Buttercups

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rubyrumba

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I have loads of buttercups well on their way and not much grass growing. I can't get anyone to come and look at the moment as they all seem to be busy ploughing and i only have about 5 acres. I don't mind spraying them by hand but i am a little unsure as to what i should do? Any help much appreciated. Thanks.
 
I have this problem too which was there when we bought the land and had to put the horses straight onto it because we had nowhere else to go. We have harrowed this Spring and seems to have helped but my old dad says there is something you can put on the land that encourages the grass and discourages buttercups, daisies etc, I'm sure it is nitrogen.

I would like to hear how other people dealt with this too because I have taken no action yet as I am not sure on the effects with horses.
 
Tormenta said:
I have this problem too which was there when we bought the land and had to put the horses straight onto it because we had nowhere else to go. We have harrowed this Spring and seems to have helped but my old dad says there is something you can put on the land that encourages the grass and discourages buttercups, daisies etc, I'm sure it is nitrogen.

I would like to hear how other people dealt with this too because I have taken no action yet as I am not sure on the effects with horses.
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OMG No! Don't put nitrogen on land grazed by horses or they will all be belly up with laminitis before you can blink, even 'farmyard manure' is more or less straight nitrogen so don't go there!

Buttercups thrive in wet acidic soil so the theory is if you dress the field with something alkaline like calcified seaweed it should redress the balance. That's the theory, I spent days one year doing our 4 acre paddock by hand and never saw any good come of it but it is a 'natural' way of putting some goodness back in without chemical fertilisers and they can safely carry on grazing while you do it.

As for the buttercups we got someone to spray last year with Pasturol Plus and worked really well killing any docks and nettles into the bargain. You do have to keep them off it for two weeks after spraying though and conditions have to be just right ie warm and dry with no wind and stay dry for a few days afterwards too.
 
I struggled for a few years with buttercups being told that they were really hard to get rid of until last year when I was recommended MCPA (trade name Agritox or Spear) by one of our local farmers and it eradicted them completely! the paddocks looked fabulous and grazing restored. I have 5 acres brought 10 ltr for £40.50 and only used half so will be using it again this year if necessary.
 
Hi Equiscene - how long did you have to leave the horses off before they could graze it and how did you apply it?
 
We have just sprayed half of our land and will be doing the rest when the horses can go back on the first area.

After much investigation I opted for a mix of Agritox 50 and Depitox. Agritox 50 in isolation works well but the mix kills ragwort too. We didn't have much ragwort but I wanted to get rid of the bits we did have before it got too bad.

Also, Agritox 50 and Depitox are agricultural weed killers which work out much, much cheaper than the branded 'equestrian' type ones.

Have a look at the information sheets for Agritox and Depitox:
http://technical.nufarm.co.uk/documents/Herbicide/Label/Agritox 50_labelinfo.pdf
http://technical.nufarm.co.uk/documents/Herbicide/Label/Depitox_labelinfo.pdf

You would need a napsack sprayer to put it on because you only need a thin mist.

We sprayed about 10 days ago and the buttercups, nettles, docks, thistles and ragwort is really dying - they are brown and dried out already - the buttercups are taking a little longer but are definately on their way!

By the way, I am just a lay person so I only know what I have found on the internet - do you have a Countrywide store near you - they are normally very helpful and give advice on these type of things!
 
Hi I went to my wynstay store last summer as I too was inundated with the little yellow perrill that is buttercups!!! they seemed to have taken over, they were definately not there when I brought the 4 acre field 5 years ago, but I was trying to be idealistic and NOT use any chemicals on the field. I had previously used calcified seaweed the year before, but to no avail, the little blighters just loved the stuff!!! I was recommended to use POLO headland, it kills spreading buttercup, apparently there are different types, the spray was put on by quad and sprayer, there's a local guy who specially does small 'horse' paddocks and it only cost approx £100 plus the chemicals (rather him to breath in the nasty stuff than me) the neddy's had to stay off for 14 days minimum, but one thing to mention here is the neddy's loved the buttercups once they died off ( a little worrying given they are poisonus themselves) the upside is this year despite the best the british winter has thrown at it, the field is starting to look really good, the grass is thicker, with only the odd buttercup comming back, which are easily spot sprayed with a back pack, I've still got at least 3/4 of the bottle of spray left (it cost approx £40) so well worth the money, the biggest cost was to get someone in to spray.
best of luck, remember your local 'farmers suppliers' will be able to give the best advice on which chemical to use, just tell them its for horses, they will then also be able to let you know how long to keep them off the field once sprayed.
 
This is a really useful post..... we're about to do one of our paddocks, but the farmer is going to do it for us.
I will find our what he's planning to use, as my mum mentioned they will have to be off the field for 2 months!!!
Thankfully we've got another 4 acre paddock with a neighbouring field in between.
 
happihorse said:
After much investigation I opted for a mix of Agritox 50 and Depitox. Agritox 50 in isolation works well but the mix kills ragwort too. We didn't have much ragwort but I wanted to get rid of the bits we did have before it got too bad.
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That's what I've gone for too! I bought the Depitox last year and that's been fab at wiping out our docks, but I've just bought some Agritox too so I can mix it and attack the buttercups and ragwort.

Glad it's working out for you - I spent a fortune last year on Barrier H and it seems just as bad this year, so hoping that a good blast of this will knock it back a bit more!
 
agritox kills most things except grass but if you have a bad buttercup and weed problem it is probably your soil at fault! get it soil tested as more than likely needs lime to address the ph problem! generally you only need to lime every 3 to 4 years!
 
I Agree with ofcouseyoucan Lime is the answer and once Ph is correct it is quiet long lasting. If you don't have to put too many tons per acre on it is save to graze after a good rain. Ask your local agri supplier/agromist for help or ask farmer who he uses.
 
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