Hunt 365 June 2019-Herbicides Now, and Planning for Next Year’s Tree Plantings
A Second Spraying, or the First
Weeds are the death of many food plots. Weeds can completely take over a plot of clover or alfalfa, lower yields or kill off soybeans altogether, and can make a corn stand look like CRP ground getting out of control. If you’ve planted spring grain crops of soybeans and corn, you mostly likely sprayed them once already, but June is a good time to take another look and hit them again if need be. Clover and alfalfa stands don’t tolerate weeds. Mowing a clover or alfalfa plot can help, but persistent grasses and broadleaves can make them less attractive and will make the stand die off sooner. A good herbicide program will help you grow great plots. And if you target your plots when weeds are young, you can also stay ahead of the weeds…if weeds get older and taller it is almost impossible to kill them at times. June is a great time for spraying existing plots of grains or forage legumes, but it should also be the first time you hammer your plots you are getting prepared for fall (if you haven’t already).
Many hunters are intimidated by herbicides. There’s good reason to be intimidated. There seems like there are hundreds to choose from and each has their own controlled weeds and application methods. To make things a little easier, I’ll give you a list of what I use for each application. You need to follow the label instructions for them, but this will help you in getting the right chemical for the job. I hate weeds, these herbicides kill weeds!
| Chemical | Weeds Controlled | How it Works |
| Glyphosate | Kills all plants except those will the Roundup Ready trait. 2 Quarts/acre for roundup ready crops or for burn down of all weeds for plot prep. | Contact-Post Emergent on actively growing plants |
| Pursuit or Raptor (I now use Raptor more than Pursuit) | Grass and broadleaf control great for use in forage legumes like clover, alfalfa, and soybeans. (Raptor use 5oz./acre tank mixed with surfactant and spray grade ammonium sulfate) | Contact-Post Emergent on actively growing plants plus Residual |
| Fusilade | Grass control, great for use in conifer and shrub plantings and grass control in broadleaf plots like clover or soybeans | Contact-Post Emergent on actively growing plants |
| 2, 4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic acid | Broadleaf control, great in CRP or hard to kill broadleaf in corn (will kill clover, alfalfa, soybean, anything with broad leaves is dead, etc.), will not kill grasses. | Contact-Post Emergent on actively growing plants, limited Residual |
| Tordon RTU or non-diluted glyphosate | Woody plant control when you cut down tree or shrub, prevents tree from re-growing | Squirt on cambium layer of stump |
If you are planning a green fall plot, you have a couple options to choose from when preparing these plots. For years, I had no access to any heavy type equipment to put in any plots. I relied solely on muscle power or my 4-wheeler. Because of this, I was very proactive in keeping summer weed growth at bay by spraying at least twice, sometimes three times to make sure when August/September came around my plot ground was mostly just bare dirt. To accomplish this, you need to start by June with a good burn down plan. For this, I like 2 quarts/acre of glyphosate. I’ll add in some 2-4D if there are broadleaf weeds, especially weeds that are getting older and taller. Another option for the procrastinator, is to mow down your plot as close to the ground as you can, then spray it a week or so later when the weeds are coming back young and short. Herbicides work best on young actively growing weeds.
Because there isn’t any residual action with glyphosate and very limited with 2-4D, once you spray and kill, new weeds will come back in requiring spraying again in a month or so. For me, when I had limited equipment, this was a much better option than trying to break ground in 4-foot-tall weeds in August. Another option would be to wait until a few weeks before fall planting, applying a burn down of herbicides, and then literally burning with fire the dead vegetation making it easier to plant. I don’t use this method because I’m too afraid of fire getting away from me (as I work alone on many of my plots).
To control weeds, you really have two choices, mechanical control by using some type of tillage OR chemical control by spraying the correct herbicide. Mechanical control is a good option for preparing seed beds but once your seed is in the ground, learning how to correctly use herbicides will help get you great food plots with great yields.
Planting Trees and Shrubs
In my lifetime, I’ve planted tens of thousands of trees and shrubs to improve whitetail habitat. Out of all of those trees and shrubs, too many never made it past their first year in life. The culprits…drought and weed competition. There are things we can do to help with both culprits…and yes preparing for spring planted woody browse plants and trees starts now. It’s what you do now to prepare a great seed bed of sorts that will have a huge impact with how well your plantings take hold and thrive. My first batch of trees I planted some 25 years ago almost entirely perished because of weed competition. A small planting of woody browse type plants just a few years ago didn’t go much better. In both cases, and with the successes in between, I learned a lot about planting tree and shrub species for deer habitat.
Weed competition will kill a planting by blocking out available sun light and by starving the new planting of water and nutrients. Grasses are the main threats but heavy broad leaf competition will do a number on your plantings as well. So, why start in June for a following year spring planting? I’ll explain.
Trees and shrubs need a good seed bed to thrive just like any other planting. When I have succeeded in my plantings, its been by preparing a great weed free seed bed by starting the year before. Not just in the fall either, but almost an entire year ahead. And when done correctly, you can actually help with weathering a drought too. Here are the steps I use to create a great condition for planting trees and shrubs.
First, start in June the preceding year with a burn down spraying in the area. A strong two quarts per acre of glyphosate will get you a good chemical burn down of the ground. This is essential to start the process of killing off any perennial cool season grasses that are coming in. After a couple weeks, the area should be dying off pretty good. It is at this time, that you should till the ground the best you can to stimulate new weed growth. I use a 3-point disc and rough the ground up the best I can. The idea is to get as many of the seeds in the soils seed bank to germinate and grow. Wait a week or two, and disc again or apply another spraying of glyphosate if you are seeing more perennial weeds coming in. If you start this process in May or early June, you might be discing the area 4 or 5 times throughout the summer. Between discing and spraying, your goal is to allow weeds each time to just start coming in and then hammer them! By late August, you should have a pretty good piece of nothing but dirt.
Next, by September 1st, plant the area in winter rye with absolutely NO fertilizer. The winter rye will take hold this fall and come up strong the following spring. This is a key part of the process. The winter rye in the spring will help to hold the soil together on slopes. It will also help to dry down very wet ground earlier in the spring making planting with a tractor drawn planter possible just a little sooner. The winter rye will also suppress new weeds from growing in the spring. If you followed my advice, you should have a perfect stand of weed free winter rye to plant in.
Now, fast forward to next April. Your trees are in and you are ready to plant. The winter rye you planted this fall will be growing rapidly as soon as it starts to warm up. Get your trees and shrubs planted as soon as you can to take advantage of soil moisture.
So, what of the winter rye? The winter rye will act as a cover crop and deter any weeds from growing. As long as there is adequate soil moisture you don’t need to do anything with the rye…just let it grow. Once the rye is about 2 feet tall or the soil starts to get dry, it is time to terminate the crop. This can be easily accomplished with a grass herbicide (Fusilade) without hurting your tree or shrub planting. As the winter rye dies, it will fall over and act as a mulch for the trees and shrubs to thrive in keeping soil moisture adequate while holding back weeds. If you are experiencing a very wet spring and early summer, you can just let the rye grow until it matures all on its own, watching to make sure it is not choking out the plantings. Another option, and actually a preferred option, would be to just spot spray around each tree or shrub letting the other rye grow to maturity.
Using winter rye as a cover crop to allow for earlier spring tree and shrub plantings, and to act as a weed suppressant is a method that requires active participation. If you allow the winter rye to grow to maturity it can choke out your new seedlings on a dry year. If timed correctly and terminated when moisture levels go down or when the rye gets too tall, it can be a great tool in helping your desired plantings make it their first year weed free and with plenty of moisture from the mulch.