yeah, once clover gets really established it chokes out weeds better than the cancer merchants. Give yer balls a tug and get ya some clover.
The guys are spot on with EVERY method mentioned. This based on soil structure,timing,seed bank and crops planted. What is needed is good research on all of that to know what's best. Diminishing results over years may be micro nutrients and soil tilth. Something also not mentioned is your soils biodiversity. Weeds are not the only thing that stunts growth. Fungi good and bad, grubs , wire worms, cut worms, ants, killing off your earthworms ect,ect... Understanding cover or interplanting crops that are good for critters and weed control. Find out what crop plants do to help and hurt you in the long run.Years and years ago my first crops where all things I was told wouldn't work. Buckwheat, rye grain to suppress weed seed germination. Then in late summer interseeding rape and red clovers. Hunting was great and tons of deer pics. Spring was great turkey hunting. Last year I let my winter rye grow and turnips to full seed maturity,in it was clover feet high. I went in and mowed down that 5 ft high rye and turnip seeds then ran a harrow drag over and over it and in the fall planted late turnips and dragged that in. I didn't see the turnips until snow hit and the deer went in pulling up small sweet bulbs. Right now I have thick clover, rye and turnip growing. That plot cost me 5.00 in seed and 30.00 In fertilizer. This year that area will get a burn down and cowpeas, soybeans and wild life sorghum planted. The kill down will be a weak round up to kill weeds but avoid a complete kill on clovers. Then a disc in of the rye, turnips and clover. A week or two resting and then dragging and smoothing with an application of grub control. I broadcast so another light disc seeding of a mix of those seed will follow with another dragging. As this comes in I will monitor the amount of and type of weeds. I only use non RR seed. So if need be I will use 2-4WDB. This is safe for legumes and grasses, but kills broad,non grass weeds. Here's the rub on this though. It will damage fruit and nut trees through roots and it will stop brassica germination for up to 48 months. You need to know your chems. and plan ahead. Late summer I will start the rye , clover rotation again. This is just one example, research cover crops , interseeding, avoid commercial mixes, and think out of the box as to what you think deer will be drawn to. I plant Hemp and knaulf...deer hammer those two plants harder than alfalfa.
Look up allopathic plants. Some of the common crop plants have a degree of allopathic effect on future crops. ,some brassicas, wheat, rye and sorghum as well. There is on going research in plants and their effects in rotations.
I’ve had a small kill plot and screen behind my house for about 10 yr. I usually roundup, wait a week, till, plant and pack with my lawnmower. I only had it tilled a couple times, rest of the time just pulled a chisel-tooth drag. Usually brasicas or no-plow. Always had great results. Last year...poor growth and weeds everywhere, BOTH the green screen and plot. 2 things I did different. 1) I used a tank sprayer which puts down way more roundup than my old hand sprayer; 2) I tilled with a JD hydraulic, probably 5-6 inches. Based on what I’m reading here I probably caused 1) poor seed germination from too much roundup and not waiting long enough; 2) tilled too deep disturbing dormant seeds. Yah think?!
I've never had poor germination from to much R_U . I know its fun and looks cool to dig/rottotill a spot but over the years, I quit doing that. Heck, I sometimes respray my pumpkins fields a week after I lay down the seeds as long as they are not breaking through yet.
Dirt neutralizes Roundup. That's why it's safe to spray around trees, it can't go down through the dirt and attack the roots like something like 2-4-D will do. The very first job I ever had as a teenager was working for an old guy that had a lot of property. I did a lot of mowing and spraying for him. One of the very first things he made sure I understood was what spray to use. Roundup to kill everything, and only RU anywhere near trees. Banvil / 2-4-D mix for broadleaf only and didn't want any grass to die, but absolutely don't use it near trees. His exact words to me were "dirt neutralizes RU, it'll only kill plants already growing above the soil".
Great point, thus knowing your chems.. Though to that, there are round up products that boost weed control up to 6 mos. I have never used it but I would have to assume it has extra germination suppression additives. Read those labels carefully. Like 24WD isn't the same as 24WDB
I tried to find ingredients of the round up max that has 6-12 mos of weed suppression. Don't know why but none of my searches would pull up a complete ingredient listing. To that what did come up is the max 6-12 month weed suppression is illegal to ship to NYS. Now regular round up is fine to use and sell. That tells me they may contain seed germination suppressing chems. as well as glysophate which is a contact kill chem. Perhaps not, but something in it is keeping weeds from returning seeing most all soils contain seeds germinating at various times.
I don't know of any Roundup products that has a premix with a preemerge herbicide but I suppose there certainly could be. Hell, they have a Roundup safe for lawns now, like that isn't going to be comical.
Living in a historic home came with historic weeds when I tilled the lawn... I swear everything in that old yard was resistant to round up. So after fighting it for four years I paid to have 4" excavated, backfilled with new soil and planted a mix of buffalo grass. Then the neighbor had his lawn sprayed on a windy day and the drift killed half my yard, this guy that did the spraying acted like his drift was doing me a favor... I guess landscapers/lawn mowers hate buffalo grass since it only needs cut twice a year. So after dealing with that dumb prick I reseeded with dutch white clover and the new owner can reseed the Buffalo grass in a couple years as I will not be there! I may be alone in this thought but I cannot stand a monoculture lawn or the amount of chemicals, herbicides and fertilizers that go along with it. But I know some do and it does provide plenty of jobs... Still to date, the best lawn I have is out at the farm house. It sits in the middle of 80 acres of a improved bermuda pasture so I burn off the lawn every fall just in case the wildfires. That lawn is so plush and lush and I have done squat to fertilize, maintain or anything other than making the farmhand keep it mowed. Maybe I should try burning off the lawn in the City, for entertainment purposes...
Just about to take off the rest of the day for that purpose... Well that and go hand out bonus checks at the grow op we legally own...
If nys didn't have a purchase ban on Arrest type grass killers /grass specific....I'd have nothing but Dutch clover growing. The Ban on extended round up surprised me.
Don't envy the amount of paperwork that goes into it daily. But it has been fun. Surprisingly, Oklahoma has some of the most relaxed medical marijuana laws in the nation after having some of the harshest laws in the land for years. Yesterday I celebrated with some Ghost Train Haze...
