[waterhouse]

It's safe with bees and hugely effective as a weedkiller as long as you don't want to use the manure

http://msdssearch.dow.com/PublishedLiteratureDAS/dh_034b/0901b8038034b6d9.pdf?filepath=/uk/pdfs/noreg/011-01455.pdf&fromPage=GetDoc

[Beewyched]

That's cool then. great that you've checked it out ... 

Our neighbouring farmers are good about letting us know, ever since a little incident earlier this year ... one of our neighbours had his field sprayed for something, the contractor decided to turn-up a few days early without letting anyone know (because of a cancelled job elsewhere) - I went tearing across the field like some banshee, arms waving - I must have looked like a madwoman   The poor bloke didn't have a clue what he was spraying & had to phone the office to find-out whether it was ok for bees 

Fortunately it was - bet he got a few pints out of that at his local that night 

[organic lims]

Hi I was reading your article and mixture for killing dock. Has anybody used it? Can you also tell me how much to mix for ha? We have a field covered and we are organic so we can't spray but this could be a solution.  If i could get subsidy on dock growing I would never have to work again!!! Thanks for your help

[waterbuffalofarmer]

I did read somewhere that healthy docks are very good for sheep as they carry a lot of vitamins in them. Dont take my word for it though it would be good to research.

[Hevxxx99]

Sounds as though you should borrow some sheep, Sarah!

I didn't realise they ate them, but on reflection, my big patch of docks was non-existant last year after the sheep had been in.  Just wish they'd do the same for the nettles and thistles.  In farness though, they did eat off all the thistle flowers, so at least they didn't seed!

[Womble]

BTW, our Zwartbles sheep love dock leaves, but the Manx Loaghtans (a primitive breed) wouldn't touch them. Interesting, as one might expect it to be the other way around.

[SallyintNorth]

I'm sure there's something about they shouldn't eat too many dock leaves... 

My pet lambs this year wanted nothing but dock when I first put them out, I was tearing my hair out worrying they'd poison themselves!  They seem to mostly prefer grass now, but one does often munch a dock leaf or two - and he is the 3/4 Shetland one, the others in that group are commercials.

[Womble]

I'm sure there's something about they shouldn't eat too many dock leaves... 

No more than one of their 5-a-day perhaps? 

[Foobar]

My sheep usually only go for the young leaves.

[cloddopper]

Whatever you use, you will have to keep the animals off it afterwards. I've heard Grazon 5 is good but you need to keep the animals off it for much longer than the time stated on the product. And one spray won't get rid.

Also there will be dock seed aplenty just waiting for you to turn that soil over!

Best thing to get rid of docks is sheep. They love 'em.



This may not be quick enough for you due to the size of your grass area .

 I've been using un diluted liquid round up in the following manner :-

Using metre length of 20 mm electrical plastic conduit ,  a 35 mm length of artificial cellulose car sponge pushed well in to the tube so only 8 mm is showing .

 Using a horse sized syringe I've drawn off a syringe full of the round up , shot it down inside the tube and left it to soak through the cellulose sponge for 10 min or so  ..... observed by the damp  mark on the concrete slab where it was stood in a corner to keep it up right .

 I then took a walk around the lawns & garden that's not done as raised beds and spot dabbed each offending weed as central as I could , wiping it up the stems of any of the higher plants with the damp with concentrated round up sponge end,   ...hoping I've zapped them before they start producing seeds.

Results look promising , around each plant zapped there is a six inch dead or dying zone &  it is starting to grow back after only 10 days . I gave it a second going over on Sunday evening for I noticed I'd missed a few weeds .
 Had it not rained that first evening three hours after I did the lawns & garden  I think the round up affected spot would not have spread as much

 Both times after I finished doing the spotting , I pulled the sponge out  ,rinsed the tube through and washed the sponge bit out in running water . Retaining the wash off in a bucket . This dilute round up then got chucked over a big area of nettles that's just outside of my property boundary lines .

 They are signs starting to show of wilting  at the nettle tops

[Penninehillbilly]

I'm sure there's something about they shouldn't eat too many dock leaves... 

My pet lambs this year wanted nothing but dock when I first put them out, I was tearing my hair out worrying they'd poison themselves!  They seem to mostly prefer grass now, but one does often munch a dock leaf or two - and he is the 3/4 Shetland one, the others in that group are commercials.

It's on a poison list, possibly fiasco farms, so i worried and kept chasing goats off them on the way to the field, maybe I should give in 

[waterbuffalofarmer]

I think the only sure way of getting rid of them is if you plow them up, that way the root come away and voila the ground is free, it has to be done at an early stage though, so no good when seeding.

[clydesdaleclopper]

No don't plough  you will just bring the whole seed bank to the surface ready to germinate. Dock seeds can last in the soil for an inordinately long time.

[waterbuffalofarmer]

 

No don't plough  you will just bring the whole seed bank to the surface ready to germinate. Dock seeds can last in the soil for an inordinately long time.

ah right I thought it would be like rag so plow and get rid. I'll bear it in mind ty.

[Calvadnack]

My neighbour only ever cuts his fields for haylage and the docks built up terribly, last year he sprayed with glyphosate, ploughed, reseeded and has rolled, topped, fertilised earlier this year.  The fields now have just the same number of docks with an addition of buttercups.

My fields with only my seven remaining Shetland sheep are dock free! The field for my goats now has docks sprouting, so I'll put the sheep in to clear them. The Shetlands are great for docks but useless for thistles and creeping buttercup