D@#n Scrub Oak!

[Liquidsilver]

A couple of years ago I sprayed this pasture (and others) to the tune of about $1700 in Dow Remedy... and they looked great, until this year. Should I have to spray this field every two years?

I just bush hogged over it and it looks better now, but what do I have to do to get rid of this stuff. Rocky Ozark fields.

 

[workinonit]

Will 2,4,D kill that stuff?

 

[MoKelly]

To be very effective and longer lasting, you need to spray (20% glycol mix) very fast after cutting the sprouts. The spray can then get inside the plant via the cuts.

I’ve heard scrub brush cuts heal in 15 minutes (cuts close up) making spraying less effective longer term. Now you need the spray to get into the root systems thru absorption in the ground.

It’s not easy. You sort of need a mower guy followed by a sprayer guy.

You may have to spray every couple years until the plants are damaged long term and don’t come back.

Good luck.

MoKelly

 

[ponytug]

Cows? Ours are practically imitating giraffes to get at oak leaves.

On the big ranches around here scrub gets cleared by controlled burns or by dragging heavy ship anchor chain between two bulldozers.

All the best,

Peter

 

[drssg]

Personally, I would just keep it bush hogged. It's just mother nature doing what it does. If you ignored the field for a few years, it would all be woods in no time.

 

[Larry Caldwell]

I feel your pain. We have the same problem with Himalaya blackberries. Killing off the roots is really difficult, and requires mowing and spraying for multiple years. Then the birds poop seeds and the whole nuisance starts over again.

 

[Frankenkubota]

I've got millions? I spray them with crossbow. roundup does nothing to the weedy trees.

 

[Liquidsilver]

I've got millions? I spray them with crossbow. roundup does nothing to the weedy trees.

They told me to use Remedy while the leaves were intact and do not mow for three weeks. It made them turn fall colors in one week and then I mowed. Field looked great last year, just grass. This year they look like they're back to 100%.

Do you spray the Crossbow to the leaves, or after the mowing?

Thanks in advance.

I'd love to run some cows over there but the fencing would be a big challenge. I have no experience with 2,4,D.

 

[ponytug]

FWIW: You might want to consider foam application; it would concentrate the herbicide application to the scrub oaks.

All the best,

Peter

 

[Larry Caldwell]

Crossbow is most effective during the late spring leaf flush, while the plant is growing rapidly. Glyphosate is most effective in early autumn, when it will be carried to the roots as part of the dormancy process. It is not as effective as Crossbow. Other herbicides, like Escort, are very effective, but not as popular because of expense.

 

[Frankenkubota]

They told me to use Remedy while the leaves were intact and do not mow for three weeks. It made them turn fall colors in one week and then I mowed. Field looked great last year, just grass. This year they look like they're back to 100%.

Do you spray the Crossbow to the leaves, or after the mowing?

Thanks in advance.

I'd love to run some cows over there but the fencing would be a big challenge. I have no experience with 2,4,D.

i just spray the crossbow on at about double the recommended strength while the little trees are growing then i don't touch them for 1 month. It works. I will be doing exactly that today.

i use a little dish soap in the mix, i'm told it helps it stick to the leaves. The soap helps mark the areas i've already sprayed.

little buggers are relentless and that crossbow Stuff ain't cheap.

 

[Oaktree]

Personally, I would just keep it bush hogged. It's just mother nature doing what it does. If you ignored the field for a few years, it would all be woods in no time.

I agree. I personally dislike herbicides and won't use them except as an extreme last resort. I have poplar and a low bush sumac, both of which spread via the roots and I just keep it mowed. After a while it's more or less under control, at least until I stop mowing it...

 

[bigtiller]

Squirrels are my problem. They plant so many black walnuts in the fall that by the following summer my entire yard looks like your pasture.

I'd take after them with a .410 but they are fun to watch, especially when a crow wants to claim ownership of the limb he is sitting on.

Did you ever see/hear 2 squirrels propagating? It sounds painful.

 

[oosik]

Liquidsilver - does all that regrowth come from roots that were not killed??

 

[ponytug]

FWIW: One tip that someone else posted here on TBN was that dull brush cutter blades that shatter the tree trunks do a better job of killing the trees.

All the best,

Peter

 

[Larry Caldwell]

FWIW: One tip that someone else posted here on TBN was that dull brush cutter blades that shatter the tree trunks do a better job of killing the trees.

All the best,

Peter

Hmm. Rent a flail mower and set it an inch below ground level?

 

[Liquidsilver]

Liquidsilver - does all that regrowth come from roots that were not killed??

I'm guessing that it does. I think the biggest problem is that ground is very rough and rocky and I can't get grasses to grow thick enough to take over. These fields are on my wish list for dozer/grader work and planting with good grass. I just have to save up my lunch money for that.

I have lots of other fields where the grasses have 'won the battle.'

 

[Gee Ray]

I have never done this but I have an inquiry. Could you attach a sprayer to apply the herbicide as you mow? It would seam to be pretty easy to do. If the nozzles are across the back of the hog it would keep the operator away from the spray.

https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/workhorse-sprayers-15-gal-atv-sprayer-2-nozzle-boom-atv1502?cm_vc=-10005

You may need a bigger tank if the size of the field warrants it.

 

[Liquidsilver]

I have never done this but I have an inquiry. Could you attach a sprayer to apply the herbicide as you mow? It would seam to be pretty easy to do. If the nozzles are across the back of the hog it would keep the operator away from the spray.

https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/workhorse-sprayers-15-gal-atv-sprayer-2-nozzle-boom-atv1502?cm_vc=-10005

You may need a bigger tank if the size of the field warrants it.

I think it COULD be done, but I'd have to do a lot of rigging and fiddling. You'd need a sprayer at the same width as the cutter and have it spray slow enough to cover the whole mowed area.

I think on these rough fields it would be very difficult. The 300 gallon sprayer I rented would pull a lot quicker than I can mow... and it was a 20-foot wide spray. My biggest cutter is 10-feet.

 

[the old grind]

Wonder if they're latent sprouts/starts, REsprouts, or both. Could a guy stake out few cows vs fence in a pasture? (.. wireless cam in range to monitor their safety from the house?) Less to mow with grasses to munch, ferts to build turf.

As shown in the pre-mow pic I might have sprayed on some cheap amine 400, etc. btw, for a surfactant I like Drexel's Haf-Pynt at 1 oz/gal and adjust a nozzle for droplets vs a spray pattern. If my 15 gal towed sprayer fits in the boat I could set it in the back of the SxS. I've never used the boom and spot-spray with the wand for economy and lower enviro' impact. A colorant added (Lazer, etc) would help make sure of coverage, ... fewer re-sprays, fewer missed.

btw, I'd use triclopyr when they leaf out if the cost didn't put me off. It's works well for Spring spraying.