Round Up
 

How long after applying Round Up do you guys wait before plowing. In years past we have had the luxary of applying it and giving it a good long time to kill everything, but this year with the crazy weather it is going to be hard to let it sit on there very long before we plow up the ground. Is a couple of days enough time?

RE: Round Up
 

I don't spray Roundup before plowing. It's a waste of time, fuel and herbicide. When you plow something under that is green, it's going to die. Why bother spraying it if you are going to kill it with a plowing operation?

RE: Round Up
 

I AGREE, I HAVE DONE BOTH AND IT HAS WORKED WELL EITHER WAY, WHEN I HAVE USED ROUND UP I HAVE PLANTED AS SOON AS 2 DAYS AFTER WITH NO PROBLEMS.

RE: Round Up
 

The reason we spray first is that we use an ATV and a Plotmaster to do our plots, and it works up a lot easier if the weeds and grass are already dead.

RE: Round Up
 

I use a 2 bottom plow on a 35 HP Deere. 2nd or 3rd gear is all it can muster in soil that has already been plowed the previous year. The Plotmaster has a disk/harrow, not a plow. I can't see any medium sizedATV pulling even a 1 bottom plow very well.

Now that I think I know that your are using disk/harrow, 2 suggestions come to mind.

1. Mow your stuff as close to the ground as possible, then go over it with your Plotmaster. You'd probably want to use a riding mower and make a couple of passes. Start with your deck at the highest position and then work your way down.

2. Spray it and then wait until it's dead. Nobody can give you an exact answer as to how long it will take. That is a function of the size of the weeds, the temperature, sunlight, moisture, concentration of herbicide, effect of any added adjuvents, etc. If you want to kill it fast, spray it with some liquid fertilizer, specifically ammonium sulphate or anything else that contains N. The N will help the herbicide reach the roots and do its thing quicker.

RE: Round Up
 

We are in a CRP and WHIP program and what we did was spray in the falland then burned it, then plowed it in the spring. We had to do this to destroy the fescue. Our disk wouldn't cut through that thick grass. It was a year process but it is well worth it. We just planted 4500 trees, oats, ladino, millet, sorghum, sunflowers and we have some turnips to get in the ground in July.

RE: Round Up
 

If I may make a suggestion on your turnips. We have been planting turnips for a fall plot for about the last 5 years, and we have found that they do a lot better if you don't plant them until around labor day. It seems like the cool Sept. days are alot easier on them than the hotter July and August days. I am talking about Southern Iowa, so it shouldn't be much different where you are at. Just a suggestion though.

Dan

RE: Round Up
 

We never use Roundup on the plots at our places. We disk it up in the spring before the big bluestem grass starts to grow and plant it immediately. Inmid to late summer the big bluestem grassturns brown.We brush hog it close, remove most of thematerial, disk it and plant.

RE: Round Up
 

Thanks, I'll keep that in mind. Won't bother me to wait if you think that would be better. We have about a quarter of an acre worth of seed. This will be our little sample site for future turnip plantings.

RE: Round Up
 

We have planted a lot of different kinds of plots over the years and for my money nothing has drawn them in the fall like turnips. You just need to be patient. They won't hardly touch them until you get a hard freeze, but after you do watch out, they will hit them hard. I have seen them walk right through the turnip plots and browse on native vegation before you get a hard freeze. Good Luck. Here is a picture of one our turnip plots.

Dan