Big Blue

[reddog]

This stand of Big Blue was originally a mixture of primmarily Big Blue with some switch and indian grass. The big blue has for the most part taken over, and Im seriously thinking about redoing the whole thing to switch and indian.
Im so disappointed every year it snows, and this stuff just lays down, almost worse than brome. I see nice fields of Switch still standing tall. It basically worthless for any kind of winter cover in my opinion. I burned a chunk of it today, and am thinking about drilling switch right into the ashes. Will this have any chance to succeed?

 

[1pheas4]

I mentioned this a few years ago regarding Big Blue Stem. It's a great grass, but when it comes to standing up to heavy, wet, drifting snow it goes flat quick. Switch and Indian grass seem to stand up well, or better than Big Blue Stem.

I wouldn't remove it completely from your mix, just cut back on it. With that said, this winter was hard on most grasses. Here too, a number of our fields didn't stand up to the drifting snow. It seemed areas with Golden Rod mixed with grass did well, Cattails stood up well too.

 

[Prairie Drifter]

If the sod is densely covering the ground, new seedlings will have little chance competing with that sod. If you want to improve it, consider spraying strips with glyphosate and seeding those strips with your new mix. You could, over time, do it all this way while still maintaining a useable stand at the same time.

 

[reddog]

I mentioned this a few years ago regarding Big Blue Stem. It's a great grass, but when it comes to standing up to heavy, wet, drifting snow it goes flat quick. Switch and Indian grass seem to stand up well, or better than Big Blue Stem.

I wouldn't remove it completely from your mix, just cut back on it. With that said, this winter was hard on most grasses. Here too, a number of our fields didn't stand up to the drifting snow. It seemed areas with Golden Rod mixed with grass did well, Cattails stood up well too.

This is an existing stand of BB. It's beautiful in the summer, but falls flat on it's face at the end of the season. If I did anything, it would be to overseed with solid switch, or a 70\ 30 mix of Switch and Indian. BB would not be in the mix, as it's already there.

 

[reddog]

If the sod is densely covering the ground, new seedlings will have little chance competing with that sod. If you want to improve it, consider spraying strips with glyphosate and seeding those strips with your new mix. You could, over time, do it all this way while still maintaining a useable stand at the same time.

.

I dont have any sod per se in the patch. It's all BB with a smattering of forbs. I'm just wondering if I need to kill out the BB over the summer and then reseed with Switch, or if just drill in a new seed bed of switch next week into the ashes if it would have any chance of catching up to the big blue. It's an impressive stand in July and August but I hate what it does in December.

You can see the Big Blue on the right side of this picture, next to the food plot.

 

[Prairie Drifter]

The Big Bluestem IS sod. New seedlings planted into it will not be able to compete with the established plants. If you kill out the whole plot, you'll lose 2-3 years of nesting potential as well as hunting opportunity. If you strip kill it and interseed the sprayed strips, you can preserve it's productivity and still improve the plot. If you want complete conversion, you can do that with the strip kill and still be producing broods and hunting in it during the multi-year conversion.

 

[reddog]

Thanks, I don't have enough time, or the inclination to do a total restoration or even the strip tills, but that's a great idea. I'll be moving from this property in a year or two. The original restoration was a fun project, even with a few setbacks.

 

[UGUIDE]

RD, I am planning to do an interseed on 200 acres next year. NRCS prescribes a burn, wait 2 weeks for greenup and then a glyphosate application.

I have all BB, switch and indian in my CRP and it stands well.

Waiting a couple weeks for greenup and a gly app might set back the BB enough to give the other 2 a chance. I can't believe one gly application would completely kill off your BB.

2 weeks also give ashes a chance to settle. Use a good no till drill and seed half inch deep.

 

[reddog]

After sleeping on it, I may give it a try. My short grass/forbs patch is doing great!

 

[FCSpringer]

If you live up here in the snow belt, yes, do yourself a favor and ditch the big blue for switch and little blue. I had big and Indian, well have. I also have a couple switch and little blue. The little blue and switch pops back up after winter providing the nesting site you need. Big blue and Indian always get knocked flat like that. It sucks. All the DNR lands are ruined for nesting because they went heavy on blue stem. Every single field you go by in the spring look the same. Flat.

 

[reddog]

If you live up here in the snow belt, yes, do yourself a favor and ditch the big blue for switch and little blue. I had big and Indian, well have. I also have a couple switch and little blue. The little blue and switch pops back up after winter providing the nesting site you need. Big blue and Indian always get knocked flat like that. It sucks. All the DNR lands are ruined for nesting because they went heavy on blue stem. Every single field you go by in the spring look the same. Flat.

As soon as it warms up, Im going to hit the burn off with Gly, and drill in switch and see what happens.

 

[FCSpringer]

Good choice. Add some little blue in. Nice stuff. Also do not use the taller variety switch. If you can find Dakota switch, that is a nice grass. Mid height. I put some forestberg switch in and that tips over from snow bad too. I may redo mine some time too. Now I just mow. If I don't it gets 6 feet tall. You can add a little of the blue stem and Indian. But up here you definitely want switch for a main base. Birds love to nest in it.