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Anybody Use Elephant Grass?


Elby
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I have a few covers that are quite exposed, they perform well at the start of the season but once it gets cold the birds don't go in them.

I'm thinking of putting a ring of this around them as a wind break with maize in the middle.

Does anybody have any experience with the stuff and know how to drill it ect?

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I have a few covers that are quite exposed, they perform well at the start of the season but once it gets cold the birds don't go in them.

I'm thinking of putting a ring of this around them as a wind break with maize in the middle.

Does anybody have any experience with the stuff and know how to drill it ect?

Why not try Pampas Grass? I am seriously thinking about this after doing some beating on a very large estate near me and the number of birds it holds is incredible, without the maize . Mine is same idea as you though, with maize in the centre. Problem is, at around £1.40-£3.00 per plant, for a small shoot like ours, might try to find some seed and start off at home. The type you need is "Erianthus ravennae" as it's one of the few strains that can withstand our weather and at the moment, finding seeds is like finding Rocking horse ####.

I am waiting for the new gamecrop cataloge from a dealer, out in Feb, so will see what the new prices are then

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Why not try Pampas Grass? I am seriously thinking about this after doing some beating on a very large estate near me and the number of birds it holds is incredible, without the maize . Mine is same idea as you though, with maize in the centre. Problem is, at around £1.40-£3.00 per plant, for a small shoot like ours, might try to find some seed and start off at home. The type you need is "Erianthus ravennae" as it's one of the few strains that can withstand our weather and at the moment, finding seeds is like finding Rocking horse ####.

I am waiting for the new gamecrop cataloge from a dealer, out in Feb, so will see what the new prices are then

I think it's pretty much the same stuff as pampas grass.

The price for it is a bit steep, but it's supposed to last up to 10 years.

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we have canary grass down that always seems to last well and gets thicker each season, only issue with any of the grasses is some farmers get the hump as the seed spreads and costs them more to spray off in the adjoining crop

Luckily enough the places that I want to plant it is in the middle of grass fields so the sheep should eat anything that grows around the covers.

Spoke to a few keeper friends about the stuff and they say it's only good as a wind break for the first 2-3 years, after that it gets very woody and tall so the wind goes through the bottom of it.

Looking now like a ring of fir trees or some round bales.

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worst stuff ever, farmer grows 2 fields for burning at didcot power station. yeah, it holds birds reasonably well but as been said before it needs an army of beaters and a pack of dogs to get em out and any dead birds that fall in it are a nightmare to pick.

 

good news with the floods in Aus pushing grain futures up, he thinks hes gonna get a better yield from corn next year so fingers crossed its going :D

 

Fuzrat

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Have a look at Chickory.

 

Needs another crop with it the first year but should then last 5 years, nice open crop, about 4 feet tall that hold birds really well. I initially did 2 plots with it 3 years ago and have done 2 more last spring, all held birds well this season. I am intending to do another one or two this spring replacing Artichokes.

 

A

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worst stuff ever, farmer grows 2 fields for burning at didcot power station. yeah, it holds birds reasonably well but as been said before it needs an army of beaters and a pack of dogs to get em out and any dead birds that fall in it are a nightmare to pick.

 

good news with the floods in Aus pushing grain futures up, he thinks hes gonna get a better yield from corn next year so fingers crossed its going :D

 

Fuzrat

 

Totally agree. There's about an acre of the stuff on my local shoot. it just gets denser every year and it's now at the point where it's virtually impenetrable. Think Ray Mears is in it somewhere :lol:

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I grow Reed Canary Grass (Phalaris Arundinacea) around most of my game crops and between tree rows in young plantations and it gives good long lasting cover, up to 10 years is quoted. Mine is now in its 7th season and 75% of it is still looking good. I grow strips about 15 feet wide as a windbreak right around the crops.

 

Drill in 24-30" rows.Otherwise you can get a dense crop birds won't like. You get little or no cover the first year,at least nothing you should rely on. You can oversow it with mustard, triticale etc for 1st year cover and the RCG will come through the following spring and reach up to 5' in height.

It can be cleaned up if it gets overburdened with weed, mostly nettle and thistle. Seek advice from a BASIS qualified spray supplier.

 

It dies off from late Septemeber to leave a strong woody stem and ours has stood the snow and frost well and still held birds today, 1st February.

 

It can creep out from the drilled area and if sheep graze it heavily, especially in spring, it can kill them "Phalaris staggers".

Tell your shepherds, all but the laziest try to keep their sheep out of the covers if they think it might kill them. :lol: Some see game crops as free grazing in my experience.

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