burning fields?
 

hey everybody. im going to be planting my food plots in the fall ( mid august) so it will be a while before i plant. i have 2 questions.
-if i burn my field in april will turkeys be more attracted to this field with new vegetation sprouting up? which will in turn make for better turkey hunting?
-is it a good idea to burn the field where im making my plot before i plow, disk, and plant?

RE: burning fields?
 

yes

yes

RE: burning fields?
 

thanks;)
will burning the fields change the ph at all?
will burning the fields make it so i dont have to spray roundup?

RE: burning fields?
 

Burning the fields, if you are going to plant directly after burning, will help eliminate the need for round up. However, if you burn and then wait a while then plants will begin to sprout up some of which were not there in the first place.

RE: burning fields?
 

im going to burn, plow, disk, roll, seed, roll

RE: burning fields?
 

You will have a field of weeds.

RE: burning fields?
 

what do you mean "you will have a field of weeds"?????

RE: burning fields?
 

If you're going to do all of this you will help eliminate some plant species that are a bit shade intolerant as your food plot will kind of drown them out. after that, you can get some arrest or slay and get rid of everything else.

RE: burning fields?
 

That is going to depend largely on what you have sprouting up. But under most circumstances, the new growth will be somewhat attractive to wildlife as a food source.

Burning is a cheap way to do some weed control and remove plant residue. If I were going to burn, I probably would skip the step of disking, because disking is really only useful insofar as it controls weeds and cuts residue down to size. Burning should take care of both of those.

RE: burning fields?
 

Just like it sounds. If you burn and then work the soil, all those seeds lying in the dirt will germinate and you'll have a field of weeds. Not always a bad thing, but with your end goal I think gly is the better way to go.

RE: burning fields?
 

Glyphosate works well, but it needs to be in some sort of rotation. Relying solely on glyphosate will eventually lead to resistance problems down the road.

RE: burning fields?
 

I think we're just talking about the initial kill for planting. At least I was.

RE: burning fields?
 

i want to plant a food plot and i dont want any weeds in it. what should i do?

RE: burning fields?
 

Either Burn or spray round up...disk, plant, etc. etc....Buy Arrest and/or Slay which will kill either grasses or broad leaves depending what you want to get rid of and spray it once your plot has began to grow

RE: burning fields?
 

Give up now. :DJust kidding, but you will have weeds. It's just a matter of how many. How you treat them depends on what you plant.

RE: burning fields?
 

i dont think im going to burn now becasue i heard that when you burn it it keeps weed seeds in the dirt or something. that what they said at qdma forums. i may im going to just cut the field, spray with round up. wait a week or so then plow and disk, then broadcast buckwheat, lightly disk in then roll over it. (i heard that buckwheat it weed "resistant" and it takes over the weeds) then in august cut the buckwheat and then disk the field again and then plant my other seed;)

RE: burning fields?
 

Based on my experience, you’ll need to modify your plan a bit.

1. You’ll need to wait at least week between mowing and spraying. More if things are still growing slowly in early-mid spring. The plant needs to be actively growing for best results.
2. 1 week for a good kill isn’t nearly long enough. There are things that can help for a faster kill, but I would expect a minimum of 3 weeks. I like the grass completely dead to make working the soil easier. Dead grass and roots break up better than green ones.
3. Just to save tractor fuel, you can either drag or disk buckwheat seed in. I think that stuff will germinate on a rock, so I wouldn’t waste fuel on doing both. Also, buckwheat is primarily used as a soil builder, not so much to kill weeds. Once you mow it and then work the soil again, new weeds come right back. As will more buckwheat unless you mow before it goes to seed. I would suggest you do.
4. Give plenty of time between mowing the buckwheat and planting new seed. It’s very stemmy and it can be hard to incorporate into the soil. I mow it and run the disk over it, then let it sit for a couple of weeks to start to decompose. Then I come back and finish the seed bed with the disc. This also allows many weeds to germinate, which are then killed when I re-worked the dirt for the final time.
[ol][/ol]
These are just things that I found work best for me. I’m sure everyone does things a little different with similar results.

RE: burning fields?
 

thanks for the advice. i want to plant the buckwheat mid-may when should i start with this whole process?

what do you mean by that bolded part?

RE: burning fields?
 

The weed seeds are there, they will always be there, and there isn't anything you can do to remove them. So don't let that keep you from burning.

And like has already been mentioned, don't do anything to damage the plants if you are going to spray. You want the plants healthy when you spray for best results. And then you want to leave them alone and give the chemical time to act. 1 week is probably not enough.

Also, if you are going to disk, I probably wouldn't worry about spraying unless you have so much growth that you need it dead and dried to get through it with the disk.

And I believe what M.Magis is talking about is anytime you expose the soil to light, some of those weed seeds I mentioned earlier will germinate. Doesn't matter if you burn, plow, or mow. You will get a weed response if there is enough moisture in the soil for germination.

RE: burning fields?
 

texan i was planning on spraying round up on the weeds before i plant buckwheat, not while it is growing i think there was a misunderstanding?

i will burn if you reccommend it. im going to be plowing then disking before i plant buckwheat in spring and then in the fall, plowing and disking the buckwheat under then planting my other seed. is the roundup really worth it if im going to be working the soil this much?

RE: burning fields?
 

What we meant is the weeds need to be actively growing for the herbicide to work well. Glyphosate isn't needed. It just makes working the soil a bit easier if all plant matter is dead, particularly with discing.

RE: burning fields?
 

thanks for clarification;)

i will burn if you reccommend it. im going to be plowing then disking before i plant buckwheat in spring and then in the fall, plowing and disking the buckwheat under then planting my other seed. is the roundup really worth it if im going to be working the soil this much?