[harry]

what am i doing wrong... i got about an acre of rough ground years ago/..... turned it over and grass seeded it    it was ok for 2 years but then all the rubbish crept in    docks nettles thistles and something that has small white flowers with tubed stems and 8 ft tall.... i have sprayed it sevaral times with commercial stuff but it all comes back next year............. am i spraying wrong time of year,,,, what regime do i need to get it all back to grass

[Backinwellies]

Have you had a soil test? (grass needs pH of 6.5ish for good growth)   Have you made hay with weed seeds in and fed it? Do you top field regularly to prevent weed seed production. What is grazing it?

As for when and what to spray ... you need an agronomist advice.   

[harry]

the grass was very good for a couple of years then i put poultry on it and thats about it......  to attept an easier solution i put 7 kune kunes on it but they didnt have much effect they didnt turn it over much.... i have no idea what to do for sucess,,,, i would want grass and geese once established

[Backinwellies]

If you want grass you need to cut it regularly (like mowing a lawn) or graze it with sheep and or cattle.  Hens and pigs will wreck it.

[harry]

yes i understand that now ie keep geese on it... but i now need to get it back to grass and get rid of the rubbish and replace the rubbish areas with new grass,,,its getting rid of the rubbish ime finding hard as it returns next spring,,,,, do i reseed it after the rubbish has died back this autumn then keep strimming it so the rubbish does not flourish

[Backinwellies]

what is stopping you just putting geese on it?  I suspect they would deal with most weeds (not thistles or nettles maybe .... spot weed with glyphosate?)  . 

Might I suggest you change your thread subject heading to something like weeds in grassland ... more people may then reply?

[shygirl]

Might I suggest you change your thread subject heading to something like weeds in grassland ... more people may then reply?

aye, i thought you meant you had vodka bottles and dog crap being thrown onto your land, like we do. 

[Fleecewife]

Might I suggest you change your thread subject heading to something like weeds in grassland ... more people may then reply?

aye, i thought you meant you had vodka bottles and dog crap being thrown onto your land, like we do. 

We get polystyrene carry out boxes and white van man's dodgy magazines tossed over our fences...........


Mowing regularly will get rid of weeds, such as nettles, creeping thistles and cow parsley (although I don't see cow parsley as a weed at all as my sheep love it). Spear thistles you have to remove by hand (and spade) once they put up their flower stem but before the flowers open - easy enough on an acre.  Just cultivating then reseeding with grass won't solve the weed problem as you've found - you're just making a seed bed for weed seeds.  Clearing this land is going to take a little bit of work, as there's no quick fix.  Keeping it short for several years will work though, you just need to keep at it, and get some grass eating livestock on there.  Incidentally, I think Kunes are the least 'diggy' pigs - a much better bet is Tamworths which love a good root around and often eat weed roots, especially cow parsley and couch.

[Rosemary]

Turning it over will have disturbed the weed seeds that have been in the soil for many, many years and caused them to germinate. I'd agree with others to soil test and correct and pH, P and K deficiencies to give the grass the best chance then cut, cut and cut again.

WE seemed to be beating the weeds then we bought aspring tine harrow and that obvioulsy brought a few seeds to germination - worth it but we've had a good crop of thistles this year.

[harry]

thanks all think ive got it and thats i cant just leave it as grass but needs rough mowing to stop the nettles etc taking over.... i will do this next year as i think if i reseed some areas they will not survive as the geese will just pull it up untill a good root system in place......... i have put gees on it but theres enough grass for them so they leave the weeds to grow.... may have to spray and turn over the dense docks area i suppose to get somewhere for the grass seeds to take........ whens it to late to sow grass seed

[doganjo]

How about restricting the geese to an area till they clear the weeds then letting them gradually have a little more access - a bit like strip grazing horses?

[Backinwellies]

If you turn it over you will release more weed seeds .... glyphosate any really bad patches .......... rake / spike harrow and grass seed (over seed).  As for when depends where you are ....  grass needs warm earth .... so in south you are OK in Sept usually .   I would try the idea of strip grazing the geese .... confine them till they do eat the weeds too... then move on.

[harry]

i willtry that...do geese eat docks etc...mine didnt ..but they did have plenty of grass

[Stereo]

Stop spraying stuff on it and think about what the grass needs to succeed as it will out-compete anything if given a chance. Let it grow good and thick and then graze it hard with something. Strip grazing is a good idea.