Dear
Jeff,
David here—I'm the guy who stopped by there with my
daughter on the way back to Michigan from Washington, D.C.
(where we bought our car). Anyway, I have a problem and I
need a quick suggestion. I rented a field that had been farmed
for 20 years and used as pasture. I rotovated it (12 foot)
and planted rye (I have a crimper). My rye is coming up fine,
but I did not have an adequate kill of the native grass and
now I have pasture grass growing between my rye. Any suggestions?
Thanks,
David Jansma
Michigan
Dear David,
Of course I remember our visit and our conversation. Often
it is difficult to give advice via e-mail without seeing first-hand
the situation in the field, but here is my recommendation.
Given the fact that you don't want to use herbicide—and
we know the roller will not kill perennial grasses—I
suggest you use tillage to establish a good seed bed. I realize
this is not your first choice, but often nature deals us a
hand that requires us to change our plan and move on to plan
B. This is such a case. I'd moldboard plow the rye and grass.
The other option is to let the rye stand and harvest it for
grain (if the stand is good). Then plow the field and try
again.
Good luck,
Jeff
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