need to spray but the wind... help

okiemom · #1 05/01/14, 12:00 PM

we have been on our property for about 6yrs and there have been cows on it for a lot longer than that. when we bought it, the pasture was severely overgrazed for many reasons, suffered through a nasty 3 yr. drought barely squeaked by ourselves again getting it overstocked for the conditions.

I tried mowing for a couple of seasons but really didn't put a dent in it. This year we finally have the money to spray and it is about time to so so, but the wind is sweeping down the plains... how do you do this????? at midnight when the winds are calm????

have a 75hp and a 300gal sprayer with both boom and nozzle

we are having problems with
broom weed
wooly croton (huge problem)
stinging nettles/ sting plants (cant walk in the pasture for it)
honey locust
blackberries

the good news is the thistle is much better. had a big problem and that is the one area mowing did help. everything else is worse

the front acreage 80ac. is all pasture and the back is mostly open with some very mature hardwoods. will 2,4-d burn the trees?

ramiller5675 · #2 05/01/14, 01:18 PM

You just have to wait until the wind dies down enough that you can spray.

I used to have a lot of blackberries, and I was finally able to control them with a tankmix of Remedy (you'll have to read the label to figure out how much), 2,4-D (about a pint/acre), and some ChemSurf90 surfactant. If you've mowed them, it's going to take a couple of years to control them. The Remedy will kill some trees or burn them a little.

I've used Weedmaster (2,4-D and Dicamba) with a surfactant to control weeds in pastures, I'm not sure if it will burn mature trees, but it makes the blackberries wilt a little (not sure if it will kill them).

Besides all that, whoever you buy your herbicides from should be able to tell you what to spray and how much, although I've always tried to follow the old rule of using something simple like 2,4-D or Weedmaster first because it's cheap and easy to spray, and always use a good surfactant.

okiemom · #3 05/01/14, 01:57 PM

I am not going to add anything as I think it would be too dangerous to nearby trees. some of the horror stories of drift are enough to make anyone a little nervous.

now there is something that will wipe on spray to target anything taller than grass. wipe sprayer. sound neat but I don't think it will get some of our short weeds.

how far to stay away from tree lines or fencelines?

G. Seddon · #4 05/01/14, 03:05 PM

Probably in the minority on this one, but i'd rather mow weeds than spray chemicals here. Then again, I don't have very large acreage to cover.

DaleK · #5 05/01/14, 03:11 PM

You aren't going to hurt the trees. Most of the time you couldn't if you were trying. Spray as close to the fence lines as you're comfortable going without hooking your booms in something.

genebo · #6 05/01/14, 03:35 PM

Gere's one way to use a wiper to apply herbicides:

need to spray but the wind... help - Cattle

Set the height to suit your application and drive!

ramiller5675 · #7 05/01/14, 03:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by G. Seddon

Probably in the minority on this one, but i'd rather mow weeds than spray chemicals here. Then again, I don't have very large acreage to cover.

If you have native grasses, it will kill the grass before it kills the weeds if you mow it too short. Going into a drought or coming out of one, I'd hate to mow anything.

And, if you have something like blackberries, it makes it much harder to kill them if you finally decide to spray them in the future. I had to spray some blackberries that I mowed three times over three years to kill them, the ones that I never mowed were gone after being sprayed once.

G. Seddon · #8 05/01/14, 04:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ramiller5675

If you have native grasses, it will kill the grass before it kills the weeds if you mow it too short. Going into a drought or coming out of one, I'd hate to mow anything.

And, if you have something like blackberries, it makes it much harder to kill them if you finally decide to spray them in the future. I had to spray some blackberries that I mowed three times over three years to kill them, the ones that I never mowed were gone after being sprayed once.

I understand that it all depends on the particular situation, acreage, and rain/drought conditions, plus what's growing. Just my preference not to spray with chemicals if I don't have to, that's all.

CJBegins · #9 05/01/14, 09:15 PM

Goats! They take care of all kinds of weeds.

G. Seddon · #10 05/02/14, 07:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CJBegins

Goats! They take care of all kinds of weeds.

Great suggestion if you have the fencing for them!

okiemom · #11 05/02/14, 08:24 AM

165ac. tried the mowing made some weeds worse worked for the thistle some. have Bermuda, fescue and other native grasses. had electric for goats but it is so rocky that we couldn't keep the fence working because lack of grounding. it would cost over 6k to fence our mile+ of fenceline. just materials.

Allen W · #12 05/02/14, 10:33 AM

You just have to wait for a break in the weather and be ready to go. It is so dry here I don't know how effective spraying would be at this time.

sassafras manor · #13 05/04/14, 08:55 PM

There are anti-drifting compounds that can be added to your spray tank to make the spray particles heavy and not blow around.