Dock leaves in field

Mules

Hi, I have some land that I want to let grow over winter to make hay from. The problem is that there's a lot of docks in it. They are huge and leave stalks in the hay. I want to sell the hay so it has to be decent quality.
I was going to spray them but the ones that I already sprayed didn't rot down so they would still be in any hay I'd make. I could spray and then top them but I don't want to top my grass. Does anyone know what I could do?

_Brian

Dock stems are notoriously tough.
I think spraying and topping is the best bet.
But I’m not sure you can spray them now, with the cold weather it may not work.

hopeso

No use spraying docks this time of year. Your best bet is to cut them as low as you can without taking your grass out too. The stalks that you cut should rot over the winter. Then, next year when the docks start growing again, spray them at the leafy stage before stalks develop. This should give you a clean crop.

Say my name

Mules wrote: »

Hi, I have some land that I want to let grow over winter to make hay from. The problem is that there's a lot of docks in it. They are huge and leave stalks in the hay. I want to sell the hay so it has to be decent quality.
I was going to spray them but the ones that I already sprayed didn't rot down so they would still be in any hay I'd make. I could spray and then top them but I don't want to top my grass. Does anyone know what I could do?

Not your question but if you're planning on making hay next year using grass grown over the winter, your hay will be rubbish.
Top or graze that grass grown over the winter in the spring and then you can have a go at the dock fresh growth.

Mules

Say my name wrote: »

Not your question but if you're planning on making hay next year using grass grown over the winter, your hay will be rubbish.
Top or graze that grass grown over the winter in the spring and then you can have a go at the dock fresh growth.

I was going to cut the hay in middle of the summer so it would have spring and a good bit of summer to grow. I could wait till spring to top the field but I'd need some growth to spray the leaves of the docks. I'd nearly have to spray, then top if I was doing it in spring to give time for the docks to rot. What do you think?

Say my name

Mules wrote: »

I was going to cut the hay in middle of the summer so it would have spring and a good bit of summer to grow. I could wait till spring to top the field but I'd need some growth to spray the leaves of the docks. I'd nearly have to spray, then top if I was doing it in spring to give time for the docks to rot. What do you think?

No top first and then spray the dock fresh regrowth. You need those big fleshy leaves on a dock to take in any spray.
Depending on the weather you could top the field at the end of February and spray the docks three or four weeks later.
I haven't a clue about your fertilizer regime. Maybe you use none. But your toppings if properly mulched up will provide some fertilizer back to the field.
If you left that grass over the winter and it sounds like you have grass. That grass is going to get burnt by frost and cold and snow and is just going to have stem and thatch and the new growth will have to come on top of that or try and tiller through it. In essence it won't be good feed. Don't worry about yield you'll still get the big yields in the summer by topping next spring.

hopeso

Mules wrote: »

I was going to cut the hay in middle of the summer so it would have spring and a good bit of summer to grow. I could wait till spring to top the field but I'd need some growth to spray the leaves of the docks. I'd nearly have to spray, then top if I was doing it in spring to give time for the docks to rot. What do you think?

Top them as soon as possible if the ground conditions allow. Dock growth is over for this year now. If you spray them at the leafy stage next spring, there will be no need to top them afterwards. They will shrivel up and die.

Hagimalone

Is there much grass on it? If so I'd reckon you would be better of getting it grazed (sheep) then top the remainder & spray regrowth next spring.

Mules

Hagimalone wrote: »

Is there much grass on it? If so I'd reckon you would be better of getting it grazed (sheep) then top the remainder & spray regrowth next spring.

There's not a whole lot there. It shouldn't be too long to top by spring.

SuperTortoise

As already said, top tight early next spring, leave it for 3-4 weeks and when the docks are broad at the base spray them, i had good results with forefront T this year, spraying will stunt growth, i found about 25% less yield but you should have very good quality and it's hard to have it every way.

With timing of topping and spraying, a lot depends on where you are in the country and what land conditions are like, this spring was a rarity for me in that i could get out spraying early April, most years you'd be wasting you time going out before mid May.

Bass Reeves

Graze out fields if you can . In general the top growth of dicks die over the winter and only stay to recover from mid March onwards. Best time to spray is in the growing stage from early/mid April onwards. Topping serves little purpose from September onwards. Cattle eat top growth as the growth is not as sour in Autumn.

Graze out and spray in Mid/Late April

80sDiesel

If it is cut in winter does that risk frost damage to the grass ?