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Re: weeds

We have two five acre plots in prairie grasses and forbs. We started
gathering seed along railroad tracks and anywhere else we happened onto
native plants and simply broadcast the seed into the field. We burned almost
every spring and after 4 or 5 years some native grasses and forbs started
emerging. After ten years, one five acre plot is dominated by native plants,
many are true conservatives, and there is a noticeable lack of sweet clover,
fescue, etc.
Last year we tried another approach on a recently acquired adjacent 5 acre
plot. It was in the CRP program for 10yrs and was almost pure fescue with
large patches of johnson grass and spotted with autumn olive. Last spring we
sprayed round-up, then drilled a mix of prairie grasses and forbs. In the
fall we had what appeared to be a decent stand of indian grass, side oats
gramma, and little bluestem. We didn't see any evidence of the forbs. We had
a very mild, wet winter and spring. We never had a window to burn the new
plot. Right now it has the tallest, strongest, thickest, fescue I have ever
seen. Johnson grass, poke, thistle, sweet clover, dock, daisy fleabane,
vetch, queen Anne's lace and more dominate the stand. It is the worst, most
miserable looking thing I have ever seen in my life. But I have confidence
now that after a few LATE SPRING burns, the fescue will succumb.  With some
spot spraying of the Johnson grass and some of the other more obnoxious
non-natives, things will improve. Above all, time, lot's of it will turn
this new plot into something worth while.

An observation on burns. On our first plot we burned every year and the
grasses became dominant with few forbs. Every year there was less fescue.
Mostly because of weather, we skipped two years on a portion of the plot.
The indian grass and big bluestem thatch was so thick it choked itself out.
After this spring's burn, there is a much better balance of grasses and
forbs.

 -----Original Message-----
From: MJ Hatfield <oneota@ames.net>
To: Prairie L <prairie@mallorn.com>
Date: Friday, June 25, 1999 7:46 AM
Subject: weeds


>I'd like to ask you folks who are working with restoration and
>reconstruction of prairie to list the weeds in order of nastiness, and
>explain why. And perhpas list your method of preferred control. Feel
>free to add to the list.
>
>The reason I'm asking is that there is only so much time to work on weed
>eradication and I'd like to know your thoughts as to where effort should
>be placed.
>
>Thanks.
>===============================
>sweet clover
>crownvetch
>wild pasnips
>Canadian thistle
>Reed's canary grass
>dock
>Queen Anne's lace
>bull thistle
>red clover
>brome
>alfalfa
>creeping charlie
>dandylions
>foxtail
>mustards
>
>
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