# Getting old fields back in shape



## Woreout6420 (Sep 15, 2015)

I have about 120 acres of old overgrown fields that I need to get back in shape. I ran a batwing over them the first week of August. They had not had anything done to them in a few years and were grown up with all types of weeds and some brushy type stuff. Some of it was over 5 feet tall. Underneath all the trash is some nice Bermuda of some type. I'm not good with grass ID yet. I looked at it last weekend and the weeds had started growing back. Should I run the batwing over it again (lower this time) and burn it? Do I need to spray it now and in spring? Just in spring? I have asked a few locals and get a different answer every time.


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## Mike120 (May 4, 2009)

I've got a field I just got back that sounds in similar shape. I shredded it pretty high to get rid of the tall stuff that would mess with my spray booms a couple of weeks ago. I'll spray it with 2,4,D probably later this week. Around the end of the month, I'll cut it and roll it up for cheap cow/goat hay just to get it off the field. In the spring, before the Bermuda comes out of dormancy, I'll burn it with Glyphosate. I expect it's got a seed bank so I may have to hit it with 2,4,D and/or Pastora sometime next summer, depending on what comes up. I'll get soil samples this month and figure out what it needs vrs what I can get off of it and mess with that aspect before next spring. It was in good shape when I had it before.

It takes time and money to get a field back into production and there are no easy/simple/universal answers. You just have to have a strategy (target outcomes) and the resources (time, money, equipment, etc) to get there. The tactics you use are dependent on what pops up and how you can balance your resources. Good luck!


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## PaMike (Dec 7, 2013)

You location may be different. Here neglected fields need Lime to get the ph up so grass will thrive. 2,4d is cheap. If you have a sprayer might as well start knocking back the weeds. It takes time to get a field in shape. I could see it easily taking 2-3 years till you have a field you want to take hay off of...


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## Woreout6420 (Sep 15, 2015)

I forgot to say that this is Mississippi river delta ground. I don't have a spray rig yet, still trying to decide if I want to build it or buy it. A local guy who manages a large row crop farm said I would be wasting money by spraying it now. He said spray it with 24d in February then put pot ash on it. Any truth to that? Looks to me like I need to do all I can, as much as I can to kill weeds.


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## Troy Farmer (Jul 31, 2011)

As others have said there's no one and done solution. A fall application of 2-4-d would be a good start. Also if you have woody species or blackberry bushes a fall application of Remedy or equivalent would be well timed as these plants are starting to transition into dormancy. If you have bush hogged it, I would let everything green back up before spraying. Be patient. Good luck. I have been there many times and am working a neighbor's field now trying to get it back into shape.


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## Mike120 (May 4, 2009)

Woreout6420 said:


> I forgot to say that this is Mississippi river delta ground. I don't have a spray rig yet, still trying to decide if I want to build it or buy it. A local guy who manages a large row crop farm said I would be wasting money by spraying it now. He said spray it with 24d in February then put pot ash on it. Any truth to that? Looks to me like I need to do all I can, as much as I can to kill weeds.


I've had a couple of bought sprayers and I built my current one.....It's outlasted all the bought ones, cost about 75% less, and is better built. It just depends on how much time you have and what you are comfortable with tackling. Get a soil test before you start buying fertilizer. I used to put down 0-0-60 during the winter because it takes a while to migrate down but I've found that just using 21-7-14 during the growing season gives better results in my soil. Testing the forage is a better indicator. Personally, I wouldn't bother with 2,4,D in the winter, I'd use Glyphosate to kill anything that's green and hit it with 2,4,D after green-up in the spring to get the seeds that have sprouted. Spraying it with 2,4,D in the fall certainly won't hurt it. Just remember that 2,4,D doesn't work on everything and use lots of surfactant.


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## SilentH (Aug 27, 2014)

I would say you missed the boat on using 2, 4-D this fall. Especially if the weeds have bloomed and dropped seed.

I would start NOW with identifying as many of the weeds as possible before winter. I know Dow as an App for the Ipad. You can also see if your county ag person will come out or dig up the most prevalent and take them your center. I did this with what specific type of sedge I had. Then you can research and formulate a plan for effective spraying in the spring.

Don't forget the problematic grasses (Vasey, Johnson and DallisGrass) for they are very hard to kill. I know first hand 2, 4-D will not touch Vasey however Impose does a great job on the stuff. See you tube below.






I have used Grazon Next HL every spring on coastal hay and pasture land for that last 3 years and it's a great start for it kills a wide variety. Best to use it early spring when the weeds are small. I am in a restricted herbicide use county because of the cotton crop therefore I am only using it early March. I follow by spot spraying the certain trash like Huisache! (do not shred it or you will be sorry later) If you have Huisache I know by experience how to deal with them.

In addition I have obtained a Private Pesticide and Herbicide applicators license as well, (in Texas, takes a day of classes and testing) where I rent the 800 gallon boom sprayer for $100, trailer to my place, switch to my tractor and go... Super easy... No maintenance cost... One year I ran over something and flat with 600 gallons in the sprayer. They were there in 30 minutes and changed it in the field at no cost to me.

I have formed a relationship with the cotton / maize farmers around me and I'll let them know when and what I am spraying even if I am legal in terms of when I do it. For example, last year with all the rains in March, I reached out to the farmers to see if they had cotton in the ground. Every time I have told them my plans, they appreciate the call and always tell me to go for it! Don't know your situation, but it definitely helps to inform.

You can also burn the field the week before the last frost however I have no experience in that.

Good luck,

Mark


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## Woreout6420 (Sep 15, 2015)

Thank ya'll for the replies. One of my customers (My main business is a diesel repair shop) gave me a sprayer. Its a little smaller than what I had in mind, but I can use it until I can do better.

Picked up another place that's approximately 100 acres. Has a bunch of sage grass on it. Anybody tried that liquid calcium stuff instead of lime?


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## SilentH (Aug 27, 2014)

Here you go, another article on weeds in pastures... Florida is close in climate to Texas and Arkansas...

My steps would be:

1) First identify weeds now...

2) Once identified determine how invasive they are...

3) Plan out spraying... (what combinations of herbicides can be mixed together)

4) Plan out a schedule of attack... (early spring... late summer... etc.) Would involve reading recommendations on how often the label says you can spray per year..

***Given a choice where you could only spray once a year; hands down I would spray early spring for the smaller the weed the easier to kill. It's funny when I look out in my pastures say end of February I am not seeing any weeds, then in a blink of an eye, by March 7th I am seeing some little ones, then when I spray usually around March 15th, from above on the tractor, I am like wow, how did they grow that quick and it didn't look like that many from the ground! lol

5) Thoroughly read and re-read the labels... (particularly look for the weed you are going to target to kill) If it's not on the label, most likely it's not going to kill it; maybe piss it off is all. ***On a pdf use the EDIT drop down and choose "find"

The good news from a continued spray program every year is you will see less and less weeds! That's the fun satisfying part! Where I used to have tons of curly dock, no I have maybe 6, where I use to have castor beans everywhere, now I have maybe 10! Then comes the really hard part, getting rid of undesirable grasses!

Good luck!

Mark


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