Canary Grass

Part Time Pete · Jul 26, 2016

I have one field that is mostly trefoil, Timothy and Orchard grass, but there are a few patches of canary grass that seem to get bigger each year. Is there a way to get rid of it, other than roundup and plowing it under?
Thanks
Pete

Donald Lehman · Jul 26, 2016

Is it plain old river bottom canary grass just growing in the wet spots? Once that stuff heads out and gets rank, the cows don't like it much, do they? There are newer varieties of canary grass that have been modified to remove that "flavor" the cows don't like. Unless someone else comes up with a better idea, I'd say use roundup on the stuff before it heads out so it doesn't re-seed itself and spot plow and seed, or maybe a no-till seeder to spot seed the killed off areas. Good luck.

Part Time Pete · Jul 26, 2016

Thanks - It's a hill farm, so heavy soils with a couple wet spots. It started in the wet spots, but is spreading. I have a couple other fields that need planting before I can get to that one, so maybe I'll figure on getting it cut early enough to get it before it matures, with the plan to eventually burn it and re-plant.
I had to do a motor job on my hay tractor, so I got a late start this year.
Pete

big jt · Jul 26, 2016

Reed canary hates dry feet. Dad planted some in the pasture 30 years ago in the low ground where everything else drowned out. Took a while to get established but once it did it took over any wet ground. There is pretty much a line you can draw in the pasture where the canary stops and drier ground starts.

Neighbor tries to farm the bottom peat across the road and seems to have no difficulty keeping it under control in row crops. Don't know what he is applying but would guess roundup or maybe fusilade. Of course none of these will do good things to your other forage.

We have some in the spot where the winter lot was. I usually mow it once or twice with a stalk cutter. Pulling a 15 foot stalk cutter would bring a 130 horse tractor to its knees.

Just my experiences.

jt

rrlund · Jul 26, 2016

I rolled 16 bales of that stuff a few weeks ago after a wet spot dried up. They'll bunt it around and eat some of it,but you sure don't want to drop a bale in a hay ring. I think they'd starve before they'd eat it that way.

LonM · Jul 26, 2016

If you graze it or hay it early, it makes excellent feed. I do not know how to kill it out of an existing stand of grass, but it will probably come back sooner or later.

Part Time Pete · Jul 26, 2016

I fed some to my Herefords one year - lots of molasses was the only way to get them to eat it...

sd pete · Jul 26, 2016

It's ok feed but needs to be grazed or hayed early. It lives in bottoms and slews.

Donald Lehman · Jul 26, 2016

Yeah! Hesston windrower with a 10 foot head and a slant 6 MoPar engine is slowed to a crawl in that stuff.

Donald Lehman · Jul 26, 2016

Yeah Randy, they will eat it better when cut really early and pickled in a round bale or bunker, but they still don't really like it. Now on the other hand, you throw it from the manger underneath them for bedding in a stall barn, they will stretch reach to get a mouthful of it to the point of stumbling and falling! (breaking off a water cup and flooding the barn in the process, of course).

TomH in PA · Jul 26, 2016

Spot spray it and reseed without plowing. It's not a good thing to have around.

showcrop · Jul 26, 2016

I had a pretty good amount of it in a field that I took over. Three years of lime, fertilizer, and early cutting and it just disappeared.

Canary Grass

Part Time Pete

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Donald Lehman

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Part Time Pete

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big jt

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rrlund

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LonM

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Part Time Pete

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sd pete

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Donald Lehman

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Donald Lehman

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TomH in PA

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showcrop

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