cedar clearing ...

[DuramaxDude]

You may end up surprised at what seed source was laying around in there already. In my experience Johnson grass will grow pretty quick thick stem wide leaf blade. More than likely if you are shredding it to 6” you will probably be able to walk through it and start to see a pretty obvious difference between the Johnson grass and others. Your agent is pretty sharpe and experienced I bet. I wouldn’t shred below 6” though. You may very well have to shred it once or twice a growing season for 2 or 3 years after planting to get a good stand of grass. It just depends on temps rain what weeds etc you have out there. Of course you may get a good stand the growing season after you planted. Knocking down the weeds every so often in years to come could be beneficial also. I would say the main thing I’ve seen people do and destroy the grasses they planted is graze it off before it establishes and seeds out. What county and NRCS office are you working with/in?

[tdwinklr]

You may end up surprised at what seed source was laying around in there already. In my experience Johnson grass will grow pretty quick thick stem wide leaf blade. More than likely if you are shredding it to 6” you will probably be able to walk through it and start to see a pretty obvious difference between the Johnson grass and others. Your agent is pretty sharpe and experienced I bet. I wouldn’t shred below 6” though. You may very well have to shred it once or twice a growing season for 2 or 3 years after planting to get a good stand of grass. It just depends on temps rain what weeds etc you have out there. Of course you may get a good stand the growing season after you planted. Knocking down the weeds every so often in years to come could be beneficial also. I would say the main thing I’ve seen people do and destroy the grasses they planted is graze it off before it establishes and seeds out. What county and NRCS office are you working with/in?

Fannin, Bonham.
Kalissa left for the Denton office, she got me set up on all this. Ryan is still there so he sorta took over.

As far as the grass grows, I think I see evidence of the native grasses, now that I've mowed it again. Had a lot of milkweed come up too and it shaded out some areas, hate that stuff! Maybe it will all pan out in another year. Just really no idea of what the native grasses should look like at this stage.
Guess it doesn't matter, long as I keep the weeds knocked down.

[DuramaxDude]

I am thinking if you are seeing the natives you planted growing and getting to the height you are shredding at, then let it go and stop shredding it. I would think what you don't want to do is to shred a time or 2 more and not let what you planted head out and produce seed. You should be seeing the thicker stem and wide leaf blade on the johnson grass or the thicker stem standing like a straw where your shredded it and the native stuff would probably just look like a bunch of leaves coming up and not much stem if any. Those native grass leaves will be narrower than the johnson grass. You will probably have until late October to mid November before the first killing frost comes through so still plenty of time to get a stand. If the johnson grass and junk that wasn't in the mix you planted persist just shred it a little higher if you can and try not to knock down any natives that are under it.

[tdwinklr]

I am thinking if you are seeing the natives you planted growing and getting to the height you are shredding at, then let it go and stop shredding it. I would think what you don't want to do is to shred a time or 2 more and not let what you planted head out and produce seed. You should be seeing the thicker stem and wide leaf blade on the johnson grass or the thicker stem standing like a straw where your shredded it and the native stuff would probably just look like a bunch of leaves coming up and not much stem if any. Those native grass leaves will be narrower than the johnson grass. You will probably have until late October to mid November before the first killing frost comes through so still plenty of time to get a stand. If the johnson grass and junk that wasn't in the mix you planted persist just shred it a little higher if you can and try not to knock down any natives that are under it.

yes, totally agree and thought of it in the same way. I basically let the Johnson grass get high enough so that I know where it definitely is and just mow those areas pretty high. The only problem with that is when the Johnson grass heads out, I'm afraid I'm distributing the seeds of it all over the place too? Is that right?
I'm not planning to mow more than I have to, especially where I think the native grass is showing up. This drought isn't helping either, hopefully we get another shower or two on it and I can keep the weeds at bay.

[DuramaxDude]

Normally johnsongrass heads out quite a bit taller or higher that natives will grow. Fast as all get out also like not there Monday then seeds heads are there Wednesday it seems like. If you are able to catch the shoot heading up from "boot" stage that would be good to shred then before seeds appear. A little johnsongrass isn't a bad thing. It can be short lived as well. It will come up from steeds or rhizomes (underground runners). If it jumps up and out canopies everything else spraying it is probably ok then with smaller droplet nozzles so it doesn't fall through the canopy to the natives. Below are some good things to read on it. One of the coolest things I've seen is a "rope rig" basically this farmer had a thick cotton rope stretch out with a chemical tank on each end. The rope was in the bottom of a spray tank on each end and the rope absorbed the mixed chemical and was wet. All the weeds that were taller than the crops got slapped with the chemical wet wicked rope and died. I think he was using round up also. I've heard of people doing similar things as a method of individual plant treatment "painting" I think they called it. If you have hogs around those suckers with root up that johnsongrass to eat the rhizomes also.

https://anrcatalog.ucanr.edu/pdf/8569.pdf

https://extension.uga.edu/publications/detail.html?number=B1513&title=Johnsongrass%20Control%20in%20Pastures,%20Roadsides,%20and%20Noncropland%20Areas

[tdwinklr]

Normally johnsongrass heads out quite a bit taller or higher that natives will grow. Fast as all get out also like not there Monday then seeds heads are there Wednesday it seems like. If you are able to catch the shoot heading up from "boot" stage that would be good to shred then before seeds appear. A little johnsongrass isn't a bad thing. It can be short lived as well. It will come up from steeds or rhizomes (underground runners). If it jumps up and out canopies everything else spraying it is probably ok then with smaller droplet nozzles so it doesn't fall through the canopy to the natives. Below are some good things to read on it. One of the coolest things I've seen is a "rope rig" basically this farmer had a thick cotton rope stretch out with a chemical tank on each end. The rope was in the bottom of a spray tank on each end and the rope absorbed the mixed chemical and was wet. All the weeds that were taller than the crops got slapped with the chemical wet wicked rope and died. I think he was using round up also. I've heard of people doing similar things as a method of individual plant treatment "painting" I think they called it. If you have hogs around those suckers with root up that johnsongrass to eat the rhizomes also.

https://anrcatalog.ucanr.edu/pdf/8569.pdf

https://extension.uga.edu/publicatio...opland%20Areas

I've been told to use the rope wick on the Johnson grass, like you're talking about, by the agent. I just don't have anything like that in my equipment.
Is a good idea though.