Turkeyhunter1

I've been trying to grow a food plot for awhile now, in PA, but am having weed problems. The question I have is, can I spray the food plot in the spring, and plant in the fall without having weeds return? See, I live in N. Carolina, and I am only there three times a year. I want to kill the weeds when I come up for turkey season, then plant in October when I return. WILL THE WEEDS RETURN???? Thanks for your help.........

psandhu

the weeds will return. granted if you spray it good right now, it'll kill all the weeds in a week or two, but after about 6-8 weeks there will be a few rains and warm weather and sunshine. the sun will get to existing weed seeds that are now free to germinate and grow because they aren't shaded.

i have some berms that were just packed with weeds. i sprayed them good, and it killed everything. but two months later it was just as thick with new weeds as it was when i sprayed them.

what do you use to plant with? i'm guessing you use an atv, small disk, and a broadcaster. in october the weeds will be pretty tall and you'd probably have to bush hog it.

maybe you could plant some roundup ready beans now? the next time you're up there (july?), hit it with roundup. come october the beans will be matured and the place should be relatively weed free, as the beans provided a canopy to keep the weeds from germinating, and what weeds did germinate when you planted you took care of with the roundup.

PopGunWill

The weeds always return. Mother Nature wants everything to return to the way she had it. I suggest spraying late summer then plant in the fall. When spring comes around then spray a product that is a selective herbicide that won't kill what you intended to be there.

To do this you have to select a planting that has the potential to withstand a herbicide treatment. I planted the Imperial Clover two years ago and had weed problems in early spring. I sprayed with Vantage herbicide and it killed all the grass in the field and left the clover alone. I spot sprayed one more time that summer and it did well. I had to respray the next spring and now the clover is dominant in the field. I still have weeds but mostly clover. I plan on checking it out for the next few months but there are only about 10% weeds in the field now and to me thats OK.

Before you select a clover make sure your ground can support it you may be better off with a plant that can tolerate lower pH and drier conditions. I suggest calling around and getting info on treating the crop with herbicide before you decide to plant. Some of the blends won't stand up to it.