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Forage oats can provide additional hayBy David G. Hallauer Meadowlark District Extension agent, crops, soils, horticulture Need additional hay? Consider oats as an alternative to more traditional hay and pasture this spring--but do so soon as oat seed may be in short supply and your planting window is rapidly closing. Late February through mid-March works for planting here. Get beyond that and production starts getting limited, at least for grain production. Slightly later dates can be used if forage production, and not grain, is the only desired end goal. A soil test prior to planting would be optimum, but in lieu of that, apply 75 to 125 pounds per acre nitrogen along with normal P and K rates for prior cereal crops (oats remove about a quarter pound of P and K per bushel of normal expected production). Add an additional 30 pounds per acre N if grazing. Be cognizant of prior crop herbicides as well. Oats are especially sensitive to the triazines. A seeding rate of two bushels per acre is recommended. Oats may be successfully planted no-till; however, growth and vigor are typically greater with pre-plant tillage. No-tillage is more successful in fields that have been under no-tillage for a period of years. It is riskier to try to no-till oats under "opportunistic no-tillage" conditions. In either case, a fine, firm seedbed is necessary for optimal production. Seeding up to 1 inch is preferable. Pruning deciduous shrubs Itching to get out and 'do something' this spring? Consider pruning. While not all shrubs need pruning, and some not at this time, certain shrubs should be cared for now. Spring flowering shrubs should not be pruned until immediately after flowering. Pruning earlier will not harm the health of the plant, but the flowering display will be reduced. Examples include forsythia, lilac and mock orange. Shrubs that bloom on current season's growth or that do not produce ornamental flowers are best pruned in late winter to early spring. Examples include Rose-of- Sharon, pyracantha, Bumald spirea and Japanese spirea. Pruning during the spring allows wounds to heal quickly without threat from insects or disease. There is no need to treat pruning cuts with paints or sealers. There are three basic methods used in pruning shrubs: thinning, heading back and rejuvenating. Thinning is used to thin out branches from a shrub that is too dense. It is accomplished by removing most of the inward growing twigs by either cutting them back to a larger branch or cutting them back to just above an outward- facing bud. On multi-stemmed shrubs, the oldest canes may be completely removed. Heading back is done by removing the end of a branch by cutting it back to a bud and is used for either reducing height or keeping a shrub compact. Branches are not cut back to a uniform height because this results in a "witches-broom" effect. Rejuvenation is the most severe type of pruning and may be used on multi-stem shrubs that have become too large, with too many old branches to justify saving the younger canes. All stems are cut back to 3- to 5-inch stubs. This is not recommended for all shrubs but does work well for spirea, forsythia, pyracantha, ninebark, Russian almond, little leaf mock orange, shrub roses and flowering quince. 3/10/08 Date: 3/4/08 Advertisement
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