Author Topic: how can i get rid of ragwort? (Read 12375 times)

gingerninja · « **on:** July 07, 2010, 03:55:16 pm »

Hi everybody , I'm just wondering if anyone knows the best way to get rid ogf ragwort? We have 7 acres of land , roughly divided into two halves , on one half i've always made hay and on the other I graze 2 horses and seperately 2 rescue ponies. Last winter i decided to open up the whole area for grazing and on the patch that the two shetlands were on got pretty carved up , now I'm struggling to keep ragwort at bay , i dig it up but obviously I'm now worried about cutting for hay as not only would my animals have it as winter forage but others too. I have sprayed with Pastor which has killed nettles and to some extent docks but I found three bits of rag today so I'm pretty disheartened that the whole lot will be ruined , anyone got any bright ideas , sorry to waffle on by the way - cheers Alix.

gavo · « **Reply #1 on:** July 07, 2010, 05:16:29 pm »

The product Barrier H it is a natural product based on Citronella and a few other plant compounds it is highly toxic to Ragwort but not to other pklants or to animals [apparently]. We have just ordered some so we will see;it is supposed to kill a flowering plant in an hour. But a big draw back is the cost much more expensive than chemical weed killers.

doganjo · « **Reply #2 on:** July 07, 2010, 07:44:12 pm »

I used to go out in the fields with my dogs every day and just pull them up by the roots until they were all gone. Any I couldn't pull out I got John to do. We ended up with none at all, which I am sure the new owners are delighted about as they have four horses.

Daisy · « **Reply #3 on:** July 12, 2010, 10:23:25 pm »

Remember to wear gloves and poss a mask when pulling it as ragwort is toxic to humans as well and will be absorbed through your skin

Norfolk Newby · « **Reply #4 on:** July 14, 2010, 03:01:09 pm »

I have a 11 acre field with ragwort on it. I started removing them with Roundup in a gadget like a walking stick full of diluted Roundup. The gadget has a small spray in to lower end which sprays the plant when pressed against it. This worked well in the Spring when they were first appearing and stood out against the limited green plants on the soil at that time.

I repeated the process every 2-3 weeks and gradually reduced the number. Now that the last ones are flowering, I am removing the flowers while treating the plants with the weed killer. There are now about 2 dozen plants remaining but all have been treated.

I came across this web site which sets out the ragwort story and might be of interest:-

http://www.ragwortfacts.com/index.html

I will try out the Barrier H stuff if the problem returns next year as I don't like Roundup - too drastic even used only on the ragwort plants.

pasture eyes · « **Reply #5 on:** July 23, 2010, 08:57:35 pm »

hello gingerninja
Pulling ragwort is a bit of a waste of time in the long term, every bit of broken root u leave in the ground will come up within 2 years as 3, 4, 5 plants. Barrier-H is fairly good on a sunny day, but it must be completely dry and must stay so for at least 24 hrs after spraying. It, and all chemicals really, work best on rosettes/cushions, as once they get long woody flower stems, the leaves tend to go darkish and dryish looking and don't take chemical so well. So start spraying late Feb/Early March if using B-H, or if using Grazon-90, or Pastor etc., start end March through April into May, get the spray on before flower stems emerge. Then any that comes up you spot spray, but if loads all over the place, top it before flower buds break. You'll need to repeat that for 3 or 4 years, or m u c h longer as seed has 20 year viability and stock animals chopping soil up will bring new seed into production. It's a long term job I'm afraid. Good Luck.