The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Livestock => Sheep => Topic started by: Hagrid61 on April 26, 2012, 02:09:18 pm
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Hi everyone
Luckily we have been given free use of a small field about an acre is size, :) for our sheep, four ewes and nine lambs :sheep:.
The only problem is that over half of the field is covered in nettles ???.
Could anyone advise me on the best way to eliminate the nettles.
The field is on a steep slope leading down to a small stream making it very difficult for tractor access :farmer:.
Thanks in advance :wave:
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Scythe them down and leave them to wilt, the sheep will eat them then :thumbsup:
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My son uses a strimmer to cut them down and try to keep under control because we avoid chemicals when we can.
Local farmer sprays with chemical ..... I think he said it was Grazeon 90 (guessing at the spelling!) and it was safe to carry on using the field.
Sure someone with more knowledge will reply soon.
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we cut them down,& the sheep & goats love them.
we do a patch at a time & by morning they're all gone.
do this with thistles too,they do love them when wilted for a day.
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Mine love them when they are still growing, but tend not to eat them when there's still plenty of grass. Both nettles and thistles bring up plenty of trace elements from deep in the soil so are a great supplement for grazing animals.
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Yup, cut and use - don't waste those nutrients!
Grazon-90 will kill 'em off, yes. And the active ingredient will persist in the sheep's systems and their poo, in any hay made from the field and in the systems of any stock (including horses) fed that hay and their poo, and kill all non-grassy plants for years. All of which is maybe not a problem so long as no-one along the way uses any of that muck for other than grassland. It'll kill garden plants, vegetables, any sowed (non-grassy) crops, etc.
Oh, and it kills fish too, if it, or any of the poo containing it, gets into any waterways.
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Gosh :o
Glad that I am against use of chemicals and didnt follow everyones advice around here and use that ! :D
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So is Grazon the same as the aminopyralid we are discussing in the compost whinge thread in the veg section? Hateful stuff.
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I have a paddock of just over an acre which is full of nettles on the boundary. It was home to the lambs last year then some newcomers, and the sheep ate every single one of them!
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Well, glad I looked at this post - I paid a couple of young lads handsome pocket money for digging out all our thistles in the sheep field - thought I was doing the sheep a favour (oh well they needed the money) ::) ::)
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Well thanks for all the quick replies, :wave:
Looks like I will have to cut them back and leave them for the sheep to finish off. :yum:
I knew they were supposed to be good for soup, beer and such like, but I wasn't aware that the nettle cuttings were good for the sheep, you learn something new every day. :thumbsup:
Thanks again
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So is Grazon the same as the aminopyralid we are discussing in the compost whinge thread in the veg section? Hateful stuff.
The very stuff. Yes, hateful. >:(
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Wilted nettles are loved by most animals, our arabians adore them , just strim and let wilt
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Or,( using stout gloves!) pull them and hang them in bunches in an airy place to dry, then crumble them into the sheep/goats/chickens feed in winter.
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Gosh :o
Glad that I am against use of chemicals and didnt follow everyones advice around here and use that ! :D
Stronger than me!!!! My helpful neighbour insisted thats what I needed to do last year (probably after watching my scything half of it for a few weeks!) and even arranged someone to do it!! Didnt graze for a week or two after though, despite the name. Taking back control this year (diplomatically and humbly) So the bottle of grazon under my house will stay there.
One question though - will cutting thistles make them grow even more vigouraously (like coppicing a tree?) (Im thinking of the saying I read on here a few months ago Cut them in May, they will stay etc etc)? LOve the idea of drying for winter Sylvia.
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They saying is, for thistles:
Cut in May
They'll flower another day
Cut in June
They'll be back soon
Cut in July
They'll wither and die
and I can't remember the last bit but it'll say that after July is too late, it's already seeded (and one year's seeds makes seven years' weeds, as we all know)
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So is Grazon the same as the aminopyralid we are discussing in the compost whinge thread in the veg section? Hateful stuff.
The very stuff. Yes, hateful. >:(
Such chemicals have their uses and their limitations. I was strongly against use of the stuff but sometimes you need all the help you can get. So we've used it on one of our ten paddocks, one which won't see a horse for a couple of years and is downwind of a hectare of mostly thistle, nettle and ragwort. That one is next years problem
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Yup
Cut thistles in May - they're back in a day
Cut thistles in June - they're back very soon
Cut em July - they're sure to die
Its to do with Midsummer day and the moon phase. Basically weeds cut at or on the Full Moon nearest to Midsummer will find it very difficult to regenerate. Its' generally just before they are running up to seed, so they have used all their energy and ct then just cope.