Site Preparation FAQ's
How do you remove the existing vegetation from a site?
Use 1 or a combination of the following:
- Smothering
- Sod-cutting (lawns)
- Cultivating
- Herbiciding
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How long does it take to prepare a lawn for planting?
Depends on:
- The technique you chose to prepare your site.
- How large your site is.
- If you have biennial and/ or perennial weeds in your site.
Techniques:
- Smothering: 1 year
- Sodcutting: a few hours to a few days
- Cultivating only : 2-3 weeks to 1 year
- Herbiciding: 2 weeks to 2 years (depending on the site)
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How do you prepare a lawn for a prairie planting?
There are four techniques to preparing a lawn
Smothering
- Cover the site with either black plastic, old carpet, 4X8 pieces of
old plywood, a thick layer of leaves, or newspapers.
- Leave in place for a full growing season.
- Remove the "smother cover".
- Till lightly and plant in fall.
Sodcutting
- Remove the top 3" of grass and soil using a sod-cutter (which can
be rented).
- Till lightly.
- Plant.
Cultivation (tilling) Only
- Cultivate 2-3 times at one week intervals.
- If Perennial weeds (Quack or Johnson grass) are present, cultivate all
growing season., every 2-3 weeks.
- Plant.
Herbicides
- Apply herbicides when lawn is actively growing (in fall or spring).
- Till when grass has turned brown.
- Plant.
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How long does it take to prepare an old field for planting?
Need at least one full growing season to kill off weeds that typically inhabit
old fields.
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How do you prepare an old field for planting?
Herbicide Only
- Mow to the ground early in spring or burn (prior to greenup).
- Apply herbicide 3 times (mid-spring, mid-summer, early fall).
- When vegetation is all dead, prepare the seedbed for planting.**
Cultivation Only
- Cultivate at a depth of 4-5" every 2-3 weeks from spring through fall.
- In later cultivations, make sure rhizomes are dead (if not, consider herbiciding).
- Plant in fall or the following spring on a prepared seedbed.**
Combo Herbicide/Cultivation
- Burn or mow to the ground in early spring (April).
- Herbicide when vegetation reaches 1' (May-June).
- Burn or mow after vegetation is brown and greenup is beginning (Late June).
- Herbicide if perennial weeds persist (July).
- Cultivate if weeds are primarily annual (July).
- Continue to herbicide or cultivate through the growing season.
- Plan to plant in Fall on a prepared seedbed** (In the Midwest, Labor Day).
**Seedbeds are prepared according to type of seeder that you're using.
- No Till seeders (Tye, Truax): Need little or no tilling of the soil
surface.
- Brillion (drop) seeders: Need a well tilled surface.
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How do you prepare a field that was planted in row crops the previous growing
season for planting?
Plan to plant as soon as is realistic to take advantage of a this relatively "weed-free" site
(due to past agricultural weed control!!).
Herbicide
- Spring planting: Spray once in mid to late spring.
- Fall planting: Spray once after the existing crop is removed, if weedy
vegetation is still actively growing.
Cultivation only
- Cultivate at a depth of 4-5" every 2-3 weeks from spring through fall.
- Plant in fall or the following spring.
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Do I need to fertilize seeds or plants before or after planting?
Generally no, except if your soil has very little organic matter in it.
Plants
Will benefit from slow-release fertilizers placed in the soil at the
time of transplanting.
Seeds
Usually do not require fertilizers.
In General
- Don't use Nitrogen fertilizers...they promote bigger weeds!
- Soils low in Phosphorous or Potassium may benefit from moderate fertilization
of these 2 elements.
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