Natural Local Foxtail Problem in Gold Country, CA

[MrBreeze911]

Where I live in Northern California, different varieties of foxtail grass is common. This type of weed is dangerous to animals and a nuisance to humans. The little foxtail seed heads are spikey and, because of their physical makeup, can dig into the skin, ears, eyes, and mouth without being able to come back out. These foxtails can eventually burrow into an animals internal organs possibly and cause irreversible damage. I am just wondering if anybody here knows much about weed science, plant science, or soil science enough to know if there is a way to at least get rid of the foxtails on my property. I almost lost my dog, Cody, a couple years ago, and I don't want to have to go through that again. My grandpa lost a dog named Troy a few years ago to the grass. I am wondering if I fix the soil health and plant competing grass on the property, if that could get rid of the foxtails. We should get rid of these damn things along with house flies if you ask me, the little bastards.

 

[Creeperpark]

Try using 24D broadleaf weed Killer. It will take a couple of sprays every year to get them good.

 

[MrBreeze911]

Try using 24D broadleaf weed Killer. It will take a couple of sprays every year to get them good.

Okay sir, thank you. So, there is no need to be concerned in your opinion about adverse effects of using glyphosate? I do not really know anything about that.

 

[Creeperpark]

Okay sir, thank you. So, there is no need to be concerned in your opinion about adverse effects of using glyphosate? I do not really know anything about that.

No not Glyphosate, 2,4-D broadleaf weed killer. Look it up on the computer because its a lot safer than Round-up and easy to get.

2,4-D is a widely used herbicide that controls broadleaf weeds that has been used as a pesticide since the 1940s. It is used in many places including turf, lawns, rights-of-way, aquatic sites, forestry sites, and a variety of field, fruit and vegetable crops. It may also be used to regulate the growth of citrus plants. Google

 

[Creeperpark]

I don't know how large your property is, but you can control a lot of grass by scalping with a bush hog or a powerful mower. Mow weekly during the early growing season before the plants can mke seed.. If you allow the foxtail to go to seed you will keep having the problems year after year. You have to disrupt the plant's seeding cycle for a few years before you can gain control. If you let the grass go to seed you will have it next year. every year. Mowing short is my first choice because I don't use any herbicides, but some people do.

 

[St. Phatty]

I think goats are the way to go, if you have the time to herd them EVERY DAY.

 

[MrBreeze911]

"The most effective types of pre-emergence herbicides are products containing Pendimathaline, Sulfentrazon or 2,4-D/triclopyr. While using a pre-emergence herbicide is the most effective, when Yellow Foxtail has already appeared on a lawn or yard, there are post-emergence herbicides as well."
"Since foxtail is a grass, broadleaf herbicides do not control it. Glyphosate is a non-selective herbicide that will kill foxtail as well as most." I have researched glyphosate online and discovered that it is widely accepted that glyphosate is safe to use according to the instructions on the bottle. I think I will take the risk and use herbicides for this.

 

[Oregonism]

We worked on various project treatments in central oregon with bromus tectorum, cheatgrass, another really nasty one.

We used sugar, fire and coverings for large 1 acre treatments, large as in study areas, whereas plots might be normally just a handful of square feet or meters.

Herbicides are temporary and may help soil conditions to help introduce even more hardened weeds, thats a concern imho.
You see this constantly in the nearby forest clearcuts. Spray, repeat and loss of plant diversity and only the hardened seem to survive.

Soils are notoriously low in N and Ca. Magnesium from volcanics suppresses what little soluble Ca is in the soil.....cali has a similar soil types, not all the same but granite and basalt are relatively the same chemically, granite is just basalt erupted under ground, so soil morphologys might be of some use in this specific case.

These grasses share a similar soil profile, that they like. It seems it is often overlooked.....

 

[Oregonism]

2,4-d was used in combination with 2,5,T as a jungle defoliant.
I have a sore spot for these types. They are abiotic and might (will) take out goodies with the baddies. It is just chemistry.

 

[oldhaole]

What I would do.....
Spray Round-up.
Let it die.
Then set fire to it and kill the rest of the new seeds.

 

[Creeperpark]

"The most effective types of pre-emergence herbicides are products containing Pendimathaline, Sulfentrazon or 2,4-D/triclopyr. While using a pre-emergence herbicide is the most effective, when Yellow Foxtail has already appeared on a lawn or yard, there are post-emergence herbicides as well."
"Since foxtail is a grass, broadleaf herbicides do not control it. Glyphosate is a non-selective herbicide that will kill foxtail as well as most." I have researched glyphosate online and discovered that it is widely accepted that glyphosate is safe to use according to the instructions on the bottle. I think I will take the risk and use herbicides for this.

Sounds good. Keep us posted

 

[Three Berries]

You want to get some crabgrass preventer. Probably have to use it for a few years religiously. It's an annual so killing the plant only stops that years seeds.

 

[MrBreeze911]

How do I get enough herbicide for 5 acres of land?

 

[Three Berries]

How do I get enough herbicide for 5 acres of land?

Is that the only thing growing? I have a similar issue but it's a perennial crabgrass like weed.

It would be very difficult and expensive to eradicate, especially 5 acers. But it can be done. Look to some sort of local ag company. They may even come and treat. Most farmers around here hire it out anymore field applications.

 

[xet]

Make enough seed of your favorite smoke, chuck those seeds during a downpour in the winter, and let the cannabis kill them all by outcompeting them starting in the spring. To your original question, improving soil fertility will help yes, which brings us back to biochar or liquid feeding rabbit manure. My friend always said "weeds are an expression of the soil's mineral deficiency"

 

[MrBreeze911]

Is that the only thing growing? I have a similar issue but it's a perennial crabgrass like weed.

It would be very difficult and expensive to eradicate, especially 5 acers. But it can be done. Look to some sort of local ag company. They may even come and treat. Most farmers around here hire it out anymore field applications.

Yeah, foxtails take over ever year here. You can walk for miles and miles of them! That and poison oak.

 

[St. Phatty]

Where I live in Northern California, different varieties of foxtail grass is common. This type of weed is dangerous to animals and a nuisance to humans. The little foxtail seed heads are spikey and, because of their physical makeup, can dig into the skin, ears, eyes, and mouth without being able to come back out.

If you have access to a good chemistry lab, I would send the foxtail ash out for analysis.

It could be fixing some interesting elements - like Gold or Copper.

What is the soil composition once you get rid of the humus ? De-composed Granite ?

Also the SMOKE from burning the foxtail will have an different chemical composition, with perhaps some useful chemicals.

Probably the foxtail ash contains Potassium, a good plant fertilizer.

 

[MrBreeze911]

If you have access to a good chemistry lab, I would send the foxtail ash out for analysis.

It could be fixing some interesting elements - like Gold or Copper.

What is the soil composition once you get rid of the humus ? De-composed Granite ?

Also the SMOKE from burning the foxtail will have an different chemical composition, with perhaps some useful chemicals.

Probably the foxtail ash contains Potassium, a good plant fertilizer.

Maybe If I mow it all with a bag I can compost and burn to use as potash and etc. This is a interesting point that makes me wonder if I could use this clay rock dusty native soil to amend in place of rockdust. I have also wondered about the analysis on the rock from my local quarry, because of how cheap it is, called California green rock they told me. It must be hard for plants to live in this soil, because this is one of the few plants weed that takes over every year. If you go up the hill near yosemite into the forest, only the clearings have foxtail, and the denser forest doesn't. I would like to learn more about how soil and climate affect the local biodiversity.

 

[MrBreeze911]

If you have access to a good chemistry lab, I would send the foxtail ash out for analysis.

It could be fixing some interesting elements - like Gold or Copper.

What is the soil composition once you get rid of the humus ? De-composed Granite ?

Also the SMOKE from burning the foxtail will have an different chemical composition, with perhaps some useful chemicals.

Probably the foxtail ash contains Potassium, a good plant fertilizer.

I will cut em, burn em, mix it in my compost pile. I live near UC Davis, where I plan on transferring, but there may be somewhere closes in Lodi. Here's a good unrelated read I just found by the way: https://www.sciencenews.org/article/terroir-food-crops-environment-smell-taste
Still unsure about using round up

 

[St. Phatty]

Maybe If I mow it all with a bag I can compost and burn to use as potash and etc. This is a interesting point that makes me wonder if I could use this clay rock dusty native soil to amend in place of rockdust. I have also wondered about the analysis on the rock from my local quarry, because of how cheap it is, called California green rock they told me. It must be hard for plants to live in this soil, because this is one of the few plants weed that takes over every year. If you go up the hill near yosemite into the forest, only the clearings have foxtail, and the denser forest doesn't. I would like to learn more about how soil and climate affect the local biodiversity.

Maybe you can find a soil science class online.

Probably one at MIT - but maybe under a different label.

MIT OpenCourseWare | Free Online Course Materials

MIT OpenCourseWare is a web based publication of virtually all MIT course content. OCW is open and available to the world and is a permanent MIT activity

ocw.mit.edu

It's worth learning how to do simple assays.

In my case I would have to re-build an enclosed area to keep the animals out.

Classic initial technique is a pyrex beaker/ measuring cup full of hydrochloric acid, into which the soil sample is dumped. This won't dissolve Copper or Gold (without special extra measures like Chlorine gas), but it will dissolve Zinc, Iron, and maybe Uranium.

There used to be a chemical analysis place in Nevada that did some samples.

During Covid19 they increased their minimum to a large number, like you had to buy 100 tests at a time.