8
in other words
march21
2019
Diggin’ in The Dirt: Reed Canary Grass
By Chip Bubl
Oregon State University
Extension Service - Columbia County
Caring for Your Large Pond (and the
Wildlife That Use It!) Workshop -
Saturday, April 6, 2019
Sauvie Island Grange 8:30 am
- 3:45 pm. Whether your pond is for ir-
rigation or fire suppression, whether it’s
neglected and weedy or meticulously
landscaped, you’ll find lots of important
information packed into this one-day
workshop. Topics will include: vegeta-
tion control, mosquito control, sedimen-
tation, water quality, creating habitat,
and attracting songbirds, turtles, and
other wildlife. Part of the day will be
spent walking around a pond, so wear
appropriate footwear. $30 registration
fee includes coffee, snacks, and lunch.
Pre-registration is required by April 3
at wmswcd.org/event/caring-for-your-
large-pond/. Scholarships are available:
contact
pondworkshops@gmail.com
with any questions and/or to request a
scholarship.
Scappoose Bay Watershed Council’s
Native Plant Sale - Saturday, April 13
Join the Watershed Council at their
Spring Native Plant Sale, Saturday, April
13, from 9:00 am - 3:00 pm. This is their
semi-annual event to get you ready for
spring and summer planting. They have
lots of new plants at great prices – all
native to our area. Staff and volunteers
are available to help choose plants, sug-
gest gardening ideas, and provide infor-
mation on establishing and maintaining
native vegetation. For more information
see http://www.scappoosebay-wc.org/
native-plant-nursery./ The SBWC nurs-
ery is located behind Scappoose High
School. Look for signs – go east on SE
High School Way and turn into the park-
ing lot between the high school and the
school ball field areas.
Reed canary grass
Reed canary grass (RCG) was
first planted as a forage species in Co-
lumbia County in the 1920s. I have a
picture of the Extension Agent at the
time, George Nelson, planting the exper-
imental field of European RCG seed on
Clatskanie dike land. Subsequent plant-
ings were made on dike land farms in
Rainier, Deer Island, and Scappoose and
on riparian edge pastures in the Nehalem
Valley. If I could roll the clock back, I
would. Reed canary grass is tall, coarse
bladed, and quite invasive, choking out
native vegetation on riparian sites up
and down the Columbia River and in
wetlands all over the county. This plant
has been responsible for more native
plant restoration project failures than
any other cause, especially in the lower
Columbia River area.
Reed canary grass spreads over
distance by seed carried by birds and
animals and root/crown fragments that
move downstream in floods. Once estab-
lished on a site, individual plants clone
themselves by aggressive runner and
crown production until they are the only
plant standing over large acreages. While
Reed canary grass prefers moist pastures
and wetlands, it is quite competitive on
some upland sites as well. RCG appears
to have two operating systems, one for
wetter sites and another for drier ones.
Move it from its original favorite site
type and it will turn off the old operating
system and turn on the new one. This is
called “genetic plasticity” and RCG has
it in spades.
Reed canary grass is a perennial
plant that dies back in the winter and
produces new shoots from the crown in
early spring. But since we have it, what
is its feed value and what are the best
ways to handle it? First, when grazed or
harvested immature (less than 24 inches
tall) it has fair digestibility (energy) and
average to above average protein con-
tent. Quality drops off faster than any
other grass as it gets more than 2-3 feet
tall. In Columbia County, it can get 9
feet tall!
Unfortunately, RCG grows
quickly in the spring, often on fields that
can’t be grazed or harvested because
they are too wet. RCG can be clipped
to preserve forage quality. Some farm-
ers put their stock out early on the best
drained land to graze RCG once it gets
8-10” tall down to 3-4” and then take
the re-growth as either further short term
grazing, hay, or round bale silage. Sec-
ond cuttings are common if the first one
is removed (weather allowing) in early
to mid-June at the latest. Given the lack
of great drying weather at that time of
year, putting up round bale silage or
grazing is often the preferred harvesting
method.
Reed canary grass has some
problems, though. Most of the stands
are from European seed. These strains
produce forage with significant amounts
of alkaloids that make the forage taste
bitter and thus less palatable, slowing
grazing consumption. This, by itself,
reduces predicted gains as forecast by
the measured protein and TDN of the
forage. Alkaloid concentration increases
as the forage matures. The alkaloids can
also directly affect digestibility and pass
through in the rumen and/or increase
diarrhea, and thus reduce the effective
protein and energy actually utilized by
the livestock. Finally, especially with
sheep, there may be a fungus that attacks
the leaves of canary grass that can cause
severe photosensitive reactions includ-
ing swelling, facial edema, skin loss, and
potentially, death. Nitrogen (especially
ammonium) fertilizers seem to increase
the alkaloid concentration.
So, I wouldn’t miss this plant.
But is it possible to get rid of it or even
slow it down? There are two things that
RCG doesn’t like: two feet or deeper
water and heavy shade. There have been
some projects that were able to change
the water depth to eradicate RCG. Some
native plants like wapato and rushes in-
crease as RCG becomes stressed by the
higher water. These projects are very
complex and usually need a lot of engi-
neering. And it doesn’t slow down RCG
at the water edge or the near upland mar-
gins.
Deep shade sites created by
well-established conifers will resist
RCG invasion. The most wet-tolerant
conifers are western red cedar, grand fir,
and western Ponderosa pine. Alder and
cottonwoods do not stop reed canary
grass at all. Big-leaf maples, combined
Open Every Day at 6:00 am
825 Bridge Street
503-429-0214
Free newsletter (what a deal!)
The Oregon State University
Extension office in Columbia County
publishes a monthly newsletter on gar-
dening and farming topics (called Coun-
try Living) written/edited by yours truly.
All you need to do is ask for it and it
will be mailed or emailed to you. Call
(503) 397-3462 to be put on the list. Al-
ternatively, you can find it on the web at
http://extension.oregonstate.edu/colum-
bia/ and click on newsletters.
Take excess produce to the food bank,
senior centers, or community meals
programs. Cash donations to buy food
are also greatly appreciated.
The Extension Service offers its pro-
grams and materials equally to all
people.
NEW LOCATION
Fresh Roasted Coffee
espresso • baked goods
with cedars, seem to be fairly effective
at slowing RCG, at least in lower el-
evations. Super densely-planted willows
and red-osier dogwood are worth a look
on wetland edges.
For new competitive plantings,
the RCG needs to be knocked back
first. There are some aquatically-labeled
forms of glyphosate (the generic name
of Roundup) that are very effective in
killing about 95% of the RCG stand if
the material is applied when the RCG
is actively growing. But once you plant
willows, conifers, or other species, you
would need to spray extremely careful-
ly to avoid injury to what you had just
planted. But it has been done and good
RCG-competitive stands have been es-
tablished.
Efforts to start and/or maintain a
competitive planting by repeated mow-
ing of the RCG haven’t usually panned
out. That said, if it was a small area and
you could mow twice a week through-
out the active growing season, it might
work. You would need to do hand work
around your planted trees and shrubs to
keep from mowing them out as well.
Landscape fabrics, if it is not in
a flood prone area, can work after an ini-
tial RCG kill. But large populations of
voles (aka field mice) develop under fab-
ric and attack trees you planted in holes
in the fabric, often killing them. You
would need a well-thought out program
of vole control to succeed.
If you have a project that might
involve Reed canary grass, talk to me
and/or Maggie Peyton of the Upper Ne-
halem Watershed Council for advice. In
addition, there may be an option to use
a newer “grass-only” RCG control her-
bicide in after-planting maintenance ef-
forts on certain locations.
• Kitchen & Bathroom Remodels • Finish Carpentry
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• Additions • Commercial Tenant Improvements
Jim Morrison, Jr.
General Contractor
CCB# 112057
Ph: (503) 429-0154
MorrisonRemodeling@hughes.net
Vernonia, OR 97064
• Licensed • Bonded • Insured
Contact information for the Extension
office
Oregon State University
Extension Service – Columbia County
505 N. Columbia River Highway (across
from the Legacy clinic)
St. Helens, OR 97051
(503) 397-3462
Email: chip.bubl@oregonstate.edu
Vernonia’s Voice is
published twice each
month on the 1 st and 3 rd
Thursday. Look for our
next issue on April 4.
