Moist Soil VS Millet?

[missed mallards]

Currently, we have a great stand of wild grasses. Even had some volunteer millet come up.

Question:

Do you disk it all up, and plant it all in millet? After the blackbirds last year, we're going to try to plant it later this year (next 10 days or so). Just trying to make a judgment call on what we need to do.

Also, is specialty seed in Anguilla still open? If so, anyone have a contact?

[SWAG]

Specialty Seed is open.

This has been a wet grassy type year so far. I have seen alot of moist soil that looks real good. Hard to disk up really good stuff to plant something. Only thing is that alot of this grass is way ahead of schedule. We will see some maturity, seed shatter, and re-germination out of the "crop" of grasses we are looking at right now. Everything we do is a decision making process. Weigh the positives and negatives of both scenarios. I myself am keeping alot of moist soil. I am going to break one beaver dam to pull some water off one area to plant some millet and bring on (I hope) a flush of sprangletop/barnyard grasses, but everything else I am leaving as is. If we continue to get rains and keep scenarios the way they are, then run into some drydown time in Aug-Sept, we could see some of the fall barnyardgrass really come on. Something that does not happen very often. My thoughts are I have good grass now with the potential for some more really good grass in a month or so. I am sticking with what I have.

[eSJay]

SSI
Roger Jones
6628366451
Busy man so keep trying!

[Wingman]

I had some early barnyard last year. Disked the mature crop up in July and flushed it w water to get it to sprout and keep my stand of smartweed alive. I got very little germination of the barnyard seed. When I flooded it for teal season there was good seed by the jillions in the water. This year it's thick, thick, thick.

Correct me if I'm wrong, Swag, but doesn't barnyard have a low germ right after it matures and the germ % increases over time?

MM, I wouldn't disk up good moist soil to plant millet. To me, that's burying a sure thing and hoping for the alternative to make.

[Wingman]

I'll add that when I disked mine, the straw was so thick that the disk blades barely disturbed the soil. Very few, if any, of the seeds were buried. But still I figured they'd germinate after soaking in water.

[SWAG]

Seed from Echinochloa sp. do tend to be lower in germ % right after maturity. The germ % goes up over time and a cold period will increase the rate of increasing germ %. Still there is usually good enough germ that one would see some germination right off if seed came into contact with moist soil and temps were high enough. Most of the seed should be left for the ducks, but continued rains + warm weather could sprout a fair amount of seed between now and November.

Plants in this Echinochloa sp group are barnyardgrass, rough barnyardgrass, jungle rice, Jap millet, Chiwapa, etc.

http://plants.usda.gov/core/profile?symbol=ECCO2

http://plants.usda.gov/core/profile?symbol=ECCR

http://plants.usda.gov/core/profile?symbol=ECES

http://plants.usda.gov/core/profile?symbol=ECFR

http://plants.usda.gov/core/profile?symbol=ECMU2

http://plants.usda.gov/core/profile?symbol=ECCR2

All of these would be considered "millets". So if you already have millet....may not want to plant what you already got.

[donia]

big year for armyworms this year..."armywormagedon" as coined by angus cachot.

[Wingman]

Cutworms got my sunflowers and some of my corn. Fun to see the plants emerging one day, then gone a few days later.

[nipntuck]

SWAG or WINGIE
Any benefit to bushogging a great grass field at this juncture and spraying for the broadleaf plants? I was thinking about giving our natural grasses a shot of nitrogen and trying to decide on timing. Obviously right before a rain but what month. Thanks for professional insight.

[SWAG]

You can delay maturity by mowing grass. Off set of that is that the plant may have already used up valuable resources to get where it is. If the grass is already headed out then it has spent alot of energy and resources. If there is ample nutrients and soil moisture then the grass can go on and make a good seed yield. Stage of the grass is the largest factor on whether to try it or not. If headed out, I would probably just spray for the broadleaves and not worry about mowing. If you do decide to mow and fertilize and spray then I would consider making the spray application before mowing. Unless your broadleaves are just too large to kill at this date, then you are probably better off spraying before the bushhog. Injured or stressed plants are frequently harder to kill than healthy ones. Rarely have I seen a mowed stand of grass make the seed yield it had potential of making the first go 'round even when N is applied. But I do understand someone wanting to clean up a plot or wanting to delay plant maturity thus needing to mow. You very well may open up some canopy for your fall grasses to germinate and come on as well. Again it is just weighing what you have in hand against what you MAY get in the future. Rain has been plentiful but we are due for a hot/dry period. About 50 lbs of N should be plenty if you decide to apply.

[missed mallards]

I went and walked the property yesterday to see how everything looked.

My decision to not disk/plant will be one I won't do again if I can help it.

It seems like all the 'grass' is gone now. Seed is all over the floor yet I fear I'll have a second germination and at Novembers day of reckoning have nothing to flood food wise. Then again, I still have grasses growing. My planted Millet on the flat looks good, however, it won't/can't supply enough food for a season. However, I'm hopeful that the foxtail, sedges, smartweed, and other seeded plants will make up the difference. This late in the game, there is food out there, so we just have to make the best of it!

Smartweed has taken over which, sucks. I'm not a fan. It's the annual (pink) flowers, I just don't have any confidence in it. Although the mallards did wear out a small area last year? Who knows. We'll have to wait and see!


I took the stand off approach. In a sense, allowed nature to do it's thing. The few deer have awesome bedding areas, the rabbits have cover, but I don't think/forsee ducks flocking in like years past. Then again, if there is food, maybe they'll lower their wings and meet me for breakfast.

[Wingman]

All your grass seed is still there and it will be there come winter. Now you have a crop of smartweed coming on. (Crumble up those pink seed heads in November after frost and try to count the thousands of tiny seeds in your hand). It's the best of both worlds. Mine is doing the same thing. I wouldn't go back and change anything if I could. That natural stuff is gold. Gold I tell you. Mow it in late October or early November.

[jmh600]

Rob why do you want to mow it in late October early November? This would also not be considered manipulating a field because it is natural, is that correct?

[Wingman]

Mow it after the seed has made to give the ducks places to land. If you have just grass, it'll lay down, but smartweed and coffeeweed won't. I mow a patchwork and the birds love it.

Yes, it's natural vegetation so it's legal to manipulate.

[missed mallards]

Thanks rob. That's makes me feel a little better. Kind of a best of both worlds scenrio.

Will defiantly have to mow.

Do you mow strips throughout for landing areas or just small holes?