The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Smallholding => Equipment => Topic started by: landroverroy on July 11, 2012, 07:26:48 pm
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I'm thinking of getting a weedwiper to get rid of bracken specifically, and thistles and nettles where they are a problem.
So:
1. Anyone know of one in the yorkshire area for sale?
2. Anyone had any experience, good or bad, of them?
As I'm planning to use Roundup in it, I'm wanting to know whether they have been found to drip onto the grass below. The manufacturers say not, but then they would, wouldn't they? Having just reseeded 5 acres, I don't want my lovely new seeds turned into a brown wasteland, because "sometimes it drips a bit."
So any info gratefully received. :eyelashes:
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:wave: Surely, with the wealth of knowledge and experience here, somebody must know something??
I can't believe you're all going round with knapsack sprayers.!! :eyelashes:
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well it looks that way there are several choices on this the first is the good old reliable knapsack sprayer and before that you had a glove with sponge in the palm that you squeezed onto the plant then came the weed wiper acres done for not much weedkiller used you also could get a weed wand i have seen the occasional one for sale i never heard of them leaking possibly if over filled or incorrectly used or even damaged then they would leak :farmer:
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Yup, knapsack sprayer here, Mr won't get anything mechanised whilst he has me to stagger around the fields wielding my trusty lance :innocent:
Only 47 acres to cover & he says it's good exercise for me...
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Don't suppose you live anywhere near Yorkshire do you?
Wouldn't take you long to do 5 acres now you're so fit and experienced
In fact I'm surprised your OH hasn't thought of hiring you out ;D
Thanks for your assessment Robert - actually the glove with a sponge doesn't sound a bad idea, or I might look for a weed wand.
The trouble with bracken is that now Asulox is forbidden, the only alternative is glyphosate which kills everything it touches so I've got to be careful how it's applied.
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I've heard of mixing glyphosate with wall paper paste to make it thick and 'gloopy' and then painting it on specific plants with a brush.
Make sure the neighbours don't see you doing it.
Sue
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We use a mop and bucket with the mop it wrapped in a tea towel. The neighbours are amused anyway but it seems to work
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Sounds promising. Thanks - I'll give it a go. :fc:
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Hi,
I have a weed wand that I bought to tackle the weeds in the rockery and the red mite last year. I got it from the garden centre and it is effective with some weeds.
I dont think I have ever seen a weed wiper but I use a resolva 24 hour spray which only wets the leaves and dosent run off. If you overspray of course it will kill what it touches but I spray the ragwort in the fields with it and it dosent devistate the surounding area.
You can mix the concentration to address broad leaf or stubborn weeds and it does kill brambles.
If you cant get a weed wipe then I think I would strim it all back with the bush cutter, treat it with the weed wand and spray whats left.
Can I come and pick the blackberries first though :eyelashes:
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Add in a good squish of squeezy/fairy liquid and this will help it stick to the leaves - i added it to Grazon and the docks are dying quickly and the grass untouched.
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Hi,
There is a product specifically for clearing "Woody" weeds from grassland (brambles etc), which also kills cut tree stumps, Japanese Knotweed, Docks, thistles etc.
It is called Kaskara.
We sell this at £35.99 per litre.
This may be better than buying a weed-wiper.
Thanks
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Landroverroy, did you ever get a weed wiper? I am after a largeish hand held one too to treat around the paddock edges, farmbuildings etc. I don't want to spray as we have water courses closeby but bushcutting/strimming just isn't effective enough especially this year - everything seems to be crossed with a trifid! Any feedback appreciated.
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it is a long time since i have had anything to do with roundup one of its benefits was it was inactivated on contact with water ponds rivers etc and could be used on the edges of them :farmer:
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Oh thankyou Robert. :thumbsup: . I didn't know that. I had assumed most weedkillers were a polutant and thats the last thing I want. Will roundup deal with the really well established thistles, nettles and brambles?
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as long as it is green and grownig it will kill it :farmer:
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Roundup - even in the 360 and 540 strengths we sell will struggle with bracken and brambles.
There is a product used by utility companies (for clearing railway embankments, motorway embankments etc) This product is called Timbrel and is specifically for these woody weeds.
Its licence was due to expire this year but has been extended by the government for a further two years as there is no like for like alternative.
We had removed this ftom our site due to the licence issue, but will be adding it again in the next couple of days. It comes in 3L containers.
There is nothing better for brambles and Bracken.
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Landroverroy, did you ever get a weed wiper? I am after a largeish hand held one too to treat around the paddock edges, farmbuildings etc. I don't want to spray as we have water courses closeby but bushcutting/strimming just isn't effective enough especially this year - everything seems to be crossed with a trifid! Any feedback appreciated.
No I never actually got one.
However I can endorse what Robert says about using Roundup around water courses. We've used it on a large pond for eradicating reeds, having carefully researched it first, and it only affects plants.
I was looking for a tractor drawn weedwiper as we have several acres of bracken. In the end we chopped it and raked up and baled the bits, as bracken is poisonous to livestock, even when dried and dead.
Possibly in spring (if I'm feeling energetic :sunshine: :sunshine: ) I'll try some of your suggestions like thickened glyphosate applied with a glove/paintbrush/mop onto the new fronds and zap them before they take over again.
So watch this space for published results :fc:
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Hi i am looking for a logic weed wiper for sale any body got one.
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weed wipers are worth their weight in gold, we have used the logic one and the quad-x both with good results, I normally use the chemical mix called polo with great results on rashes
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Wow! Had virtually forgotten that I started this post nearly 5 years ago.
I never did get a weed wiper, though I still would like one at the right price. We got rid of most of the bracken in the first year by cutting and baling it and then grazing with cattle, which I think damaged the young shoots as they came through. The gorse bushes we pulled out with the tractor, and we've now got 6 acres of decent pasture.
But thanks for your post Brewster. I may still get a weed wiper if I see a suitable one as I've still got plenty of use for one with the thistles and nettles that keep reappearing.