Horticultural Advice Needed?

[jackc]

Looking at my airstrip construction and as we are getting intermittent rain it’s time to knock over some trees to make it wide enough,  I need to get serious and realise I don’t want an erosion headache, I am getting a seeder to tow behind my ATV but wondering what grasses I should sew.  Probably need to add fertiliser etc.  Not being able to water it, so will need to be a good covering, hardy type of something to do the job.  Fast growing a bonus 🙂 

[spacesailor]

Sounds like you need !.

WEEDS.

Fast growing & very hardy.  LoL

spacesailor

 

[Blueadventures]

47 minutes ago, jackc said:

Looking at my airstrip construction and as we are getting intermittent rain it’s time to knock over some trees to make it wide enough,  I need to get serious and realise I don’t want an erosion headache, I am getting a seeder to tow behind my ATV but wondering what grasses I should sew.  Probably need to add fertiliser etc.  Not being able to water it, so will need to be a good covering, hardy type of something to do the job.  Fast growing a bonus 🙂 

Maybe ask at your local rural supply outlet. Their grass consultant will know what survives down you way.  Local experts are best.

[facthunter]

You will have to get the correct variety for the conditions as it's going to be a lot of work. Where you clear will sprout weeds and seeds attract birds if they are on the surface. A runner type grass may be the best cover.  Nev

[440032]

Talk to your local ELDERS branch. They know what works local.

[NT5224]

Hi Jackc

 

I went exactly through the process you describe about three years ago when I established Robin Falls International.

 

I had to clear thick woodlands to get my strip in, but the native grasses grew back thick as soon as the first rains fell. As soon as you remove the canopy the natives want to shoot up.... 

 

No idea want your patch is like but why not hang off for a few months to see what pops up?

Slashing natives makes them look a lot like grass, and its the best permanent solution to avoid erosion. Introduced grasses might not survive.

 

Cheers 

 

Alan 

[NT5224]

 

 

Oh,  and the roos love it,  so if you're a 'bunny farmer' like me  you might need to chase em away before landing...🤣

 

Cheers 

 

Alan 

Edited November 2, 2021 by NT5224

[jackc]

Update time 🙂  My local rural stock and station agent came up with Indian Couch as a suitable solution.  Not cheap at $40 per kilo for the seed he says for the area at 40 kilos. So, I am looking around the $1800 to seed my strip.

I did some research and came up with this…….basically I am sowing an expensive weed 🙂. 

 

http://era.daf.qld.gov.au/id/eprint/5475/1/Loss of productivity in Qld pastures invaded by Indian Couch.pdf

 

I have Landcare contact number for someone who has done much research on this, but from a grazing productivity aspect.

Not making airstrips! 

[facthunter]

A grass with runners is probably the go, but an extensive DRY will take it's toll. Tuft's will make it rough as. There's not a lot of real cover there where you are mowing..Eventually top dressing will be needed in some well used patches. You don't want low areas either. Some places have a relatively narrow crowned strip with less defined areas to each side to limit the work involved. Nev

Edited November 8, 2021 by facthunter

[Thruster88]

We have couch in a small horse paddock, it is very hardy, out competes every thing else and doesn't grow very tall if not mowed or eaten. I would imagine a seeding rate of only 2-3kg per Ha. 1 Ha = 10x1000 metre. You have more rain than us and a milder winter so it should grow well year round.

[facthunter]

It doesn't like frost, and repels other things. It's generally a pest with other horticulture and hard to be rid of.  Nev

[jackc]

It’s an expensive ‘weed’ to plant but I am hoping it could be the answer to solving erosion problems, too.

Never any frost here, just dry spells that seem to be getting longer and longer……

[facthunter]

It will hold the soil there in winds etc. It's a full cover.  You might need to put a watering device over it in long drys

[poteroo]

Spreading, perennial grasses are best for runways.  Tufted, annual grasses are a dead loss because you have to allow them to run up into seed every year = too deep growth to push through with small diameter aircraft wheels. Broadleaf weeds are worse, and you need to fight them back with either a frequent mowing, or some selective herbicide, (MCPA/dicamba mixes are useful).  

 

Common couch grass, (Cynodon dactylon),  also known as Bermuda grass, African star Grass, etc, etc is a native of Africa, Australia & Asia. It is stoloniferous, ie, the stuff grows underground like kikuyu, and is very drought tolerant. It can be grown by using bits of turf, individual stolons, or, if you are lucky to know someone with a patch of it - by mowing off the seedheads into a catcher and then spreading them during wet weather.  You should be able to access planting materials of this grass quite cheaply. Find someone who has it by the hectare!  Plant in linear lines longitudinally up the strip and allow the grass to spread laterally.  This creates less bumps.

 

Important - get the plain old common couch - not one of the fancy hybrids, or selections that are used for better watered turf in parks.  Lots of details on common couch management on the internet.... Dr Google is your friend!

 

It is very responsive to both nitrogen  and sulfur,  which are available from sulfate of ammonia fertiliser. Assuming that your soil has better than 25ppm of phosphate, and 100 of potash, then N is what drives the couch along. But, you need several sprinkles of AS during the wet season because it leaches rapidly and the grass may not have sufficient root mass to uptake it.  

 

Don't mow it too low, frequency is more important.  Once you can find its' roots down below 40-50mm, then it will handle a bit more aggressive cutting.

 

Hope this helps, cheers.

[APenNameAndThatA]

$1600 seems cheap if it means you don’t have to mow. Researching this properly could save you slashing for the rest of your life. 

 

I suppose that is one of the reasons Nev mentioned runners, and runners mean no clumps. Also, if you wait to see what grows, you might gave missed a window. Is possible that that grass is not a weed where you live.

 

Disclaimer: I know nothing about grass.