Tree Planting Site Question

[Lunker]

So my brother wants to plant an evergreen windbreak along a border of his property, which consists of a hay field. I have a feeling that small transplants will have a tough time competing with the hay, so I am looking for tips for site prep.

When doing online searches I find the suggestion to use roundup(but i also often see that it won't do the job on hay), or to use equipment to turn it over(which he doesnt have right now)... Any suggestions? Will roundup do the job?

Thanks

[CarpinMNRiver]

How big are the transplants?

[CarpinMNRiver]

and how many?

[Lunker]

Right now the intent is for a few hundred 12-18" white spruce

[Dotch]

So my brother wants to plant an evergreen windbreak along a border of his property, which consists of a hay field. I have a feeling that small transplants will have a tough time competing with the hay, so I am looking for tips for site prep.

When doing online searches I find the suggestion to use roundup(but i also often see that it won't do the job on hay), or to use equipment to turn it over(which he doesnt have right now)... Any suggestions? Will roundup do the job?

Thanks

OK, "hay" tends to be a collective term and the definition varies with almost every person who grows it, which complicates how you have to deal with it. If it's straight non-GMO alfalfa, then yeah, Roundup should kill it at a rate of 1 1/2 - 2 qts./acre. The control is generally enhanced however with the addition of 1 - 2 pts./acre of 2,4-D. If there are grasses in the mix such as brome, it will likely take a higher rate of Roundup. Something I would strongly consider since you are planting several hundred trees if I read it right is the use of tree mat fabric to kill the hay off so it doesn't compete. You'll probably want to mow off the area you're planting first and depending on how you're set up to do it, plant the trees then lay/staple the fabric down. This will accomplish several things including allowing the moisture through but not the hay and will keep it clean for several years until the trees get rolling. We did this a couple years ago in a perennial grass pasture and we did not spray at all. We used the tree planter from the SWCD and it worked sweet. The only issue we had was the ground was so dry and hard the slot had a difficult time sealing up. It helped to have several hundred feet of garden hose available to water the trees. A water tank would've also worked. No weeds have come through the matting though and the area has quickly become a favorite corridor for pheasant traffic between the CRP and our yard. There are 2 rows of dark green arborvitae, a row of Freedom honeysuckle and a row of American cranberry in this planting. Hope this gives you some ideas.

[Lunker]

Dotch,

Thank you for the suggestions, that was a very helpful explanation. The mat material was something I had considered but hadn't heard anyone else's experiences with. What was the cost/amount of the material? I had planned on using the tree planter/dibble tool, though haven't picked one up yet. Our "hay" is an alfalfa mix, but not very high quality with other grasses mixed in.

[Dotch]

Buying it through the SWCD, the cost was roughly $.40/ft. in the roll, and purchased as 3' x 3' squares which is what we did with the arborvitae, $1.25 per square. Staples for the mat were part of the deal. There was 100% cost share on the materials through EQIP in the county I'm in and partial cost share on the trees. It's a little late but if you haven't already done so, it might not be a bad idea to check in with your local NRCS/SWCD just to see if they have anything available along those lines.

Mowing the strips in your hay beforehand as I suggested should work well with the tree mat. The only place you'll need to be conerned with should be the slit area cut for the tree. There can be some occasional stuff creep through there but it's pretty localized and easy to deal with. Good luck!

[Lunker]

Thanks again. I spoke with the NRCS office earlier this spring, something we're looking into for the future but it was too loate for us this year.

[Tom7227]

If you don't do it correctly and prepare the site, put down the fabric and maybe even put the cones around the saplings you may as well take the ones you have and toss them in a fire. Go the U Extension service and read a few of the articles about creating a windbreak.

http://google.umn.edu/search?q=windbreak...tput=xml_no_dtd