HELP! How can you kill quack grass without chemicals? If I lay newspaper around trees, 4 layers thick to ensure coverage, how will my trees get water and will the quack grass around them die? Also, I have noted that the runners of quack grass even entangle themselves in the saskatoon bush root systems, will the runners & roots of the quack grass eventually die with a newspaper coverage of the tops? PLEASe say yes & let it be true!!
Over seed your grass seed so it grows in so thick it smothers out the quack grass...that stuff goes all the way to China and doesn't give up...On the other hand there are many great recipes for quack grass...if you can't beat them eat them! lol
Martha : one classic way for larger areas than you described....assuming you have enough acreage to turn a tractor in:
And i know this is hard on the soil structure, but there are not many choices....and it takes a whole year of seasons.
In the spring, as soon as you can get on soil dry enough , and before the quack gets too high.
Preferably 4-5 days before a full moon,
Pull a multi -tine spring tooth cultivator thru the plot or field all in one direction , back and forth, being sure to overlap.
This itself may bring out quite a number of root strands. remove them away from the ends of your field, into a heap, eventually.
Mainly, this will stretch out the strands which are still in the soil,all in one direction.
Then do the same cultivating at 90 degrees to your first work.
This means that you will be pulling crossways to the rootstrands with greater grasp by the tines. clean teeth again at the ends.
If your soil is not too fluffed up , change your implement to a fairly heavy set of disks in a straight setting, not angled.
Run these over the field again 90 degrees to your last cultivation. This should cut most remaining strands into smaller pieces, weakening them considerably.
Setting your cultivator tines closer together, run across again 90 deg. to see if you pull up any more residuals.
As soon as possible,assuming no rain yet, but before 1-2 days before full moon,
Sow buckwheat thoroughly at 2 bushels per./acre, cross-seed at 90 degrees if done by hand.
Buckwheat will shade out the life-giving sun which the quackgrass thrives on.
Let buckwheat grow to about 12-16", but cut then (before viable seed develops)
Let dry for a day., and then disc in., set straight to reduce churning soil.
Then, in several weeks when buckwheat is likely digested, prepare soil to seed fall rye as soon as practical. again, heavier than for a harvestable crop.
It will thrive from the greenmanure/buckwheat.
The prolific Rye roots give off an allelopathic substance which is antagonistic to quack grass, and if done in right way, will just about finish it off in a weakened state. if sown late, let overwinter and grow in spring before cutting...tremendous volume of org.matter! Cut before it lodges,though.
even crosscut with rear mower set high as possible, and then lower to get a variety of lengths., and make it easier to incorporate after a day of drying.
You should be able to see if any quack survives at the time of cutting rye. If you see any, you can repeat the buckwheat cycle.
The rye roots/stubble are best done with a spading machine, a chisel plow, and/or notched discs. and allowed to digest before planting a crop.
All this is even more effective , even critical, when following the Thun planting calendar for best dates.
Also, it is best to create a medicine from all the quackgrass raked out and put in many barrels to ferment.
The resulting tea should be spread over the field it came from ...since it contains the covering/healing intent and substances which the quack grass was providing.....but without the seeds. Same goes for any "weeds".
Some of it can also be burnt once dry, and the ashes mixed with sand medium spread over the field. This will reduce the tendency for quackgrass to proliferate.
Thankyou Villager!
Very kind of you to take the trouble to answer in such detail. Although I don't have the equipment, it is good information to file. I can see you know a lot about farming!
On a side note, I have had a fair bit of luck removing quack grass from my garden by hand after rototilling or turning the soil. It's a labor intensive process initially, but lessens quickly if you keep up with the new stuff that pops up. Wish I could say I've had as much success with my tree wells.
A spring toothed cultivator is really just a big fancy version of a cultivator garden tool (three clawed cultivator) is just makes any chore using it super easier.
You are correct that a rototiller (which is also a cultivator, taking the steps of plowing and cultivation in one action) works. So would a hand tool, just would be much harder.
I liked Villager's instruction as well. I took it and saved it (hope that's ok) too. I don't get much quackgrass, but if I do I want to try this out. And I totally agree with his suggestion of buckwheat. I love that stuff. I planted a ring of that around my back garden as an experiment this year. The corn I had in the ring I harvested. The corn outside the ring the deer ate. And they are now eating the buckwheat. I see a deer in the freezer this year 🙂
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