Originally Posted by CNC
Originally Posted by crenshawco
So do you bush hog in the spring with your dog fennel areas?


I did two years ago in the late winter and the same plants came back a little taller the next year. I skipped last year and didn't do anything to see what would happen. Everything came back about the same without mowing. Now I have found that mowing during summer months after dog fennel has jumped to around chest high will help thin it and allow other plants to move in. This is about when spring is turning to summer and plants are really jumping. You could mow it a second time and really help other plants if you just clipped the dog fennel and didn't clip the other plants below. You're basically just stunting the fennel and setting it back while the other plants grow full steam ahead. This is how I plan on keeping it balanced for now. I'll probably clip it next year in May or June and then let it grow back up for winter if it comes back any thicker next year....it should just thin it out some and keep my other diversity growing with it.


Something else to add to my other answer on this question……I don’t think I’ll mow the dog fennel after deer season this year either but instead, I may pull a drag across it just to put that old dead fennel to the ground. Mowing the old dead stuff would be like trying to mow small tree saplings. They would lay over just fine though if you pulled something over them. Might just do it with my bucket again...That way mowing the new green growth in May or June wouldn’t be any kind of thing….it’d just be like mowing grass. It would also take down all of the old overstory going into a new growing season. I think from a long term soil building perspective it would be good just to lay the dog fennel over whole anyways.

Last edited by CNC; 11/12/19 12:01 AM.
We dont rent pigs