# Ferns



## MARK J (Dec 27, 2004)

I have 3 acres of oats, buck forage oats, dwarf essex rape, purple top turnips and ladino clover. The oats, rape and turnips are 7" tall and are doing great...the clover is just really starting to turn on...maybe 2" tall. I'm happy...it's growing great. It's a tremendous amount of work...

Now I know why most farmers look like 40 miles of bad road...the work practically kills them. 

Now the field is filling up with ferns. I set my rotary cutter to 8" and cut all of the tops off of the ferns. Now the rest of the plants can get the sunlight and all the water. Do you think that cutting the tops off of the ferns killed them? I hope so. The food plot field sure looks better. Anybody had any experience with this sort of trouble? Thanks a lot...

I'de rather push a blue tractor than drive a green one! Good Hunt'n!


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## ThumbBum (Oct 13, 2003)

I have heard that you can kill fern with repeated mowing, but it sure hasnt worked for me. 

I get them really bad in one of my attractant plots thats in a soil builder program. I thought I had finished them last year when I sprayed and disced in my buckwheat. They had been present in the plot that spring when I did my first spraying and they seemed to be dying when I rototilled the field and planted my buckwheat that July. Then by late Auguast they were back, the only plant in the plot that could compete with the buckwheat which was about 24in tall by then. I hit them with roundup along with the buckwheat and tilled the whole mess under and planted BFO. Plot came up great, and no fern in sight. 

This May I roundup the plot again just to finish off any weeds, then come back to plant my buckwheat in June and the thing is thick with ferns. I hit them with Roundup again, tilled, and planted my buckwheat. 

If they come up though the buckwheat again this year then I will excersice my nuclear option and hit them with a triple dose of roundup and give them a couple of weeks before I plant my oats. 

PS
Have you done a siol test, fern love acid soil. The plot I mentioned above was 5.4PH when I started.


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## Luv2hunteup (Mar 22, 2003)

Welcome to the site Mark J.

The easiest way to kill ferns in a existing plot is by using a rope wick applicator filled with round up. Typically speaking ferns will outgrow your planted seeds so they'll be high enough for this method to be effective.

Ferns are also a sign of acidic soil. Adding lime per your soil recommendation will also help rid your plot of ferns. Mowing will control them but won't rid your plot of ferns. Good luck and :Welcome:


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## wild bill (Apr 20, 2001)

Luv2hunteup said:


> Ferns are also a sign of acidic soil. Adding lime per your soil recommendation will also help rid your plot of ferns. Mowing will control them but won't rid your plot of ferns. Good luck and :Welcome:


good advice from luv2. also when trying to control the ferns you do not want to disc the ground. where you cut the roots they will sprout another plant. fix the ph and keep it sprayed with roundup. either frost seed the plots or notill them untill the ferns are under control.


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## Jeff Sturgis (Mar 28, 2002)

Spot spray with Roundup...I've found it is the only way to get rid of them. Also, you can not spray the stem, you have to spray the leaf when it's fully open and at least 8".

That being said, once the ph is right I've found a good shot of Roundup is extremely effective to the point of the ferns not being a factor again...but you need that one good shot.

I'd go through with a spray bottle and hit everyone, or use that wick system that Luv2 talks about. Once I've gotten rid of them, they never come back.


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## David G Duncan (Mar 26, 2000)

Did not use any spray to kill the ferns, but once the ph of the soil got near the 7.0 range the ferns all disappeared  .


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