spraying thistles

wool521

cut hay a month ago of a field that was covered in thistles,just wondering can i spray the thistles now or would i be better to wait till next year and what would be best spray to use?thanks

td5man

wool521 wrote: »

cut hay a month ago of a field that was covered in thistles,just wondering can i spray the thistles now or would i be better to wait till next year and what would be best spray to use?thanks

If they have enough leaf spray them now.

funny man

yes, mcpa will kill them (timing is critical) but Thistlex @1ltr/ha is the best IMO.

whelan1

are thistles always very slow to die? any of the ones i sprayed with graz on take ages to die, nettles die really quick

funny man

it's best to cut them 3-4 weeks after spraying.

whelan1

also off topic but why do briars grow so quick?

funny man

They have a powerful root system, this helps them hoover up nutrients.

whelan1

funny man wrote: »

They have a powerful root system, this helps them hoover up nutrients.

if only the grass would grow like them

Muckit

Never sprayed thistles. They are very easily killed by topping. Eventually roots weakens and won't come back

wool521

yeah think ill spray them in next few days,land hasn't been topped for five years or more so they got out of hand,im just back at the farming this year and trying to get them under control,am reseeding some but can't afford to do it all this year

Farmer Pudsey

wool521 wrote: »

yeah think ill spray them in next few days,land hasn't been topped for five years or more so they got out of hand,im just back at the farming this year and trying to get them under control,am reseeding some but can't afford to do it all this year

I would spray with MCPA and an additive/sticker that that use for rushes this will also clean up other weeds such as daisy's dandelion's and give docks a hit as well.

Sam Kade

If only grass would grow as fast on the fields as it does on lawns. Zero grazing grows 30% more grass so I suppose with constant cutting and no heavy traffic other than a lawn mower and two feet behind it means it grows faster.