A Gardeners Forum Forums Gardening Reference Gardening in 2007 This is NOT alfalfa!

Just spent a ton having the two fields planted at our new house for pasture. The field this popped up in (and there's lots of it) was planted with orchard grass, brome grass, alfalfa and red clover. Unfortunately, there's lots of it. There's so much, in fact, it almost looks like there was left-over in the farmer's planter. I have no idea what it is. Any clues?

I've seen this before. I think I had some in my garden once. I just can't remember the name to look it up. Do you have any that are blooming yet? That would help in the identification.

...almost looks like one of my sunflowers!

Nope - not blooming yet. We just got the guy out to plant the first of June. Maybe he had his BIG planter under his bird feeder!! (Probably not!)

I sure would like to get this figured out. We're putting alpacas in this field, and I don't want to feed them anything they shouldn't have.

IT LOOKS LIKE A ROYAL EMPRISS tree TO ME.
IT IS A FAST growing tree...AND BLOOMS IN THE spring. I FOUND LOTS OF THEM IN MY YARD ALSO.
THERE IS ONE BIGGER THEN MY HOUSE.....IF YOU LOOK UP ROYAL EMPRISS trees..YOU SHOULD BE ABLE TO FIND WHAT YOU ARE LOOKING FOR.
FMAMACAT

Thanks Rosemary - I'll check it out. I've also emailed a picture of it to the farm bureau where we bought the seed for that pasture.

not a paulownia seedling, definitely a flower.

not sure what kind. I also thought sunflower at first.

Looks like Velvet Leaf (Abutilon Theophrasti) to me...are the leaves soft and fuzzy to touch? I understand their seeds can lay in the soil up to 50yrs and when disturbed, will start growing new plants.

I keep one each year because it is a pretty plant so I pot it up and make sure to capture the seed pod and destroy before it can fall and spread.

Check the image at Dave's Garden...
http://davesgarden.com/pf/showimage/82668/

Terrific! I think that's it. Come on, doesn't that sound like a great idea? Bent over for hours in 90 degrees with 90 percent humidity?!?!

Holy Cow, I just read up on it..
Says the seeds can remain viable for 50 years...

ahhhhhhhh, can't come help in the hay fields this year, what about the year 2056???????
*I remember the days of bailing hay,
I was the offical "Bail puller off the Pulley" in our barn..
I could go on and on... but I won't!

C'mon Weezie - come sweat in the hay field with me! Don't ya remember the good ole' days?! You know, scratches all up and down your arms? The lovely, stiffling "balmy" air up in the hay loft?!

Lol! Thanks for the invite Sandy, unfortunately, I'm use to snow up here so I might get a little lost in your field!

When I bailed hay believe it or not,
I used to have veryyyyyy long finger nails...
and I'd wear long sleeve shirts, I'd use about 4 or 5 band~aids per fingernail, then wear gloves, and then put ace bandages around my wrists to hold the gloves up and sleeves down..
and I would grab the bailing twine sideways on my fingers *so I wouldn't go straight in with the nails* and I could swing a mean bail of hay around in my time...
Knocked a few "guys" working in the back of the loft stackin'... * *
It was one long week~end, great day at days' end,
good summer at like 10:00pm *usually garden veggies and something on the grill so the kitchen didn't heat up and we had a huge 26 man table in front of our house that sat out side..
and we'd have cold drinks and beer if we wanted it, :p *that's how I learned NOT to drink beer at a young age, they gave me Genny Cream Ale..EWWWWWWWWWWW*
But those were the day's my friend, we thought they'd never end...
Good memories NOW, but back then as a kid, :p wasn't my most favoritest thing to do...oh, I'd do it again, now, but you don't live that close...but if I won the lottery, I'd be up there in a flash!

Weezie

You so cool................50 years.......None of us will be here then..ha ha

I also think it looks like a sunflower..
Your sort of upset......Farmers dont panic.

I am one..
dodge

Nope definitely not a sunflower, and not panic but justified concern! The fact that 40% of my field is being taken over, and you'll see why I'm irked at dropping $1,200 bucks to plant hay and end up with weeds. This is not just my flower bed we're talking about.

From Washington State Noxious Control Board
Detrimental: etc., etc.!

Weezie -
You had WAAAAY more fun doing hay than I did! 'Course, Dad spent more time cussing at the tractor and bailer than putting up hay! We did about 30 acres of hay and another 20 in either soybeans or corn -- not enough to afford the new, fancy equipment, so something was always being repaired!

I can't believe you could do hay with long nails! Love your technique to keep from breaking them. I haven't had nails since I started gardening!

Sandy, before having the fields planted with "pasture" type plants, did they plow first? If so, that could have turned over the seeds of the Velvet Leaf and allowed them to grow. Just a thought before you kill the farmer that did the sowing.

Why of course - he went in and beautifully prepared the fields! They were chisel plowed, then disked, then he broadcast spread the seed then went over it again with a cultipactor (sp?). So yes, we smacked those dormant seeds right back to life! We'll hold off on strangling the guy, since I read that tidbit about the velvet leaf!!

His recommendation was to knock it down with a brush hog to prevent it from going to seed. I swear there's so much of it that if it did seed out we'd infest the entire county!! :p

Knocking it down with the brushhog would be better than letting them go to seed. Good luck with your endeavor.