Can you 'dig out' docks?

Seaba

Hey all,

Was looking through past threads but could not see if anyone tried this.
We were hoping to plough a field early next week however the slurry man yesterday sprayed the section of the field that contained docks (even though we told him not too) and now we cannot spray the docks (they could have been too strong anyway).

So I was wondering if anyone ever tried digging them out? How far deep and wide would you want to go? I reckon myself and Dad with 2 spades/shovels for an hour and half would get it done.

Thanks

moy83

An old man beside us would always be out a couple of weeks before cutting his silage with a pick and an old odlums bag digging them out . He never used to spray and his gardens were pretty clean too

Rovi

Anyone ever use a Corkscrew Weeder for this sort of thing?:
http://www.rutlands.co.uk/garden-tools/garden-weeding-tools/corkscrew-weeders

Bizzum

Seaba wrote: »

So I was wondering if anyone ever tried digging them out? How far deep and wide would you want to go?

Dug them up in the garden from time to time. Savage long root. A single tap root, certainly a foot long or maybe more depending on conditions. I dont envy you digging them in ley ground.

20silkcut

I Dug up docks in a field one time would have been better off if I done a booze for the day. A day I will never get back.

Birdnuts

Bizzum wrote: »

Dug them up in the garden from time to time. Savage long root. A single tap root, certainly a foot long or maybe more depending on conditions. I dont envy you digging them in ley ground.

Indeed - tried digging them out of about 3 acres a few years back. Soul destroying work(they more i dug up the more that seemed to appear in the following days!!), they truely are one of the toughest grassland weeds out there:(

Markcheese

There's a special dock pike for digging them out, long tines .. Very narrow ,very strong handle to lever them out. But I can't remember what it's called... Made in England so try uk organic farming sites( they can't spray)

whelan1

dont the seeds live in the ground for something like 80-100 years

jimmy G M

whelan1 wrote: »

dont the seeds live in the ground for something like 80-100 years

Yep, intensive farming actually helps them - they like plenty of P & K and intensive grazing to the point where you are almost poaching the ground actually stimulates seeds to germinate, I believe.

EpicPothole

In reply to the thread title. Yes, you can dig out docks. And I really mean YOU! Cos I certainly ain't doing it. Soul destroying work.

Seaba

EpicPothole wrote: »

In reply to the thread title. Yes, you can dig out docks. And I really mean YOU! Cos I certainly ain't doing it. Soul destroying work.

Ha ha! :-) That seems to be the theme of the responses so far.
I am mad to have a go at it (high threshold of boredom/no soul!) but Dad thinks otherwise and if I do go at it, he said I will be on my own in the far field.
Thanks for the responses

gozunda

Seaba wrote: »

Ha ha! :-) That seems to be the theme of the responses so far.
I am mad to have a go at it (high threshold of boredom/no soul!) but Dad thinks otherwise and if I do go at it, he said I will be on my own in the far field.
Thanks for the responses

If your soil is light then have a go - if you have a heavy soil like clay then best of luck (thou you might need more than a couple of hours imo)

I remember being told that spreading slurry helps the spread of docks as the seeds pass thou cattle and stays viable in the slurry. Spreading it on new ground means lots more of the little blighters!

Edit: Found reference here

LINK

The problem with docks in grassland is that they are well adapted to modern farming techniques. They germinate throughout the year and grow from seed as well as root stocks. They compete strongly with the grass but have only 65% of the feed value of grass. They are also unpalatable to stock.

Seed
•One broad-leaved dock can produce 60,000 seeds
•One curled dock can produce 40,000 seeds
•Seed is spread by wind, water and slurry
•They are viable in the soil for up to 80 years
•There are 12.5 million seeds/ha in the top 15cm of soil
•Docks will produce seed even after cutting

Roots
•They have a tap root and secondary root systems
•Shoots grow from root sections
•The roots are very long

Docks are ideally suited to the conditions created in intensively managed grassland and particularly cattle regimes. Ideal conditions for grass growth are also ideal for docks: moist, fertile soils with moderate to high levels of nitrogen.

Dock and chickweed seeds can pass undamaged through silage, the stocks’ digestive system and slurry. They are therefore spread very effectively by modern farming practices.

In the slurry the seeds are effectively coated in nutrient ready to germinate and grow.

Lovely

Markcheese

There's a dock/ragwort digging fork in fruithillfarms.com, think they're in bantry...
If there are so many dock seeds in the soil then cultivation must make a huge difference, ph, k soil type and sward type...
That said if yr farm isn't swamped with them it makes sense to dig a few every time you go down the field....

Black Smoke

Markcheese wrote: »

There's a dock/ragwort digging fork in fruithillfarms.com, think they're in bantry...
If there are so many dock seeds in the soil then cultivation must make a huge difference, ph, k soil type and sward type...
That said if yr farm isn't swamped with them it makes sense to dig a few every time you go down the field....

Going around docks one by one to dig them up seems like pure torture. Wouldn't it make much more sense if you are going tackle them one by one, to spot spray! Fast and effective and easier on the back.

Sam Kade

What about that green beetle that eats and kills docks? the beetle would want to come back every year as they will regrow.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gastrophysa_viridula