers who "sweated" (sweat?) on a hot day planting will be pleased to hear of it!
For an interesting discussion of ag practices, grasslands, and birds, try here.
4 comments:
The north end of the field was done last. I can't recall if I used more little bluestem at that point and my records aren't that specific.
However, being that it was at the end of the job I may have run out of some of the other species and had to substitute in more of the little bluestem. Due to the gear arrangement on the drill I had to switch between two different rates every few acres to obtain the desired rate on average across the site. Interestingly, the north end of the field was seeded at the lower of the two rates. Last fall I noticed all the little bluestem at the north end of the field and thought it was due to the fact that it was on a drier knoll.
The southern edge of the field was seeded and I am unsure as to why the grasses haven't done as well in that area.
One thing to note is at the time of the seeding it was very dry and the coulters on the drill barely cut into the ground.
I look forward to checking out the site this year.
JF
JF would know best about how the planting went in. I defer to him. I do remember it was great weather at the time and I think I remember JF saying that he might have had to use some straight Little Bluestem toward the end of the planting. I'm inclined to make establishment the highest priority and then hopefully your success will be followed with great wildlife habitat. That said, a broadleaf herbicide treatment would help immensely to cut down on competition, especially the clover that is present in many areas of the field. The warm-season grasses and the wildrye are present throughout much of the field and should do well with some nurturing. The warm-season grasses are generally about 4-5 inches high at this time. I was amazed to see how well the Little Bluestem did at the north end of the field, but you definitely need broadleaf control there. Being a short bunch grass, it will be interesting to compare the Little Bluestem area to the remainder of the field.
If you opt not to spray the whole field, KGT's idea to compare mowing and herbicide treatments makes sense. I would leave the clover plantings around the pond and drainage areas. It adds diversity to the area.
All in all I really like the field design and structure. In a couple of years you should be able to leave it alone, produce some very good nesting habitat, and incorporate your timely mowing and haying outside of the easement. I'll stop by again in my travels up the Lake.
Oh! We didn't see any Eastern Gamagrass (as of yet!)
MM
I think there are areas that have far fewer weeds and dense rows of WSG... they would most likely do fine without spraying. If you want to do a trial it should be replicated in several areas of the field to get a true response. My experience with the clover is that mowing alone will not control the direct competition but keeping it from going to seed will reduce the spread.
To start from scratch without herbicides with warm season grasses would be very difficult requiring intensive cultivation and smother cropping as if you were preparing for organic small fruit production. It would also subject you to more erosion. The following website deals with the use of buckwheat for weed control for organic farming. The use of oats along with the buckwheat is also a good method. I would be interested in following up with you on that especially if you have the equipment and the commitment.
http://www.nysaes.cornell.edu/hort/faculty/bjorkman/covercrops/buckwheatbrochure.html
PS
Thanks for your comments, gentleman.
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