When I was in a bacteriology class in the 1960's it was know that free living nitrogen fixing bacteria was supplying the grass with nitrogen. The native grasses on the high plains are usually a mono-culture of a climax species. The soil type will determine this.

Wonderful video! I love how science is discovering more and more how interconnected plant communities are.

The moment you said the grass was up to your pocket knife all the men watching said inside. "That's one I can take home to meet mama!" 😉 thanks for the info, planting now.

@spilledit

14 күн бұрын

Every woman in the world knows guys like them. These are different times.

I have visited these folks and purchased seed from them with great results. Highly recommend Hamilton's.

@Trial-N-ErrorFarms-jk9iz

23 күн бұрын

Where are they? Kansas? Alaska? I wouldn't expect them to share an address, but a region would be helpful!

@alostpilgrimsjourney5953

23 күн бұрын

They have a website with further information. They are located in south central Missouri.

@HamiltonNativeOutpost

20 күн бұрын

@@Trial-N-ErrorFarms-jk9iz We are located in Southern Missouri. I've updated the info in our bio. Thanks for the helpful suggestion!

@HamiltonNativeOutpost

20 күн бұрын

We appreciate your business!

Great talk! Thanks for the wonderful exposition on the Panicum's ability to fix nitrogen. I've often said that folks are way too fixated on this "nitrogen fixation" legume jive. Every youtube channel I visit seems to always claim you have to plant legumes to "fix nitrogen into the soil" and never stops to ask how nitrogen ever got into the soil if only legumes seem able to do it. And there's certainly no talk about all the other trace minerals and their impact on soil/plant health. Whenever someone mentions nitrogen, my first question is to ask them about the magnesium or calcium levels. It always makes their eyes go wonky as they realize that nitrogen isn't the only thing in the ground! Crazy days, honestly.

@firstname-qq3xp

9 күн бұрын

E plain the calcium and magnesium please

@threeriversforge1997

9 күн бұрын

@@firstname-qq3xp Every soil is different depending on where you are and your local ecosystem. What this means is that there are many different plants that accomplish this thing that's so popular. What folks don't realize is that because every ecosystem is different, the needs are different and how it operates will be different. Dandelions, for example, only come in to compacted soils that are deficient in calcium. That deep tap root breaks up the ground, allowing air and water to migrate through the strata, and as the leaves die off, the calcium is deposited at the surface where other plants can access it. Switch Grass (Panicum virgatum) is a nitrogen-fixer even though it's not a "legume". It also has a famously amazing root structure that burrows deep into the ground, up to 12' or more. It was the native grasses like this that built the amazing soil of the Great Plains. All this to say that the relationships between plants and the micro-biome in the soil is very complicated and evolved over a million years. There are people in America who are planting Vetiver grass because they think it'll be great for stabilizing the ground, preventing erosion and the like. But they don't know that we have our own native grasses that do the same thing.... and have evolved to actually be here and interact with the ecosystem. Folks don't think about how what happens above the soil might just mimic what happens below ground. If the insects and animals don't eat the non-native plants, why would we expect the microbial life to interact with those foreign plants? We know very little about the way the system works. It's a million little interaction we're wholly ignorant about. Fixating on this one thing, like "fixing nitrogen", is weird because nitrogen in the soil isn't some magic wand that cures all ills.

Thanks for the video! I enjoy all the videos!

i have over 50 acrs of sg never fertilzed burn every spring grows lick mad stand over 20 yrs old wild life love it great stuff just planted some gama grass

Great vid

Nitrogen in urea form is a dollar a pound granular around here. Great info!

@patheticpotato4545

23 күн бұрын

Do you also have to pay for Urease inhibitors? Also what effects does that have on the soil microbes. I'm just curious on the context

@cody481

23 күн бұрын

So what animals enjoy eating switch grass? Cattle, horses,sheep. BUT ONLY WHEN IT'S VERY YOUNG.

@midwesternoutdoorsandnatur8272

22 күн бұрын

@@patheticpotato4545 urea is not good on soil microbes. It’s used extensively in production ag, and not regenerative at all.

In my garden, I'm trying black eye peas planted beside rows of aloe vera with garlic planted between these.

Very good information... let's search more monocot grass....C4 plants ☘️

I love that word Photosynthing! Did you make that up? Photosynthesis really has too many syllables!

The next step to this would be looking at the trees. And if you notice, young trees take advantage of the excesse nitrogen and carbon to grow. In every single ecosystem you can notice this phenomenon. One of my favorite examples is how you can see the swamp grass give nutrients to the young mangrove trees. It’s also why many tree planting projects fail because we don’t understand the natural cycle . And also why no-input food forest systems, and gardens work so well.

Ive got a buddy that works for Symplot he pointed out that yard grass will grean up after a rain storm regardless of how moist you keep the lawn( he is in a sem arid location/ crops dont grow without irrigatio)n. He said that N² is absorbed by the rain drops on there way down providing a surge of N to the plants. . Stack this on top of the switch grasses N fixing symbolic relationship giving an extra boost. 2 questions What is the required annual rain fall to sustain switch grass? My area gets 9" /yr. Ive got sparce volunteer alfalfa and wild Sweet Peas in the 60' park strip where i want to cover crop to keep the dust down. The city runs a brush hog through to "maintain "the weeds. How will the switch grass respond to this .

How long does it take for plants that recover from exposure to synthetic fertilizers and start to making nitrogen again?

@HamiltonNativeOutpost

13 күн бұрын

@@ks_hunter7327 it’s probably variable. We haven’t found much data on the subject that is in agreement to indicate otherwise.

@firstname-qq3xp

9 күн бұрын

You can innoculate, perhaps with legume seeds.

In Germany, switchgrass is occasionally grown as an energy crop. Do these microbes have to be spread with the seed or do they also exist on soil where switchgrass has never grown before?

@timothyhammer6154

21 күн бұрын

You should look for German equivalents. Not Native North American grass and microbes. Otherwise you are talking about introducing a species to your country that you have very little knowledge about how it will effect your environment.

What grasses native to Europe that fix nitrogen can be grown America? I want to seem sophisticated.

Where are you located? I looked in the about section and couldn't find anything. Just wondering if this type of grass would work in East Texas - thanks!

@HamiltonNativeOutpost

20 күн бұрын

We are located in Southern Missouri. I've updated the info in our bio. Thanks for bringing that to our attention! A lot of the species we offer are also native to Texas, but you should check with NRCS for a comprehensive list of species best suited for your area.

@lewisrobinson3380

13 күн бұрын

East Texas here as well and very curious about this as well. Switch grass has 3 ecotypes upland, lowland and coastal. Lowland and Coastal occurs in East Texas and most of the South East USA. Upland occurs in Southern Missouri going north. No idea how the ecotypes differ if at in terms of nitrogen.

How can one identify switch grass accurately? Some people around here think it is invasive. I need to find out if we are talking about the same plant? I think there are patches around in a field I have. But this is in New England on the east coast. I want to regenerate this field. It was ravaged before I got it. Erosion and compaction. Used for chemically grown corn the last year by the previous owner. Badly plowed in a wet season and dosed so well very little grew the first year left alone. Now all kinds of succession of weeds like burdock and golden rod stinging nettle and milkweed. Plenty of dandelions, clover and raspberry too. Slowly the seed bank reveals.itself.

@HamiltonNativeOutpost

20 күн бұрын

Where are you located? If it's native to your area, they may simply mean that it is aggressive. It can spread easily. This link may be helpful in identifying. We hope to have a video for that purpose soon! extension.illinois.edu/blogs/grasses-glance/2023-08-07-identifying-switchgrass-warm-season-grass

@D.I.Y.G

14 күн бұрын

@@HamiltonNativeOutpostif I tried to plant some of this as a lawn in Florida would it do well?

@HamiltonNativeOutpost

13 күн бұрын

@@D.I.Y.G no. No it won’t.

Has this stuff evolved in grasslands where there was no legumes. I would assume so, and are legumes good companions, or does one or both suffer. Does it change the nitrogen into ammonia for the bacteria. Is it as palatable as legumes. Does it help produce enough nitrates for a field say 50% herb, 50% grass.

@HamiltonNativeOutpost

13 күн бұрын

@@brucejensen3081 from our observation and from others we’ve spoken to, the grasslands were maybe 20% legumes.

Would having clover or vetch in the switch grass slow the nitrogen fixation to either species or would it help due to different growth times?

@HamiltonNativeOutpost

13 күн бұрын

@@allenferry9632 native warm season grasses and early introduced legumes don’t typically play well together.

Is switchgrass and Johnson grass the same plant.

@causasui8185

19 күн бұрын

No. Switchgrass (a native) is "Panicum virgatum". Johnsongrass (a non-native) is "Sorghum halepense".

The best N fixing bacteria - Texas Earth, Lubbock, TX The best mycorrhazie fungi - Big Foot, out of Oregon.

How is Switchgrass with MIG?

@HamiltonNativeOutpost

13 күн бұрын

@@johnauner671 wonderful! Just keep in mind, tall grasses require tall management. We Like it best as part of a diverse mix.

So, why don't my cows like switchgrass?

@deleahmorawitz7113

22 күн бұрын

Not hungry enough

@KathyAndrew

21 күн бұрын

@@deleahmorawitz7113 Yeah, they will eat anything BUT switchgrass.

@HamiltonNativeOutpost

20 күн бұрын

It may be that you have other species present that they find more palatable, or they could be interacting with Switchgrass past its prime forage window.

@KathyAndrew

20 күн бұрын

@@HamiltonNativeOutpost We have a native grass mix here in Kansas, and cows just never eat switchgrass. I see pastures that when all the other grass is gone, there are clumps of switchgrass.

I thought grass bogs down trees by sucking up the water. So how are other plants supposed to live in there? Grass seems to like monoculture. Educate me on how fruits are relevant here.

Awesome. It is my understanding all plants spend the first days of their lives recruiting a microbiome. But plants sense situations where we apply in furrow, eg too close to developing roots and they can bypass this recruitment process, using the sugars they typically pass through the roots for this for direct growth. So our plants take off and we believe ourselves as god's. Come time to bloom, the soil and added Phosphate for example will be well complexed and only available through a microbiome which won't have been recruited due to the excess nutrients we already applied. Hence we are causing our own nutrient lag issues through poor cultural practices