[Davidg]

Hello to everyone,

I've been at it for two years and have had a steep learning curve (probably not unusual). However, our two acres of paddock seems to be getting quite an infestation of plantains. Can anyone help with ways of eradicating them.

Best wishes to all.
Cheers
Davwid

[Mammyshaz]

Hello and welcome to the forum 
  sorry  I cannot help with your query as I'm not a landowner but somebody else will be along very soon with some advice 

[Lesley Silvester]

  Hi and welcome.  I can't help either but I do wonder if the amount of rain we have had has contributed.

[Tala Orchard]

According to Wickiepedia Plantains are a banana variant but not sweet are you sure they are plantains?

[Dan]

According to Wickiepedia Plantains are a banana variant but not sweet are you sure they are plantains?

It'll be English Plantain aka Ribgrass or Broadleaf Plantain - http://www.accidentalsmallholder.net/smallholding/grassland-management/other-plants-in-grassland/

Very common in established agricultural sward, you have to stop it seeding to prevent spread, ideally through grazing, and possibly introduce something to compete with it.

Is there any livestock on the land at the moment?

[Davidg]

Hi Dan,

Yes, I think they're the plaintains you described although looking at the attached text my problem plants in question are small and flat to the ground. I have two shetland ponies on it the moment but will put a few sheep on it at the end of the month as the grass start to improve (the ponies can be prone to laminitis). Should the sheep grazing sort the plantain issue or is intervention requied? I'm wondering if now would be a good time to section off the area and use a herbicide.

Cheers

David (managed to spell my own name this time!)

[Possum]

You can have flat plantains as well as the more upright ones. The flat ones have rounder leaves but the seed heads are very similar to all the others.


I had the same problem as you when we moved into our smallholding last year. The fields had been grazed by horses and I suspect that they don't eat plantains. However, 6 months of grazing by sheep has really improved the quality of the pasture. Very few plantains and much less rough, course grass. The sheep that you are planning to get should do the trick. Much better than a herbicide.

[Backinwellies]

Sheep are the answer!  Just need to ensure they graze it right down.... which either means lots of sheep or confining them to smaller areas until that area is competely grazed.

  Tala Orchard .... beware of the teachers nightmare that is wikipedia!     Plaintain in Africa is like a banana and they cook it.... I tried some in Tanzania. (wasn;t that keen!)      British plantain is a broadleaf grassland weed

I am hoping the same advice applies to rushes (I do intend to cut them down first and hope the sheep deal with the regrowth)

[darkbrowneggs]

HI and welcome