Risky Business

Jeff H

Well-Known Member
With the prediction of rain from the hurricane I had planned to plant this past Saturday vs waiting until Labor Day weekend. The forecast here changes daily and sometimes several times each day but as of Friday evening we were expected to get rain after 3pm on Saturday.
My plots still have clover, and vetch and various broadleaves but have become overrun with grasses. The plan was to spray cleth vs gly to keep my clover and vetch then spread seed and fertilizer. No mowing (no tractor).
I arrived at 10 am with a borrowed side by side for spraying. My help and current member here Brent was there already. Brent's a young energetic knowledgeable fellow and has been a real blessing. Before we had said our hello's it was obvious we were about to get wet. Real wet. A beautifully impressive cloud formation was rolling in fast. Time to readjust the plan!
The rain passed, sun came out, and the wind kicked up so we spread the seed and fertilizer. The radar showed a dry spell for about 5 hours so I added .75 oz per gallon of Gly to the Cleth, doubled my surfactant and sprayed. My only other option was wait until Thursday (only day without rain in the forecast) and spray then after work. That option however got taken off the table by lunchtime Saturday. I've never sprayed after a rain but was encouraged by the manufacturers website that says Cleth is rainfast after 4-6 hours after application. I also read something on a peanut growers site that claims cleth can be absorbed in as little as 30 mins.
https://peanut.ces.ncsu.edu/2013/07/peanut-mixes-and-rain-fastness-of-product/
Prayers in the air and fingers crossed. I won't be able to get back out there for at least a week. It'll be an interesting experiment. Wish me luck.
 
Height and age of the grass will be more a determining factor than the moisture. Cleth performs better with short/under 6 in grass and actively growing. But with that said, I often just did what and when I had the time to do so and lived with the results. I think you will be pleased and next year spray in late April to late May. I'd rather have the rain than the drought.
 
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