Christmas tree herbicide update. How effective is the weed management plan progression?
Hello rob here from the flanigan Homestead here for a quick update on the Herbicide spray that we sprayed extra Early i’m not in my normal work clothes Just got done Uh teaching school and uh you know i got The shades on and there’s sunshine on March 22nd here in western washington Amazing it’s been you know we’re getting To that time of year where it’s been Raining for six months or so now but uh We have a nice sunny day anyway it’s March 22nd Normally we wouldn’t do our herbicide Spraying that we do until Later than this we did this uh that you See in the field here just a couple Weeks ago we went extra early because Our plan was to knock down you can see The brown over here on this side This is what we sprayed we have a couple Acres of new trees that are planted out In the hayfield Back on the other side you can see some Of the established trees mostly Farmed out because we’ve sold most of Our trees but there’s not too many Bigger established ones back there in The previous five acres But We’re out here just doing a quick update As i mentioned in the other video i Sprayed earlier so it’s less effective i Sprayed really
Light very dilute because i didn’t want To kill all the baby the fresh plant Seedlings in here and I accidentally Didn’t have the Rate uh That was spraying out of the quad just Exactly right so i was only getting uh Three tank fulls down when i should have Been getting four so it’s even more Dilute so We’re just coming to check and see How much how well we did and so i’m Happy to see that we’re getting a lot of Browning now obviously if i had sprayed Later in the spring or early summer Two weeks It would just it should just be dead and Dried out but as i mentioned it’s just Been raining and cold it’s been in the 30s every night it hasn’t i don’t think It’s been freezing much since we sprayed But it’s been in the 30s and so the Temperatures have been between 35 and 45 And raining the whole time so the weeds Don’t dry out really fast but i’m Pleased to see that we’re knocking back A lot of the grass in this hay field Here and the reason we sprayed extra Early you could spray right up until the Time that the trees butt out you could Spray right over the top of the trees Without damaging so they say uh you Always need to be careful when you’re
Spraying over the top of your of your Trees but we sprayed extra early because We want this to get dying back because As i mentioned before Instead of having the weeds and the Grass Well we wanted grass but we were getting Weeds in the rows We’re trying to just wipe out everything Except for christmas trees this year We’ve avoided chemicals for years but It’s time to get back in order so we’re Trying to wipe that out but as thick as The grass was in this old hayfield and The weeds and some of the other places We needed to spray early and get this to Die down so that now before the trees Bud out we can come back in and do a Soil sterilant and the reason we want This down is get that grass out of there So the sterling gets a nice even spread On the ground as we spray it so that is The game plan And we’re going to take a closer look on How the weeds are doing i can tell you As i’ve walked through here i’ve seen That a lot of the grass The finer grass is dying out really well But if i look at some of the broadleaf Leaves Weeds A lot of that isn’t dying back as much As i’d like yet so we may have to spray Another herbicide
With our sterolant and then that gets a Little bit trickier when you do that but You can mix some In the same tank and go from there Here we’ll try to get a closer look uh The sun is going down So The sunlight is coming in horizontally You can see my long shadow over there I hope we could still get a good view of This but the grass you can see is really Browning up and dying but if you look At the broadleaf Weeds Where they’re in there they seem to be Doing Holding on And not dying out so We may have to come back here you can See this broad leaf right here Is turning a little bit more red So hopefully we got enough To get all Get all those knocked out Here’s something that’s not unusual We planted these trees in the fall and As it’s rained 40 inches since we Planted them or 45 inches The ground settles and the trees Starting to lean in a little bit so Before Everything buds out we might want to Spend a day just getting these to stand More upright
And so Most of them are pretty upright you can See Over here over here they’re doing good But there’s going to be a few to settle In and The straighter you get them to stand Before they get going on the growing Season The better off you are One thing i want to make clear whether You plan to kill all the grass and weeds And just have just trees and bear dirt Or if you want to have rows of grass or Maybe clover growing in between the Trees and just a strip Killed for the trees or maybe you don’t Kill anything at all and you just let The grass grow right up to the trees That might be a little bit too much Grass or competition growing in there But uh i would recommend And we weren’t a good example of this This last year because we got access to The hayfield late our permission to The decision to do it late but if you Know where you’re going to be planting Trees Months and ahead of time at the very Least kill the circle Of grass Where you’re going to plant the trees Months in advance and let that be Completely died out and no roots in the
Ground and plant the trees and bare dirt And if you want to let the grass grow in Later or plant clover that’s great if You want to do rose but it’s going to Help your trees planting if you just at Least have A foot and a half Diameter circle killed and you’re going To plant the tree right in the middle of That at that’s the very least i would Recommend have that killed before you Plant it makes planting go a lot easier It helps your little seedlings survive Better So that’s just a quick update on what’s Happening here on the farm in late march At uh east fork christmas tree farms in The flanigan homestead We will be putting sterling down maybe Have to put some more herbicide down Here and Early april but anyway Hopefully everything will go smooth we Do need rain right after the put Sterling down to help get it into the Ground but getting rain around here is Usually not an issue so thanks for Joining me on the flanigan homestead Where christmas trees are my business Teaching and cleaning horticulture is my Job and outdoor projects are my passion Hope to see you again soon
