Field overgrown with Binweed/Ragwort & Thistles & Dockens

sob1467

Long story short I have let a five acre field that I have let go out of control with dockens, thistles & bindweed. Although doesn't look like it I pulled every single bindweed out of that field around August last year. There are now double as much as there was then.

What would you recommend to try to get back on top of it again? I am thinking about getting a fork & pulling the bindweed, very labour intensive though. May pull bindweed & just top the dockens & thistles, or any better ideas?

amacca

I'd pull the ragworth and dispose of safely away from cattle after it decays it bit it becomes palatable and it can cause big problems as you probably know ......unless you can have it stripped for ages

If you can top the rest of it do and maybe hit it with a spray in autumn or spring next year (forefront maybe)

After one or two annual repeats of that it should be the finest

Tbh I don't bother with spray anymore in grazing fields unless it's chronic....a good topping and keep it grazed goes a long way.....I think rightly or wrongly they are bringing up stuff from deep in the soil (deep roots) and topping them gefore they get to seed is helping fertilise....at least that's what I tell myself!

sob1467

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119333834#Comment_119333834

Thanks yeah aware of importance of disposing safely. Yeah your way of thinking is similar to mine, very little alternative but to just pull them all separately. A pain but necessary evil. May get that famous fork too for the job!

This is the second year of pulling root & all out of ground. Way worse though this year, hopefully after another proper go at it be better in 2023.

Going to give it a serious topping after pulling them so that should cut back the thistles & docks.

amacca

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119334156#Comment_119334156

Stick at it with the ragworth and it will work....you'll get it to maintenance level....had 14 acres of it yellow as a field of oilseed rape back when I was a teenager and my father got ill and it was left to its own devices....3 years and it was down to 5/6 per year

Used to wait until soil fairly damp to pull them easy and accept the couple that snapped.....pain in the hole foing it when ground hard....

I've seen lads spray and top them and strip for ages too...just wouldnt trust I wouldn't make a mistake and let stock back too early

sob1467

Perfect, thanks for the advice.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119334203#Comment_119334203

Jonnyc135

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058254348/field-overgrown-with-binweed-ragwort-thistles-dockens

Sheep great for keeping away ragworth I find

sob1467

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119335089#Comment_119335089

Ya have heard that, cattle only here so part of the problem.

_Brian

Pull and dispose of the ragworth

Regular topping will tidy it up well, spray if you want a quicker result but topping weakens most weeds and thickens the grass.

charlie14

Grazon is not cheap but it will get rid of your thistle, docks and bindweed.

Ragwort I`m afraid is down to a good back, damp wearher, patience and the neighbours keeping their fields clean as well.

endainoz

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120817985#Comment_120817985

Problem is that it will get rid of plenty of other good things too, including clover. To be fair that field isn't too bad at all, an hour or so for a few evenings to pull the ragwort and then a decent topping will tidy things up nicely.

charlie14

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120821709#Comment_120821709

True, it can effect clover, but I have found it has little or no effect on grass. But then I use it as a spot spray and have found it excellent for eradicating docks, thistle, nettle, briar etc.

Mr..

Ragworth seed stays in the ground for 2 years as in u need to pull it for 2 years and the 3rd year it should be well under control

emaherx

Ragwort seed stays viable in ground for 10+ years. The plant takes 2 years to grow (small rosette in first year, mature plant in second.

It should be well under control in 3rd year of pulling, but overgrazing or patches of bare soil anytime in the next decade will allow seeds in soil germinate leading to a much harder battle. A couple of years of drought here undid a lot of the hard work.

893bet

I have a couple of field with too many for pulling. I am topping every grazing pretty much.

Organic this year so spraying is out and I have too much clover to do it anyway.

Will report back in year 3 😀

emaherx

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120828568#Comment_120828568

I've bad news.........

Topping them makes them perennial 😦

I hope you have plenty of time before grazing again.

893bet

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120830358#Comment_120830358

No N so standard is 4-5 weeks. Hoping topping might get me to a place where I can pull.

SuperBowserWorld

How about ...

sob1467

OP back here again. A year on and no Ragworts in the field this year.

Had been pulling every one by hand for the previous three years and to my astonishment only about three grew in the five acres this year.

endainoz

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120879650#Comment_120879650

Great stuff, you may have a few to pull next year as they come every two years but not too many.

Birdnuts

First year in organic transition here and an established chap I met at a recent agri show told me Soay Sheep are great at blitzing ragwort. Thinking of getting a few as have one bad field were where even the cinnebar catepillars are having a hard time getting thru them.

endainoz

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120880521#Comment_120880521

Any sheep will eat them at the Rosette stage I believe. Sort of unrelated, but i was thinking of getting a couple of donkeys to go through a bit of rough ground. I hear they're great to tidy up a place.

amacca

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120880626#Comment_120880626

Goats will do a decent job too (not all weeds but overgrown areas etc)...if you can contain them.....that's the hard bit. I knew a lad that had a derelict cottage on an overgrown site, 2 goats and good fencing.

charlie14

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120880626#Comment_120880626

Sheep will do a good job at the rosette stage, but if they eat them when they have gone to seed the seed just passes through them and could mean them spreading them when moved to other fields.

Donkeys are good at cleaning up a field. Great if you are growing cabbage which is about the only thing they will not eat. Problem is they are equines and like horses are very susceptible to liver damage and very painful deaths from eating ragwort. They will eat a place bare, but ragwort loves nothing more than ground that has been overgrazed.