Ragwort Control Options

my Shetland Sheep and Cinnaber moths are hammering mine atm🙂

There is a man in Tullow who makes specialised ragworth sprangs for getting up the roots I can pm you his number if you like

They grow over two years so as people have said already it takes a few years to get rid of them

I’ve been doing an hour a day and you’d be surprised how much you get done

Mulch it now, give it plenty of time to rot before letting livestock back.
From my experience, I didn't have a ragwort problem, ragwort was only the symptom not the cause, using nothing but implementing rotational grazing, grass measuring and regular topping the ragwort disappeared once the grass could out compete it.

This is from 2017 - just before I took over the farm and the last time I tried to clear a field by pulling.

The same field this morning, will be cut and wrapped shortly and not a yellow flower in sight.

Poor grass management or a nutrient issues will lead to bad ragwort infestations, soil samples came back good for this field, but I blame overgrazing in the fringes of the year allowed the seed the conditions to to germinate, I now close up the worst effected areas first in the autumn to leave them with some cover over the winter and into spring. (Even just the worst strip of a field).

I still have some fields to deal with but every year I'm seeing an improvement, embarrassingly the home farm is still the worst as it is only a 10 acre block, that has been an easy target for abusing with late/early grazing and/or blacking with FYM but I'm targeting that for improvements now.

Wore that t-shirt long enough, it won't work unless the underlying issues are resolved also.
But far less pulling required if any once they are.

Having said that I wouldn't walk past a ragwort without pulling it in a field that is more or less under control.

I just thought the same thing when writing the post, both pictures are from the same time of year.
Not many healthy looking ash trees left around here.

I read somewhere that ash trees are showing signs of recovery of a sorts. I certainly hope it’s possible. The one in the corner of my garden “seems” to have more cover this year but that may just be wishful thinking.

True,

I guess the short version is,
Don't bother spraying now the plants will wilt, die very slowly and go to seed early and you'll achieve nothing.
I wouldn't bother pulling either it will be a lot of work and fruitless, if you can't fix the underlying issues now.

Mulching, them would be an option this time of year, but only if you can afford to keep cattle away for a month, would need up to 6 weeks after a normal topper. Alternatively an old double chop harvester to cut and collect them, then compost them away from livestock.

Well the flattened soil or any bare clay is ideal for their establishment. The seeds spread in the wind and can remain viable for years. Any soil disturbance from machinery/drought/poaching/over-grazing etc will also help them establish.

Cinnabar moths doing a job on them here.

I use an ordinary 4 pronged garden fork . The prongs are a little longer and more narrow than an ordinary farmyard dung fork . They are square springs and , I’d say a little stronger. Digging / pulling is best effective when ground is soft. - less roots , if any , are left behind. You will know if ground is totally yielding when you dig the first few . I often wonder if , say, a few tips of the roots are left behind do they regenerate.
when digging , I insert the fork to a depth that when I lean on it that the tips of the prongs will reach to the far side of the clump of the roots - otherwise some of the plant/roots will remain in the soil. If you dig ‘too deep’ you will be taking up more soil than is necessary

Also , when I am inserting the fork , I do so at an angle with the handle leaning away from me. This means that you can insert the fork closer to the stem and the prong tips have a greater chance of ‘catching’ all/most of the roots and you will also take up less clay.

Am sounding a ‘ bit technical - but thereyouo%!
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I cut two that definitely had Ash dieback down to about 10ft of trunk, no leaves, no side branches. I sloped the top with a chainsaw so rain couldn't collect and to my surprise they are sprouting all over the place with lovely healthy leaf and not a sign of the pricking thing....

My surprise wasn't that they sprouted but more that I can't detect any sign of dieback on them....

I'm not suggesting people go out and do this or it wont become apparent in later years but you couldnt find healthier looking ash ....(Im no expert- I was going to come back for the trunk for firewood and leave it there as it wasnt a hazard for a year or two but now Im going to see how it plays out)... I have a lovely big long escaped hedge with lots if them in it and a good few are showing signs so if they're going to die anyway I'm going to give this a shot and see can I rescue them.

In fairness the weather this year is suiting them too. A dry May really helps as the adults get a chance to procreate. Once the eggs are laid weather isn't really much of a problem. Not much of infestation here really for the past 5 or 6 years but I leave what is growing in the grazing fields for them. Will start pulling them from now on before they set to seed.

I did the same as you to get them to spread. Have a hundred or so carried to the OH place this year just to spread them out a bit. Her neighbour has plenty for them to eat so hopefully they will move over the ditch.

On a side note, I was in the local town last week and had a fine strong ragwort plant pulled in the public car park before I realised what I was at.