# Planting Smartweed



## TeamJefe (Mar 20, 2007)

Ok so that other thread got me wondering. Does anyone around here know what time year is best to plant smartweed for ducks? And the best way to go about it? like broadcast or seed drill? what type of fertilzer?


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## Jasmillertime (Mar 23, 2010)

http://warnell.forestry.uga.edu/service/library/c0718/node3.html

Here's a start I found


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## AlvinDucksUnlimited (Jun 7, 2006)

*Smart weed*

I have planted some in the past and it has been semi successful. I broadcasted it in Spring (May). Then kept the pond semi wet. It needs good amount of moisture to grow successfully. Also it did not come up until the next year. I researched it, and some people said it has to go thru a freeze first, which i didnt understand. But it has been coming back year after year each year getting a little thicker. But I think its all in the moisture of your ground. Im not an expert, thats just the way mine worked out.


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## Instigator (Jul 6, 2004)

I have a student project going right now on this very thing. 

At the lease we were planting pretty pricey smartweed seed every year and getting pretty much no return. The seed company advised that you don't get much the first year, but the second will be good. I looked into the scientific literature on smartweed and discovered that it has a trait called "intense dormancy". Since it is an annual that seeds in the late summer and fall, and it's frost sensitive, any sprouts that popped up the fall the seeds hit the ground would likely be killed by cold before maturity. That's not a good plan. It takes some serious cold/wet conditions over time to break the dormancy and get the seeds to germinate. My guys are doing what's called "Cold Stratification with Solid Matrix Priming" to imitate winter pond margin conditions in a shorter period of time in the lab. In the field I'm pretty sure that when we fully flooded our ponds the ducks were just eating all the seed we broadcasted, or it rotted or who knows, but it wasn't making many smartweed plants. In the lab we have about 25-30 different protocols for doing the winter simulation on about 6000 seeds. The students just started planting when they came back from break after their seeds had gone through the process for 3 weeks. The first seedling popped up this morning! Hopefully we'll come up with a step by step process to publish for you guys to be able get a better return on your smartweed efforts. I'll keep you posted.


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## sotol buster (Oct 7, 2007)

Sounds interesting.... I am curious as to where you teach. I have a deer ? that needs some "research".


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## AvianQuest (Feb 7, 2006)

Generally plant smartweed is planted from April through May. However, if you have good habitat for smartweed, then it will normally gets seeded by passing birds so planting isn't necessary. 

Smartweed isn't quite all it's cracked up to be for ducks, but you won't have any problems with deer or cattle eating it.


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## TeamJefe (Mar 20, 2007)

AvianQuest said:


> Generally plant smartweed is planted from April through May. However, if you have good habitat for smartweed, then it will normally gets seeded by passing birds so planting isn't necessary.
> 
> Smartweed isn't quite all it's cracked up to be for ducks, but you won't have any problems with deer or cattle eating it.


thats what i'm starting to think, $225 an acre? i don't hate ducks that much


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## Instigator (Jul 6, 2004)

I would imagine that it depends on what other groceries you have in the neighborhood. Our ponds with smartweed draw birds much better than those that don't. I agree that aquatic vegetation of all types is rarely dispersal limited but there's a time factor involved there too. We have new DU ponds (3 years or less) in heavily grazed cattle pastures that will be that way for a few more years until the graze lease expires. Millet or any other grain type food would last about 15 seconds in and around those ponds while smartweed's peppery nature is only in danger of being trampled. We're throwing up 10 or so exclosures like you would put up around deer feeders to get our seedlings established over the spring and summer. The ducks are using these East Texas ponds some this year, mostly because of the drought. If we can get food established then next season they should be outstanding.


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