Nursery Notes: Dye lets you know where you’ve been
Did you ever wish your sprayer had foam markers like the big boys, so you would know where you had sprayed? You can add a commercial dye to the tank. It is made for this purpose. It is locally available. The first rain will wash it away.
Put it in the tractor mounted sprayer or backpacks. It is very useful when spraying across gravel container yards, especially when the spray dries before you make another pass. I ought to use it when spot spraying weeds, because I always miss some.
Avoid heavy pruning til after a freeze. New growth that occurs after pruning may not have time to harden and be killed this winter. It is also too late to apply dry fertilizer. It would stimulate new growth that would likely be killed as well. Liquid fertilizers can be applied until Sept 15.
Consider plowing sorghum sudangrass under soon. Broadcast 200 to 300 pounds 34-0-0 per acre to speed up decomposition.
It is recommended to drill Crimson Red Clover into row middles Aug. 15 through Sept. 15. Avoid putting clover in small liners. Many producers are using wheat in place of the clover to save money on seed cost. Wheat produces a good amount of organic matter and causes no problems that I am aware of. It can be planted later.
The small grains are easily killed or stunted with Envoy, Fusilade T/O, or Vantage before they seed in the spring. They can be left standing as a mulch until weeds begin to break through 30 to 60 days later.
Be sure to pull soil samples and also nematode soil samples where you plan on planting peach seed. Soil samples are $6 and nematode samples are still $5. Do not allow soil to be tested for nematodes to dry out.
Vegetation in future blocks can be sprayed with Gramoxone or Glyphosate over the next three months. Re-spray when sufficient re-growth occurs for a good kill of perennial weeds and grasses, such as fescue.
Plan on applying fall preemergent herbicides around Nov. first. You will get six months of control during the cooler months. Less light intensity. Down Nov. 1, clean May 1. You’ll hug my neck.