buttercups weeds

[Mickyvgb]

Hi all

I have started to look after a small field ( 2 acre ) .. but it has been taken over by buttercups and other weeds .. was thinking about using Grazon 90 to get rid of them ..
Would love any advice on this .. i.e can anyone use this product ? .. or do I need to hire someone ? .. how long before I can put horse back on the field .. is this the best type of weed killer to use ? etc ....

 

[hellybelly6]

I think anybody can use this and I do not put horses on the field until the dead weeds have disintegrated. I think it is a good product to use.

 

[Leah3horses]

Hi Micky, I've used it, spent days doing my 4 acres by hand in early spring

.They all died off, I know I waited 3 weeks to put my horses back on but think this was alot longer than the literature that came with it said. But the weeds all came back by May!

I then let my friends welsh ponies graze there, they scoffed everything in sight,buttercups,docks,nettles lol.Much easier and safer than weedkiller.Do you know any that would like free grazing for a few weeks maybe?

 

[Kallibear]

BUttercups seem to be a big problem this year. Every field I've seem has them to a greater or lesser extent.

I found the most effective, cheap way keeping on top of them is mowing the grass. You don't get buttercups on lawns!

If you bought a petrol lawnmower (about £100) you could do it manually. Or you could beg borrow or steal a sit-one mower from someone if you're lucky enough to know anyone.

If the grass is really long and weedy to begin with, a local farmer would top it for you for £50.

 

[Angela_Jackson]

Hi Micky,
We sell grazon 90 at my work place, I have also used it on my own field with really good results.

You have 2 options,
Option 1....you can either spray by lance, this a very long way of doing it, and the fumes can give you a nasty headache. When you purchase it, the company should ask you questions, firstly they should only sell it to you if you were born before the 31st december 1964 (known as grandfather rights) If not try find someone to purchase it for you who is old enough, then you need to own the land, or have permission from land owner to spray, you need to have had training (ie make sure someone is there who has used this sort of stuff before, for mixing correctly, and safety of disposale ect) and you need to have the correct safety clothing. If you not old enough you will need a sprayers certificate. Without all of these the company shouldnt sell it to you as they can loose their licience!!

Option 2, you get a contractor in to spray it for you, this down here will cost you about £100+VAT + price of chemical, and they will buy the chemical as they will have the licence. (they may choose a differnet chemical, as it makes it easier for them to clean and prepare their sprayers....dont worry most of the sprays do buttercups, docks, nettles, bracken and thistles.) Forefront is agood one. 2 acres will take approx 10 mins to do, its all the cleaning and preparation that costs in time.

Either way you choose you need to make sure that the weeds are at their optimum growing stage, and to do that at vertually any time between spring and autumn, you just have the field mown, leave for 2-3 weeks and there you go the weeds are ready to die!!!!
It says on the instrutions (sorry but I actually have one here in front of me as I am typing!!) For best results, leave an interval of 7 days before grazing and between 14 - 28 days before mowing the field again to allow the chemical to fully translocate throughout the weed(basically so it can kill the root too). In my experience if you have alot of buttercups and it is likely that the horses will eat them, then it is better to leave the grazing for a minimum of 14 days, so they dont eat the chemical and the chemical has had a chance to get to the root, then it dies properly and doesnt come back as easily.

It is well worth getting it done, because you dont really realise how much grazing you are actually loosing until you do have it done. And most kill off clover too!! No more gassy farts!!! Yer!!!
Hope I havent bored you to tears here.
Angela

 

[Donkeymad]

I don't really think this is a good time of year to be spraying weeds - however...
Could I just post a reminder to anyone using Grazon 90 or a similar type of weedkiller - you must be careful of what happens to the manure produced by any animal grazed on sprayed land for the next twelve months. Anything (plant wise) that is touched by this manure will possibly be damaged or killed. It is essential that manure produced for at least twelve months is disposed of in a safe manner.

 

[stencilface]

I would get some sheep, or similar that will eat everything down - I can't believe that its good in the long run to pump chemicals onto the fields that you wnat to graze your horses on. If you leave sheep on for long enough (esp a breed like the hebrideans) they will eat everything thats there.

As well as killing the buttercups, it will most likely (although - don't know how plant specific some herbicides are?) also kill lots of other meadow plants that would otherwise be included in the horses diet. Such things as birds foot trefoil, and selfheal.

Variety is good for horses - eg they will eat coarse long grasses to help clean their teeth