Thistles

L&Jfarms · #1 04/19/12, 04:38 PM

My pasture is being overtaken by thistles! We graze 60 head of beef cattle, and need all the grass we can get. The thistles are just overtaking the pasture. What can i do to STOP and KILL them?

ksfarmer · #2 04/19/12, 05:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by L&Jfarms

My pasture is being overtaken by thistles! We graze 60 head of beef cattle, and need all the grass we can get. The thistles are just overtaking the pasture. What can i do to STOP and KILL them?

Don't know where you are or what type of thistles you are talking about, but, around here we control thistles with spraying 2-4-D while small. In the fall a mix of 2-4-D and Tordon on the rosette stage gives very good results. Check with your local extension agent for specific recommendations.

L&Jfarms · #3 04/19/12, 05:54 PM

I live in eastern Iowa. Do i spot spray the thistles? What could i use to spray the entire pasture, and only have it kill the thistles?

rancher1913 · #4 04/19/12, 06:04 PM

i've had good luck spot spraying with 2-4-d. have to do it several times a season to get a good kill. the weaker the spray the better they will break off underground if you hit them with to strong a solution. it takes about a week and a half to know i've even sprayed.

genebo · #5 04/19/12, 08:57 PM

I spot spray the thistles we get here in Virginia with 2,4-D. It kills almost every type of broadleaf weeds and grass, including clover and lespedeza. That's why I spot spray. I want the clover and lespedeza.

I use a 4 gallon backpack sprayer with a hand pump. It does well, but if I had my druthers, I'd have one of the battery powered electric jobs.

DarleneJ · #6 04/19/12, 09:07 PM

Don't spray 'em, eat 'em...

L&Jfarms · #7 04/19/12, 09:19 PM

Thanks for the help everybody! Looks like i will be spraying ALOT.

collegeboundgal · #8 04/19/12, 11:30 PM

I have a aunt who will walk the property with a shovel (the really narrow type) and dig them up by the roots as they come back every yr from the same root. all I can say is, that woman is an inspration for me...

myersfarm · #9 04/19/12, 11:31 PM

I use pruning shears long handle and thick leather gloves but i use the pruners to pick them up .I cut right next to the ground ..and just cut throw in my 4 wheeler trailer and take to one spot and burn if you do this they do not come back next year... also the dead plant will not be there to stick the cows.....I chopped cotton as a kid it is not that hard....

chamoisee · #10 04/20/12, 12:38 AM

Run one or two goats with the cattle. Goats love thistles.

Cindy in KY · #11 04/20/12, 05:45 AM

Thistles are actually "Illegal to Ignore" here. They do blow on the wind and take over crop land. We use the shovel when they are small walking our 12 acres. Plus we used the riding mowers.

I was wondering if I cut it off with the shovel and then poured a bit of salt on the stem in the ground if that would kill it?

Valmai · #12 04/20/12, 05:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cindy in KY

Thistles are actually "Illegal to Ignore" here. They do blow on the wind and take over crop land. We use the shovel when they are small walking our 12 acres. Plus we used the riding mowers.

I was wondering if I cut it off with the shovel and then poured a bit of salt on the stem in the ground if that would kill it?

I used to have a serious problem with thistles, I sprayed heaps but they kept coming back. The following season I was late starting so I went round first cutting off the flower heads (so they wouldn't reseed) and hung them in a plastic bag on the washing line until they went mouldy and dead, then burnt. Then I went round and cut the stems off at ground level and poured a bit of salt in the wound. It was a mission but it only took that one season to cure a BIG problem. I used a plastic tomato sauce bottle filled with salt with a hole in the lid and just had to squirt a bit of salt onto the stem. Leave the stems on the ground the cattle will eat them once they wilt a bit.

SCRancher · #13 04/20/12, 06:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DarleneJ

Don't spray 'em, eat 'em...

Wild Thistle : Edible and Medicinal Uses - YouTube

Identifying and Harvesting Wild Thistle - YouTube

I agree with this. I ate one last night for the first time. They taste like a better version of broccoli IMO. You can eat most of the plant however the root and leaves are not really worth the effort but the stalks and seeds are great.

You can eat raw or cook like any other veggie but the video's I watched said they are better if left a little crisp so a light steam or quick stir-fry sound like some of the best options.

Seriously - they are good and good for you.

Jay · #14 04/20/12, 07:41 AM

Thistles thrive in low-calcium soil. Do a soil test and balance your soil and they won't come back.

This is from one of the weeds books from AcresUsa:
"weed control lies in fertility management. Every weed grows in a somewhat narrow window of allowable soil conditions. For example, burdock grows in soils with very high levels of iron and sulfate, very low levels of calcium and manganese. Balance the soil, lose the weed."
Here's another one:
“Low biological activity is inherent in each weed problem ... Each weed is keyed to a specific environment slotted for its proliferation.”

It's simple and can be complicated. Feeding the soil feeds what is feeding you.

loghome mom · #15 04/20/12, 07:49 AM

I agree Jay. What book are you referring to from Acres USA? It sounds like something we would be interested in.

ksfarmer · #16 04/20/12, 07:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by L&Jfarms

I live in eastern Iowa. Do i spot spray the thistles? What could i use to spray the entire pasture, and only have it kill the thistles?

If you are in a location where it is safe and have a lot of thistles over a large pasture, you might check into aerial spraying. This is done a lot in my area of Kansas. A spray plane can do a very good job if you have too much to be practical for spot spraying and can cover areas like ditches and ravines that are difficult to reach on the ground. Not the cheapest way to go (I think a crop duster around here charges about $8 per acre plus the cost of chemicals), but very effective. In Kansas musk thistles are a noxious weed and you are required to control them, if you don't , the county can spray them and bill you for it.

edit; 2-4-D won't hurt any grasses but will affect other broad-leaf weeds .

whodunit · #17 04/20/12, 08:01 AM

We just let the donkeys eat the thistle heads.... they love them.

Jay · #18 04/20/12, 08:16 AM

Weeds are an index of the character of the soil. Herbicides, then, deal with effect not cause.
And it is why you have to keep re-applying it.
Get the soil balanced and stop paying for sprays.....I am frugal enough not to keep buying the stuff, it's a waste of my money.

Here is the Acres weed books:
Acres U.S.A. -- A Voice for Eco-Agriculture

ksfarmer · #19 04/20/12, 08:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jay

Weeds are an index of the character of the soil. Herbicides, then, deal with effect not cause.
And it is why you have to keep re-applying it.
Get the soil balanced and stop paying for sprays.....I am frugal enough not to keep buying the stuff, it's a waste of my money.

Here is the Acres weed books:
Acres U.S.A. -- A Voice for Eco-Agriculture

Jay, with all due respect, sometimes it isn't practical to "balance the soil". I have 600 acres of native flinthills pasture, complete with hills, draws, flint rock and more flint rock outcrops as well as limestone ledges. Some of this ground only sees the occasional cow, snake, or jack rabbit.

Allen W · #20 04/20/12, 09:11 AM

Adding some Banval aka Dicamba to the 2-4d will help take 6hem down if they'rve already bolted.

ksfarmer

The dreaded musk thistle. Have they released any of the weavils up there that feed on the plants and heads?