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  • From: Rob <becida AT comcast.net>
  • To: homestead AT lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: [Homestead] tvo post 9-19-00 -Re: DR Trimmer, quail
  • Date: Sun, 05 Jun 2005 11:22:40 -0700

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Date: Tue, 19 Sep 2000 17:03:19 -0400
From: tvoivozhd <tvoivozd AT roanoke.infi.net>
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Subject: Re: DR Trimmer, quail
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Loy wrote:

> I guess you might say that I'm a laid back conservationist. I
> like things in a natural order but I don't get antagonistic about
> it. I'm considering planting some kind of grain in another field
> and just letting it grow up and lay in the field for the birds
> and other animals. Bobwhite quail were all over this place when
> I was a child and now you don't hear any bobwhite calls. Maybe
> if I can provide a good habitat, they will come back. Goodness
> knows something needs to be done around here. I think the
> previous owner dumped every chemical known to man on the ground
> here.
>

Tvoivozhd---you don't really need any grain for bobwhite, just bunchgrass and
weeds---bugs and weedseed is their basic diet.

A heavy turf kills off the chicks---they need access to bare ground. You want
bunchgrass for that, and tall enough to bend over, protecting the chicks and
adults from crows and hawks.
Warm Season Grasses for Wildlife




Wildlife habitat in basic terms means a home for wildlife. Like ourselves,
wildlife has specific needs which
must be met for them to survive. Each different species of upland game, for
example, requires its own specific
type of food; medium dense cover for nesting, roosting, loafing, and brood
rearing; and heavy cover for
severe weather protection. To effectively provide habitat for wildlife, we
must
provide each of these
requirements in close proximity to each other in order to satisfy a particular
species needs.

This paper will focus on one individual habitat type-the native warmseason
grasses. Basic information will be
provided on how certain wildlife species utilize the warm-season grasses, as
well as how you can go about
getting your own native warm-season grassland established.

In simple terms, the native warm-season grasses can be defined as the prairie
grasses of the plains states that
make all or most of their growth in the late spring and summer of the year.
Representative species in this
group would include big bluestem, Indiangrass, sideoats grama, and buffalograss.

The wildlife benefits of a native warm-season grassland for pheasants and
quail
are impressive. Along with the
obvious benefits of nesting, roosting, and loafing cover, the warm-season
grasses provide a degree of winter
cover when little or no snow cover exists. Few if any other grasses have such
a
wide range of benefits, but
the benefits do not stop there. From the landowner's viewpoint, the nearly
maintenance and disease free
characteristics of the native grasses are highly desirable by themselves, but
when you add the drought
resistance and aesthetic qualities that they possess, it's quite clear that a
native warm-season grassland is hard
to beat.

When determining where and how large an area should be seeded to warm-season
grasses, you must first
look at the specific area that you wish to improve for wildlife. Keeping in mind
the need for food and winter
cover, along with the nesting cover, lay out the area in an integrated pattern
of warm and cool season grasses,
tree rows, and row crop, if feasible, for opti- mum wildlife benefits. If row
crop is not feasible in your
particular case, work with just the grass seedings and tree plantings. Many
species of wildlife are capable of
traveling long distances for food daily if all other habitat needs are met.

The actual seeding process can be broken down into the following four workable
steps: 1. seed selection,
2. ground preparation, 3. seeding, and 4. weed control.

1. Seed Selection

A seed mixture of one pound big bluestem, one pound little bluestem, one pound
Indiangrass,
one pound sideoats grama, and one half pound of switchgrass per acre has been
seeded
extensively on state wildlife areas in the southeast part of the state with
excellent success. Your local county
extension agent can provide you with information on specific varieties and local
seed sources in your
immediate area of the state. The addition of two pounds of alfalfa and two
pounds of red clover per acre
would greatly improve the nesting capability of your grassland. For those of you
that want to keep your native
prairie truly "native," substitute native wildflowers for the legume mix. Seed
for some of the wildflowers can
be purchased commercially, while others must be collected by hand from virgin
prairie tracts.

2. Ground Preparation

It is essential to adequately control all competing vegetation before attempting
to establish the grassland.
Adequate weed control before and after seeding will in most cases dictate the
success or failure of the
seeding. This can be accomplished in two ways:

A.) by spring plowing followed by at least two diskings at 3 to 4-week Ihtervals
to eliminate germinating
weed seed, or

B.) planting the field to an annual grain crop of milo or soybeans the year
prior to grass seeding and then
disking in the spring as in A. Both methods are effective at reducing viable
weed seed prior to seeding. When
seeding in the spring, after final disking, the soil should be packed firmly
with a spike-tooth harrow or
corrugated roller to firm the seedbed. A general rule of thumb is that the
desired firmness is achieved when a
man's footprint compacts the soil to a maximum depth of one half inch. In all
but the most extreme cases,
fertilizer is not necessary before or after establishment of the grassland. This
is because the native
warm-season grasses grow during the warm months when soil organisms are
releasing nutrients.

3. Grass Seeding

The four most important factors to remember when seeding the warm-season grasses
are:

A.) time the seeding between May 15 and June 15 to take advantage of optimum
moisture and
temperature conditions for germination,

B.) place the seed 'h inch deep

C.) distribute seed uniformly at the proper rate per.acre, and

D.) firm the soil around the seed.

A late spring seeding is preferred. However, native warm-season grasses can be
dormant seeded directly into
milo stubble in late fall. This method eliminates all ground preparation, but
allows weeds to become
established in the spring prior to grass seed germination. This dormant
seeding
method is somewhat less
desirable than the spring seeding due to the increased weed competition
problems, but will produce a
satisfactory stand of grass if weed control procedures are followed.

Special warm-season grass drills such as the Nesbit or the newer Truax,
Miller,
or Tye drills all permit easy
seeding of all warm-season grasses. These drills can usually be rented in most
areas of the state.

The seeding of small areas or the seeding of native wildflowers can be sown most
efficiently by hand. To
insure an even distribution, it is recommended that a cup of seed be mixed
with
a gallon of moist sand prior to
sowing. Then rake or harrow the seed in to the lh inch depth, and pack under
foot or with a roller.

4. Weed Control

Native grasses grow down, not up during the establishment year. First year
growth usually only amounts to a
narrow straight leaf blade that can be easily overlooked. For this reason,
patience must be a big part of the
planter's fiber.

Because the native grasses need direct sunlight, weeds must be controlled the
first year after seeding. This can
be done effectively by mowing the grassland regularly to a height of 4 to 6
inches with a rotary mower.

If care is taken to insure that the steps described above are followed
closely,
you will be rewarded with a
native warm-season grassland of value not only to yourself, but to many
species
of wildlife as well.


Native Foods

Planted Foods

Trees and Shrubs

Ash
Black Cherry
Black Gum
Dogwood
Hawthorn
Huckleberry
Oak
Pine
Plum
Mulberry
Sumac
Sweetgum
Viburnum

Forbs, Legumes, Grasses

Annual/Perennial
Lespedezas
Barnyardgrass
Beggarweed
Butterfly pea
Croton
Common Ragweed
Foxtail
Johnsongrass
Milk Pea
Panic Grass
Partridge Pea
Paspalum
Vetches

Vines

Blackberry
Dewberry
Greenbriar
Honeysuckle
Wild Grape

Autumn Olive

Bicolor
Lespedeza
Browntop
Millet
Common
Lespedeza
Corn
Crimson
Clover
Egyptian
Wheat
Grain
Sorghum
Kobe
Lespedeza
Korean
Lespedeza
Laredo
Soybeans
Partridge
Pea
Proso Millet

Wheat


Note: Quail eat the seeds, fruit, and some green vegetation from these plants.
Several of these plants provide excellent
cover for nesting, brood rearing, escape, and roosting.





  • [Homestead] tvo post 9-19-00 -Re: DR Trimmer, quail, Rob, 06/05/2005

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