rushes

k mac

just wondering is there any point cutting or spraying rushes this time of year

reilig

k mac wrote: »

just wondering is there any point cutting or spraying rushes this time of year

If the ground is dry enough, you can cut away. Its probably too wet for spraying - a shower of rain after putting the spray on would wash it off again and dilute it doiwn before the rush absorbed it.

Turbury

Better to leave it till spring time, then hit them with mortone, you'll get a better kill in the spring when they start to grow (properly) again. Having said that i know a guy who sprayed rushes one Christmas eve and it worked just fine.

k mac

thanks for the advice ,would you cut them first before spraying with the mortone and if so how long before you spray them

reilig

k mac wrote: »

thanks for the advice ,would you cut them first before spraying with the mortone and if so how long before you spray them

Don't cut them before you spray them - unless you are going to wait for them to grow again. Spray them, wait until they change colour and die, then cut them.

tophat

i sprayed in spring (April) when they were greening again and starting to grow, using the high rate of MCPA (4 l/Ha) and a wetting agent, left them to die off and never cut them. Had to do this again the following year on some that sprouted as they seem to be able to seed themselves/have some seed in the ground.

massey woman

How long does the seed last for in the ground does anyone no

bbam

Have a look at this study...

http://66.102.9.104/search?q=cache:-C_Amj_5W7sJ:www.ucd.ie/ferg/Research/Projects/BOGFOR/Juncus_McCorry_Renou.pdf+Juncus+effusus&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=5&gl=ie

8,000 seeds per stem per year, up to 8 million per Sq yard. :eek: a 60 year dormancy potential...

These are scarey plants... :eek::eek:

massey woman

Many thanks BBam for the link
Having read the 67 pages I am less confident that I can fully control this weather related scourge
Seems like every year they are more virile despite many applications of chemical
What I am not sure about is whether or not 'licking' in winter time is effective or not
Seems to me they are thriving at the moment and most chemicals say apply during growing season
Hard also to get a dry day to apply
This year was a disaster for the job
Any better ideas
I usually use Mortone or Shell D50 with a licker :P:P:P:P

cjpm

There's only one option if you want to get rid of rushes, and thats good drainage. If the ground is wet they'll keep coming back again and again....

JohnBoy

I was just going to ask, If you have wet ground thats growing a lot of rushes and you substantially improve the drainage, will they just die off themselves?

cjpm

They should still be sprayed to kill them off.
If good drainage is provided the drier soil is less suited to their growth. If this is done during the summer then the grass seeds should be well established before the autumn. Any rushes that may appear should be topped.

massey woman

With all the rain thats falling wet land never was as wet and hasnt dried out for 2 years now
The rushes are having a free run
Will takeover the west of Ireland
The Greens will be happy and there wont be a small farmer left

Turbury

k mac wrote: »

thanks for the advice ,would you cut them first before spraying with the mortone and if so how long before you spray them

Sorry -replying a bit late - but anyway - definately dont cut before spraying, more leaf there is to hit with spray the better, leave for 4 weeks after sparaying and then definately do cut else they will come back , good idea also to spread some fertilizer maybe a week before cutting , if the grass is well established there is less oppertunity for the rush to grow again.

But as other posters have mentioned - you will have to repeat the operation after 2-3 years again. licking with roundup is also very effective for ground that isnt heavily infested, again mowing off the dead rushes is essential.

Ashill5

HI K Mac,
I finda Quad and weed wiper the best for for Rushes. I mix Gallop 7/1. You can use it all year round if you are looky enough to find a dry day. i did some this year on Jan 5th.While it took them probably till March to go ! They burned away Grand. I bought a C-Dax weed wiper last year and find it brillant. No matter how weak or strong the rush is , i have got a great Kill. So if you get a dry coupleof days off with you

massey woman

How much does the C Dax cost now
Mine is about 10 years old and ready to disintegrate
Has done a lot of work on rough ground
Carpets and bladders very expensive to replace
I think they are galvaanised now mine was a blue light gauge steel frame now plated and welded at the stress points
A handy machine that gets great results

Ashill5

massey woman wrote: »

How much does the C Dax cost now
Mine is about 10 years old and ready to disintegrate
Has done a lot of work on rough ground
Carpets and bladders very expensive to replace
I think they are galvaanised now mine was a blue light gauge steel frame now plated and welded at the stress points
A handy machine that gets great results

Hi massey woman. I bought mine in O'Niel's in Miltown for 1800 euro .Which is galvinised and as you say yourself (A handy machine that gets great results). The tank for the Quad was 350 extra and very handy for spraying along thr electric fence. Didn't check on how much the carpets and bladders cost!

sea12

I need to do a job on rushes this year on ground that I have taken over. The land was very wet as drains and driange pipes were all blocked up. Did a job on drains this year and it has made a huge difference. Now I need to get rid of the Rushes.

Cant decide on whether to get a sprayer or a weedlicker.
I'm thinking of the Sprayer as I also want to re seed the ground etc but am wondering will it be as effective as the weedlicker.

Any opinions?

massey woman

I wouldnt take a present of a sprayer
Licker more efficent and cheaper
Weed specific
Great results behind a quad
Anyone have the answer to drains getting blocked uo with a fine film of red dusty type oxide that when wet blocks the shores and the perforated pipe beneath eventhough there is 22" of 1" stones
I took a few pictures ,if I knew how to attach them
Where does this fine red dust come from
It reminds me of iron oxide I saw in college many years ago

Ashill5

Hi SEA12,
A Weed wiper is the way to go. If you are going to reseeding get a local contractor to spray it off. Afterwards a Weed Wiper would be the best!
As you will only kill the weeds and not stunt the Grass and kill off the Clover. Saving on your fertilizer bill and spraying grassland seems to soften the ground too.

massey woman

Agree with Ashill wet ground gets wetter and softer in the short term after killing off the rushes and spratt
It must be the removal of root mass that causes it
Thereafter substantial improvement
This current weather is great for travelling over bad land without damage to soil
Thinking of putting on the rotary mower and doing a bit of topping
Makes one feel how lucky landowners up the country are without trafficability issues

EastTyrone

dont cut rushes at this time of year, the rushes are home to thousands of migraotory snipe etc and taking away the habitat needed for thousands of animals wait to early spring

pakalasa

massey woman wrote: »

.....Anyone have the answer to drains getting blocked uo with a fine film of red dusty type oxide that when wet blocks the shores and the perforated pipe beneath eventhough there is 22" of 1" stones
I took a few pictures ,if I knew how to attach them
Where does this fine red dust come from
It reminds me of iron oxide I saw in college many years ago

Yep it's iron oxide (Iron, Fe the most element in the ground - I think :rolleyes:).
As for getting rid of it and freeing out the drains. I saw an article a few years back in the Farmers Journal about this contactor that was using a water jet hose. The end jet was turned back at an angle so that the power of the hose was enough to pull itself down the drain pipe. There was enough side jet also to free up the blocked holes.
If you had a way of pumping water at high pressure (power washer), you could make one up yourself.

sea12

Thanks Masseywoman and ashill5 for the replies.
I think I will start looking at a few weedlickers so.

Figerty

I used a sprayer last year and got great results. Getting the mix, travel rate, application rate correct make the diffrerence. I went for the sprayer for the simple reason of guarenteed coverage.

A licker will only lick the rushes it hits. I found the need to hit the small rushes on the ground the most important bit. This is where the sprayer has the big advantage. I am deilghted with the results and I hope to do more damage to the rushes next year!!!!

As for the Iron Oxide,., I have done a bit of reading on the net and the conclusion that has been arrived at is this.. Iron Oxide is unavoidable. one suggested solution is to immerse the end of the pipe in the drain it empties in to, reducing the amount of oxygen that can get into the pipe. But it is the nature of the ground is the problem.

I like the connacht agri pipe which is essentially a filter. Its a good option if you have a digger of your own to cut costs. I'll be trying it out next year.

Ashill5

Hi Figerty,
Sprayers do get results! But you also must take into consideration Damage to Clover and the grass which The Sprayer does! With the Licker you only hit the weeds you want. I use Gallop Which gives the benefit of that the field can be grazed in about 4/5 days after. Where as after Rush spray used in a sprayer takes at least 3 weeks!
Well I suppose Doctors differ and Patients Die. Everbody has there own views but for me I find the C-Dax Weed wiper the way to go.:)

Figerty

You are right Ash, but I suppose I ommitted two things! Much of the ground I sprayed last year was so badly covered you couldn't see the ground. This year I will using a spot sprayer on the weak areas.

Second thing was I fertilised to bring on the grass as well afterwards. Killing rushes does hamper grass growth and you would be kildding yourself thinking it won't just damage the rushes.

One of the big problems I see locally is that farmers either overspray or underspray; either trying to kill the rushes or save money.

JimPat

Figerty wrote: »

You are right Ash, but I suppose I ommitted two things! Much of the ground I sprayed last year was so badly covered you couldn't see the ground. This year I will using a spot sprayer on the weak areas.

Second thing was I fertilised to bring on the grass as well afterwards. Killing rushes does hamper grass growth and you would be kildding yourself thinking it won't just damage the rushes.

One of the big problems I see locally is that farmers either overspray or underspray; either trying to kill the rushes or save money.

Does anyone know what it costs for weedlicking? Does the contractor supply the roundup/ spray?

westlander

I know good drainage is the main thing. But would a mole plough be an effective way of getting good drainage and rid of rushes?

cjpm

westlander wrote: »

I know good drainage is the main thing. But would a mole plough be an effective way of getting good drainage and rid of rushes?

No the ground will be too soft and the gaps opened by the plough would quickly close again.

Ashill5

There is a guy near Tralee charges 35euro/hr for weed licking and the customer supplies the spray and 60 euro/hr if he does. It's Gallop he uses!

Native Hawk

What time of year do rushes seed?

bbam

Native Hawk wrote: »

What time of year do rushes seed?

Back end of the year.
However if they have seeded previously I wouldn't be worried about it any more. They produce about 10,000 seeds each so the soil will have a huge seed bank already. That topped with the fact that the seeds are good for about 70 years makes them a formidable enemy indeed.