Native grass renovation

[jyoutz]

This area of my land has never been cut before and was weedy with small brush. Early this summer I rotary cut the area, then we had a very good summer rainy season. The result is a beautiful stand of native grass with few weeds or brush. I plan to cut this every year.

 

[EddieWalker]

The areas that I mow a couple times a year look a lot better then the areas that never get cut. My goal is to cut all of my open areas a few times a year to cut down on the weeds without using chemicals.

 

[ponytug]

Nice job @jyoutz!

FWIW: timing of the mowing makes a difference. If you mow after the grass is doing well and before the weeds have set seeds, you can favor the grass heavily. A late mowing helps mulch the soil for soil water retention, and the mulch helps shade out weeds seeds, which slows down their germination, giving grass time to grow and shade the weeds.

Same ideas for selective grazing.

All the best,

Peter

 

[jyoutz]

Nice job @jyoutz!

FWIW: timing of the mowing makes a difference. If you mow after the grass is doing well and before the weeds have set seeds, you can favor the grass heavily. A late mowing helps mulch the soil for soil water retention, and the mulch helps shade out weeds seeds, which slows down their germination, giving grass time to grow and shade the weeds.

Same ideas for selective grazing.

All the best,

Peter

Yeah, I’d like to cut it again before winter. I’m waiting for all the seeds to cure out.

 

[cqaigy2]

I'd probably mow it less frequent and monitor the weed growth. Not sure if you are interested in native animals, but selecting a time to mow, after they've got their needs satisficed would be kind of cool.

That's how i mow my place.

 

[jyoutz]

I'd probably mow it less frequent and monitor the weed growth. Not sure if you are interested in native animals, but selecting a time to mow, after they've got their needs satisficed would be kind of cool.

That's how i mow my place.

Interesting. What native animals are you referring to that are dependent on grass seeds? I was thinking of mowing before winter because it would mulch the grass seeds, allowing for more germination in bare spots.

 

[cqaigy2]

Interesting. What native animals are you referring to that are dependent on grass seeds? I was thinking of mowing before winter because it would mulch the grass seeds, allowing for more germination in bare spots.

I not familiar with the fauna in New Mexico, but here, there are a number of birds and rodent that eat the seeds, not just grass but other plants too. Also make use of the plant matter too. I've visited New Mexico a few times, very cool state in my opinion.

 

[ponytug]

Yeah, I’d like to cut it again before winter. I’m waiting for all the seeds to cure out.

That sounds like a great plan, and it will help the seed eaters as well.

All the best,

Peter

 

[Torvy]

I always wonder about terms like native grasses. I guess it rather depends upon what point in history you jump in and call them native. Between evolution, cross-pollination and relocation of seeds by birds and other critters, what we think are native are simply a snapshot in time.

That being said, I am a fan of encouraging wild grasses and such to dominate the open areas. I am not a fan of the manicured lawns of suburbia. Knocking things down once or twice a year seems rational, but ymmv.

 

[jyoutz]

I always wonder about terms like native grasses. I guess it rather depends upon what point in history you jump in and call them native. Between evolution, cross-pollination and relocation of seeds by birds and other critters, what we think are native are simply a snapshot in time.

That being said, I am a fan of encouraging wild grasses and such to dominate the open areas. I am not a fan of the manicured lawns of suburbia. Knocking things down once or twice a year seems rational, but ymmv.

Native plants are defined by the North American botanical community as those occurring in the area based upon their evolutionary history and the ecosystems in place at the time of European settlement. It is meant to distinguish between plants introduced to the area by deliberate or inadvertent human actions, mostly from other continents. Most native plants are adapted by their evolutionary history to survive local weather extremes such is droughts or extreme temperatures. Plants from the same continent that occur in unusual places (maybe due to animal movements) are not usually considered to be introduced, just rare for the area. In the US, introduced plants are typically Eurasian in origin.

 

[Diggin It]

What does that do for wildfire risk?

 

[oosik]

JYOUTZ - that mowing project turned out fantastic. Locally there are two MAJOR seed companies. They provide the farmers - corn, wheat, alfalfa, canola, rye - etc, etc seed. As a side line they also provide wild grass mixes as seed. I've used this seed a few times with good results.

 

[oosik]

Diggin It - in my case it makes little difference. This time of year I will have either a field of dead, dry weeds or a field of dead, dry native grasses.

In a wildfire scenario - a 200 foot wide fire break around my property WILL help alleviate the ground fire. However - the prevailing winds will launch "fire bombs" that VERY EASILY breach this fire break.

It is simply the nature of the beast..........

How do I combat this ........ good insurance policies and a good escape plan.

 

[cqaigy2]

True on the fire break, good to have them, but if things get windy you can have surprisingly large burning stuff fall out of the sky.

 

[ericm979]

It's cool that you got actual native grasses. Here, you'll get oats and cheat. Both are invasives. The native bunch grasses can't compete. We see a little of a native fescue (mostly in the lawn where I don't want it) but that's it.

 

[ponytug]

We have some natives, but I haven’t found a helpful way to support bunch grasses over oats.

 

[Thomas]

Looks healthy...should be easy mow.

 

[cqaigy2]

We have a grass here that was brought in back in the good ole days. Grows well in shade and wet, so now it's a problem and a pita to get rid of. On top of that, it's not particularly good grazing and animals will eat all around it.