anybody make a weed wiper?

[farmerscotty]

I am going to be overrun by thistles and hemlock this year due to the drought. I am wanting to make something probably 10 ft wide. Has anybody made a wiper that really works good and is simple? Also anybody use some plans from somewhere they would like to share?

THanks for your time reading this I appreciate and so will my cows having cleaner fields.

My plan is to mount on the front of the tractor either by bumper or using the loader. I will probably be doing over 200 acres over the coarse of the summer. HELP me with ideas if you can

Farmerscotty in Missouri.

[watcher]

Here's a link for making a rope applicator. http://www.caes.uga.edu/commodities/...earopewick.pdf

You could up or down size it to fit your needs.

[uncle Will in In.]

Weed wipers were widely used here in northen Indiana about 20 years ago. They were mostly used to hit the giant ragweed and smart weeds that were taller than the soybeans in low ground. They had limited success. It would kill the tops o0f the weeds but they kept right on growing faster than the beans. In a pasture situation I would think a mower would be more effective.
If Canada thistles are cut off when the moon sign is in the heart they will loose the sap in the roots out the cut off stub. If that doesn't work, I'll always wonder why.. It did for me in a pasture that had an area that had a solid stand of them.

[Bret]

Farmerscotty,

I bought many little parts including lawnmower wheels, 2" pvc pipe etc. I sewed up a 7 foot sock to go over the pipe and played with it in the kitchen over the sink. The 7 foot pipe is also the container for the weed killer. The on-line plan that you will run into was my inspiration.

I filled it full of water and cracked the valve a little to let it start wheeping. Instead, it hemorrhaged and let all of the water out quickly. I have some fine tuning to do before I put any weed killer in, or my pasture will look like it has giant ringworm.

You may have an agency that will rent a larger unit for 200 acres. Check with your FSA or DNR offices in your region. Good luck.

I will fine tune when I have nothing else to do. You know how it is when you get an idea in your head.

[rambler]

Thistles die with a fall application of herbicides. That is when the sap flows down to the root. Is spring the sap flows to the bud, and you will only burn off some of the green, not kill the root.

Will, if we are talking Canadian thistles, you can mow them every day if you want, an established root ball of those things will not die. You can dimish them a bit with mowing and shading from a good alfalfa field over them, but that will not no way kill them off.

Nor will salt, vinegar, or any other home remedy. Dad tried for 40 years, and he left far more than he was given.

Several years of a good herbicide applied at the right time has gotten 90% of them gone.

Of course the seeds live 50 plus years in the ground, so they never really will be 'gone', but at least knocked down. I had some results doing the same in a pasture, fertilized the pasture, cut and baled it 2x a year, the growing grass crowded them, and the fall cutting did set them back, but it was far far far from getting rid of the problem....

Those are one tough weed!

You can find a rub applicator at a farm sale for about free once in a while, tho most hit the landfills by now. Some companies still sell them, or kits, in the back of farm magazines.

Paul