I only have a 59 Ford and small boom sprayer

Brad6260

Brad6260

New member
With very limited equipment I am hoping to get started by spraying once this fall and twice in the spring and then use the the local coops seed drill to put four or five 10' wide x 400' long plot strips in this 8 acre fescue field behind the house.
I would love to pick up a used 3pt 6' disc but the ground has not been worked in ten years and I worry that the disc can't do much without the ground being plowed first. More stress than I want to put on the old Ford.

suggestions?

018.jpg
 
Go to tractohouse.com I have a 1941 Ford 9n and still use it for garden work,buzz saw work and small acreage work. Your acreage won't yours that much. There are plows and discs on that website you can get for your tractor. I work up to 15 acres with the 9n and don't have any problems just moves slower than everybody else.In clay ground I usually go in 1st gear for ground that hasn't been worked in a few yrs.. If you have a 600 Ford you can use a mounted 2 bottom 14" plow and do okay with it. When you hook it up to the three point make sure the arms are level to each other and the tractor. Any questions on this you can e-mail me and we can talk more.
 
If you've got a sprayer you're doing better than me! I walk miles every year with a backpack sprayer and miss spots. :eek:

10' wide isn't very wide. What are you thinking of planting? I'd make the strips wider so predators will have a harder time finding and/or surprising the birds.
 
GB your point's well taken and after thinking about it going 20' or so may make for better row widths.

M.R.B.- Don't think I'll go with shrubs type stuff. You can't see it in the picture I posted but 3/4 of the field is surrounded by heavy growth border edges.
I would prefer to stay with medium to lower profile growth in the field with the exception of a couple of rows of Egyptian wheat. ( love the stuff)

Since I do hope to have a reliable sprayer to work with I was curious if spraying one pass (10') on either side of my plot strips with round-up might be beneficial with the idea to help slow down the fescue creeping back into the food plots?
 
Your tractor should be plenty big to pull the 6 foot disc and unless the disc is very lightweight, you'll be able to work that ground up okay, especially if the fescue sod is killed. I would suggest getting a disc with the serrated discs, they cut MUCH better and will make things go much faster when cutting through that sod. As for the spraying along the edges, that would be a good idea as it would give the birds some open ground next to their food source and within close proximity to some cover. And the 20 foot widths are better then the 10.
 
Based on what you have shown us in the picture, planting shrubs or food plots are going to do little to improve your bird production capabilities. If the cover shown in the picture is indicative of surrounding habitat, neither food or woody cover is your primary limiting factor. The old chicken/egg debate is in order here. Fescue is of almost zero value to birds for nesting, brood-rearing, or food. With the equipment you have, I would use the sprayer to kill the Fescue with Journey and follow with a spring seeding of NWSG and forbs. Then, a limited planting of some kind of food plot or shrubs might be in order. I guess I'm too blind to read the state on your avatar, but knowing where you're from might modify this prescription a bit. The design of your food plot/shrub plantings should be thought out so as to facilitate the management of the future NWSG stand as well as maximizing the value of the various components by making the proximity of the various parts most beneficial to birds. That means birds should not have to go far to get to food or escape cover. Food should address all life stages. A no-till drill should be available through the NRCS, Extension, or Wildlife Dept to plant your grass/forb mix. The disk will work on the sod, but will take numerous passes to break down the sod. Planting can be accomplished by drilling, planting, or broadcasting. Shrubs can be completely accomplished by hand. With the woody cover in the background and foreground, this component may be able to be minimized within your acreage to some extent. Brush piles may be substituted for some woody plantings.
 
Prairie Drifter said:
Based on what you have shown us in the picture, planting shrubs or food plots are going to do little to improve your bird production capabilities. If the cover shown in the picture is indicative of surrounding habitat, neither food or woody cover is your primary limiting factor. The old chicken/egg debate is in order here. Fescue is of almost zero value to birds for nesting, brood-rearing, or food. With the equipment you have, I would use the sprayer to kill the Fescue with Journey and follow with a spring seeding of NWSG and forbs. Then, a limited planting of some kind of food plot or shrubs might be in order. I guess I'm too blind to read the state on your avatar, but knowing where you're from might modify this prescription a bit. The design of your food plot/shrub plantings should be thought out so as to facilitate the management of the future NWSG stand as well as maximizing the value of the various components by making the proximity of the various parts most beneficial to birds. That means birds should not have to go far to get to food or escape cover. Food should address all life stages. A no-till drill should be available through the NRCS, Extension, or Wildlife Dept to plant your grass/forb mix. The disk will work on the sod, but will take numerous passes to break down the sod. Planting can be accomplished by drilling, planting, or broadcasting. Shrubs can be completely accomplished by hand. With the woody cover in the background and foreground, this component may be able to be minimized within your acreage to some extent. Brush piles may be substituted for some woody plantings.
Click to expand...


Prarrie Drifter,

What about adding one thing: burn the fescue when it begins to break dormancy in spring (late February or March). This removes all debris and allows the herbicides to come in direct contact with new green vegetation and the soil to stop new germination of fescue? We are having good success with Plateau.

Thoughts?
 
I believe that I read recently that they are getting the best results with the fall treatment with Journey (Plateau + Roundup). If I were going to treat twice, I would follow the fall Journey treatment with a spring Roundup treatment preplant. If you wanted, a summer burn before or a haying/grazing before the fall treatment would help with removing the duff and allowing the herbicide to find more live leaf. Probably adding some N to the fall treatment would help.
 
Biggest down fall that I have noticed with using Plateau, when attempting too control Johnsongrass in native grass is that it takes several applications. This year I batwing mowed first, then applied Plateau 2-3 weeks later. I think we acheived a better kill % on the Johnson Grass than in prevoius years.

Then the drought came. Will have to see next year as everything is burned to a crisp.
 
Thanks for the replies and suggestions.


My plans most definitely include NWSG.

Time and resources limit how much I can take on at one time so I envision this to be a two to three year conversion process.

My first stage next spring is to plant the food plot rows. This is aimed at creating a good hunt preserve type environment to work the dogs in. This will obviously also create a food source for the few birds and deer in the area and also simulate the Kansas milo and crp type stuff we spend most of out time in with the dogs. The main habitat that's not around me is crops. Very little NMSG.There are a few small coveys around but I rely mainly on my johnny house/call back birds for dog work. FYI- I am in KY.

The second stage likely fall of 2012 will be to plant the same food plot strips again but also kill off the remaining fescue (about 4 acres). Spray fescue in fall and spring and drill NWSG in spring. At that point there should be about 50' strips of NWSG drilled in between 20' strips of food plots over the entire 7 acres. Shrubs would be a consideration after that but keep in mind that 2/3 of the field is surrounded by heavy shrub and woody border.

Also,
I looked into doing a burn and would love to do that but after talking with everyone from the local fire dept (that I offered to feed) and the state forestry and Fish and Wildlife folks I concluded that everyone had advice to give but no one would actually help me manage the burn. There are several houses around me and I would not take on a burn without knowledgeable help on-site.
The upside is that I have a 6' Scagg mower that I call my little yellow bush hog.
I've used it to mow the fescue and the area I am working is small enough to mow fairly short and pull out a lot of the duff/thatch that a bushog leaves behind. It should provide a cleaner spray opportunity when the fescue is actively growing and ready to spray.

Plateau may be available to me from my Fish and Wildlife dept biologist. We'll see.

So there you go fella's. Critique away.
If there are any major flaws to my plan I welcome your opinions.

Regards!
 
The most obvious fauxpas is milo isn't planted in the fall. Further, if deer are a possible problem, milo is the wrong choice. Egyptian Wheat would be more viable as a choice.

Crops are almost an immediate result. The NWSG is what is going to take time to develop a stand. It would be most logical to me if you started that process first. It may take six months to a year to adequately kill the fescue, and 2-3 years before the grass stand provides significant cover.

As I mentioned earlier, if you design your food plots corrrectly, 2-4 sides of your acreage could double as fire breaks. NWSG cannot be maintained in the absence of fire. It will become important down the road, so planning for it now is critical. Help can be obtained. Knowledge can also be found. Google Oklahoma State Ecology and find their "How to conduct a burn" CD and order one. The basics are, have adequate help, water, and tools; prepare in advance; and know what the proper conditions are and be sure that is what you're going to have that day.

To conduct a burn, you will always start in the downwind corner or side. Always light INTO the wind. Wind should be forecast to remain in 1 direction all day and less than 15 mph. Dirt firebreaks prevent a lot of additional work. For a 4-6 acre burn, I could suffice with 2-3 people and ATV sprayers if I had disked fire breaks. Humidity should be above 35% all day. Lighting into the wind, light the downwind side/sides and widen. A drip torch ~$150 will save you a lot of work. It is important to have straight fire lines and prevent gaps. For a beginner burning, I would probably recommend stripping off the burn in 10 yard wide strips. With the torch, you can light off of the ATV. Your helpers need to keep vigil downwind, watching for spark overs. Even when the fire seems out, tend it for the remainder of the day. If the wind picks up, check it more often. Make sure no cold fronts, accluded fronts, or low pressure systems are in the area for 24 hours before/after the burn day. Have your hunting buddies help and you might inspire them to develop their own habitat.

Now for the design, 50 foot strips of grass are very narrow. They will be very easy to hunt for predators. If you're feeding birds, 2/5 ratio is way strong on the crop side. It is your most unneeded habitat type and the most expensive over the long run. If you make wise choices on the forbs in your grass mix, the crop will have lesser importance. The closer to 120 feet you can get on the grass strips, the less predators will be tasting your quail. Also, from a dog perspective, a 50 foot strip may create a boot polisher from lack of room to make an uninterrupted cast in cover. My 2 Cents!
 
The design has to be right for birds, not furbearers. You don't want it so dense that it could harbor furbearers. Generally you half cut a tree, then bring in cut off trees and stack the stump end near the hinge of the half cut-leaving the limb ends out in a circle. This leaves an open, grass filled pile that allow birds to get into and out of to escape predators and weather. They will probably be a temporary substitute until your shrub plantings are mature.
 
Prairie Drifter said:
The design has to be right for birds, not furbearers. You don't want it so dense that it could harbor furbearers. Generally you half cut a tree, then bring in cut off trees and stack the stump end near the hinge of the half cut-leaving the limb ends out in a circle. This leaves an open, grass filled pile that allow birds to get into and out of to escape predators and weather. They will probably be a temporary substitute until your shrub plantings are mature.
Click to expand...
Ah, I see. Strikes me more as a man-made edge feathering. I think "brush pile" and I see brush stacked on brush.
 
Yeah, common misconception. That's more of a log pile/doze pile. This should have grass growing up through the perimeter. The edge should be dense enough to deter predators, but open enough for birds to zip into. They should be able to launch from most any point within. The middle should provide more overhead protection, little on the ground. If you make these when you do the grass planting, when you finally need to burn in 3-4 years, the brush plantings should be taking their place. The width of the grass strips is critical. Less than 60 feet and the predators take most of the eggs. The 120 foot width is the minimal width in the optimal range. Wider is better yet.
 
Prarrie Drifter

A picture may help him. I would send one but I donot have a good one.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top