question about milkweed

[moday]

I've got milkweek coming into a hayfield. I have been mowing it down. Will that kill it, or do I have to spray?

Is milkweed bad for animals (goats, sheeps, calves) if there is just a little bit?

[RosewoodfarmVA]

Mowing will not kill milkweed. It's root system is stronger than that of grasses and clovers, and it will come back after being mowed stronger than the grass will regrow. You'll need to get some 2-4-D which kills only broadleaf plants, and spray it on them when they are fully leafed out. Don't spray after you've mowed, spray when they have many large leaves so maximum absorbtion will occur. 2-4-D will not harm the grass though it will kill any clovers present.

If you ask the 'experts' they'll say milkweed is poisonous. Our goats and cows have been known to eat it with no problems, as we had a big patch of it and they would routinely graze it along with the pasture plants. I sprayed it once 2 years ago and now there's not one sprig of it left. We try not to use chemicals here but I found neither grazing, nor mowing, nor discing and reseeding would eradicate it, but the 2-4-D wiped it out in one shot!

[Darren]

I'd be more concerned about milkweed with horses. We don't have any domesticated four legged grazers or browsers so it's not a concern. I've let it grow and spread in two areas for Monarch butterflies. There's several types of milkweed. Swamp milkweed (purple) and butterfly bush (orange) are also milkweeds.

[bee]

Milkweed is what they call a "colony plant" spreading by runners underground from the original seed started plant. What kind of "milkweed" do you have? The common milkweed is not desireable in a hay field but is a nice survival plant. Uses include the young sprouts in spring dropped into boiling water and cooked for 15 minutes changing the boiling water several times with already boiling water(cold water will "fix" the bitterness)and eaten like asparagus and the immature seed pods can be done the same; flowers can be dropped into boiling water for one minute and then dipped into a batter and deepfried for fritters. I ask what kind of milkweed because the lookalike Dogbane is poisionous and has the slender clustered brown pods in the fall like brown dried greenbeans. This plant is good for making string/rope hence it's other name, Indian Hemp.
Milkweed shoots are hairy and Dogbane is smooth.

[texican]

I only have a few patches of milkweed. I've actively spread the seeds to get more patches growing. I'm aware of it's benefits... never heard of any detriments.

I'd rather have some weeds than having a pristine pasture, if it took pouring deadly toxic chemicals on the ground. Having lost friends and family to possible long term chemical exposure (supposedly innocuous), I shy away from the 'good poisons'....

[ozark_jewels]

Goats will kill it if grazed/browsed heavily on that area for quite a while. My goal is to not graze anything that heavily so it will keep coming back and they can eat it again.

[Danaus29]

Supposedly it's toxic to rabbits too but one of mine once ate some potted milkweed with no ill effects and I have never seen where they have left dried milkweed stalks laying in their cages from where it is in the hay they get.

Muscovy ducks devour milkweed like kids eat candy.

[marvella]

milkweed is a major food source for monarch butterflies too. their numbers are decreasing due to use of chemicals. as others have said, it is also a human food source.

any chance you can just put up with it?

[Lilandra]

if you eliminate it from your fields as a safety concern - establish an area near the buildings that the animals can't get to and you will be rewarded 10 fold in butterflies and song birds. tall grass prairies are an endangered eco system and your pasture and others like it are the closest thing to them that beneficial insects, birds and small animals have to a home.
do what is best for you, but keep in mind that when there is an imbalance, there is trouble - you rid yourself of milkweed, you might get thistles in their place

[RosewoodfarmVA]

The primary concern with milkweed is it's ability to spread rapidly and worse, it's ability to regrow after cutting much faster than the pasture plants. Meaning that after cutting it may get 2ft tall before the orchardgrass and such is 6" tall. Also when you are selling hay to *picky* (for lack of a more fitting term) horse people you can't have anything that remotely looks like a 'weed.' If allowed to seed once it will quickly become the dominant plant in that field. Just look at all the unkempt fields in this area that are full of it. Granted it may have wildlife benefit and be edible, kudzu is also both edible and good for wildlife, though I wouldn't plant it if I were you!

[rambler]

Originally Posted by texican

I only have a few patches of milkweed. I've actively spread the seeds to get more patches growing. I'm aware of it's benefits... never heard of any detriments.

Yikes! Must grow a lot better up here in MN than down there - here you should have the weed police called after you if you actuially tried to seed the stuff! It's a noxious weed up here, and very prolific seed maker - no need to spread seed oneself! It does very well by itself. Needs to be controlled or it will mess up a field - spreads exponentially.

I believe it is slightly toxic to grazing animals, but isn't a serious issue in that way unless it is their only food source. Never bothered the cattle anyhow.

--->Paul

[alleyyooper]

We also grow it in our front door flower bed. The honey bees just love the nectar in the flowers. The honey bees heavy forageing in it also keeps the door knockers away, since they are afraid of the honey bees. I also am spreading seeds in the fall in the very over grown fields around here just for the bees and deer who eat it like a horse eats oats.

Al

[Tricky Grama]

Originally Posted by texican

I only have a few patches of milkweed. I've actively spread the seeds to get more patches growing. I'm aware of it's benefits... never heard of any detriments.

I'd rather have some weeds than having a pristine pasture, if it took pouring deadly toxic chemicals on the ground. Having lost friends and family to possible long term chemical exposure (supposedly innocuous), I shy away from the 'good poisons'....

Post of the day award!!
Sorry about your losses in your family. I sure agree w/you on the issue of harmful chemicals.
We are careful NOT to mow all the milkweed b/c of the monarch butterflies but then we don't have grazing animals either. We've drastically reduced it due to mowing...I think if you mow down just about anythig over & over you'll kill it.

Patty

[ronbre]

the fluff is a down substitute..to fill jackets and pillows and stuff

[ksfarmer]

Originally Posted by alleyyooper

We also grow it in our front door flower bed. The honey bees just love the nectar in the flowers. The honey bees heavy forageing in it also keeps the door knockers away, since they are afraid of the honey bees. I also am spreading seeds in the fall in the very over grown fields around here just for the bees and deer who eat it like a horse eats oats.

Al

Unless you all are talking about a different thing than common milkweed, I would question that deer eat it. The milk sap of the milkweed family is caustic and irritating to the mouth of anything that eats it.

[Danaus29]

ksfarmer, deer do eat it. I have seen deer damaged milkweed in our local park and one of the park people saw the deer eating it. It was a very hot, dry year when I saw the damage and there was little other green vegetation but there it was, a huge patch of deer ravaged milkweed. I doubt they prefer it since I have never seen deer damage on my milkweed.

[Tricky Grama]

Originally Posted by ronbre

the fluff is a down substitute..to fill jackets and pillows and stuff

I read this somewhere too-has anyone used it as such?

Patty

[Danaus29]

I was going to use it as stuffed animal filling. It compresses a lot and is real difficult to work with after it has dried. You have to gather it before the pods split open and work real fast, it dries in a couple hours.

[ronbre]

maybe you could reach inside where you are going to stuff and open the pod up inside there..so it can't get away !!

[Danaus29]

I tried that too. You then have to remove the seeds. The easiest way for me was this, break open the pod, remove the seeds from the damp fluff, separate fluff from pod, stuff fluff into item. Work fast, the fluff is very lightweight and sticks to damp fingers with a vengance.