Dock - spray not an option

[HaplessHorse]

We can’t spray due to being on a vineyard and due to legal restrictions with the ‘wildflower meadow’.

Can’t really strim/mow/mass murder plants due to being on a designated ‘wildflower meadow’.

Would spending a day wandering around with a saw-knife thing to cut off seed heads and injecting the stems with vinegar do the trick? And what vinegar is recommended?

Luckily still only about 20-30 but dock has doubled since last year, it’s really getting on my nerves!

This weather is getting on my nerves, the summer paddock has almost been stripped bare despite my best efforts, we can’t use the winter paddock due to legal restrictions and I’m really worried that next year it’s just going to be a mess of weeds everywhere! The land was prime grazing before I put horses on it, I’ve been really careful about trying to keep it nice.
Any tips on land management without spraying or mowing it all down are welcome!

(I am aware that I’m in a weird position with regards to land management thanks to the weird vineyard and legal stuff)

Luckily ragwort isn’t an issue, had 5 plants this year in total! Yay!

 

[94lunagem]

A ragwort fork and a bit of elbow grease got my docks (and ragwort when I first moved here) under control a number of years ago. Now I just zap them (figuratively speaking) as soon as one pops up and it stops further spread.

It took hard work when I had lots, but once you're on top of it digging up one or two at a time really doesn't take any effort.

Edited to add: I get the not wanting to spray/mow everything, whether it be for your vineyard situation or just access to equipment. I have a farmer friend in once a year to harrow/roll/fertilise/muck spread and maybe once more if I'm topping, but other than that I don't have the kit myself to do it.

 

[YourValentine]

Buy a sickle/scythe or similar thats easy to use, and just keep cutting them off at ground level. Don't let them seed.

When the ground is softer dig up with a weed removal tool, like a ragwort fork, that will help get some of the tap root out.

It will be a multi-year battle to beat them.

In terms of land management, can you rest sections of your summer field at the moment? Dry as it is, any heavy dew etc will help the grass grow a bit. If you can give a 1/4 of you field a week or twos rest at a time it will help, even if you can't really see a difference. And just keep rotating around.
If your horses arent on diets feeding a bit of hay in the field so they are scoffing every sinhle blade as it grows may help, and rotate the hay locations - of you can feed hay. Some land use prescriptions say "no extra feed or supplements".

Giving the winter field a good long rest now is the best thing for it. It will allow the growing grass to help the soil recover from all of last winters damage.

 

[YourValentine]

Depending on the exact wording of the wildflower option your fields are in you may or may not be allowed to use vinegar.

Probably easier to just not, but of you do try it buy either a specific acetic acid herbicide product or vinegar marketed for cleaning.

 

[HaplessHorse]

Thanks so much for some ideas! I’ll set my ragfork on it and sythe the scrubby bits around the edge of the field.

I think part of the issue is just that it’s so dry, nothing’s growing. I’ve been rotating the field, currently 1/3 is rested and will probably not be in use for a few months at least. The last bit I rested didn’t grow much in the month and a half that it had. They’re both good doers so short grass is good but not dead grass ideally!

 

[Pearlsacarolsinger]

Can you burn off individual plants with a weed wand?

 

[Exasperated]

We can’t spray due to being on a vineyard and due to legal restrictions with the ‘wildflower meadow’.

Can’t really strim/mow/mass murder plants due to being on a designated ‘wildflower meadow’.

Would spending a day wandering around with a saw-knife thing to cut off seed heads and injecting the stems with vinegar do the trick? And what vinegar is recommended?

Luckily still only about 20-30 but dock has doubled since last year, it’s really getting on my nerves!

This weather is getting on my nerves, the summer paddock has almost been stripped bare despite my best efforts, we can’t use the winter paddock due to legal restrictions and I’m really worried that next year it’s just going to be a mess of weeds everywhere! The land was prime grazing before I put horses on it, I’ve been really careful about trying to keep it nice.
Any tips on land management without spraying or mowing it all down are welcome!

(I am aware that I’m in a weird position with regards to land management thanks to the weird vineyard and legal stuff)

Luckily ragwort isn’t an issue, had 5 plants this year in total! Yay!

Good grief, how long has the descent from ‘prime grazing land’ to this taken? Horse grazing does not have to be like this, it really doesn’t.

One huge downside to various re wilding / naturalising type schemes is that the sheer effort of properly managing grassland as actual grassland simply isn’t understood by proponents. Seeding herbal leys another example - sounds super, ticks loads of green and fluffy boxes, but what will you do about future weeds?!? Cos they will definitely grow.... (In medieval Britain, ploughing on a rota and raking off the unwanteds kind of worked, with loads of labour and low crop yields)

You’ll have to dig, if really want to get rid of multiple docks without herbicide, sorry to say. And should check your scheme or contract conditions before employing any vinegar, salt, bleach or anything else. If you mow docks, even with a ride-on lawn mower and collection box, plenty of seed heads will still fall, and the plant base will return thicker and stronger - unless you apply a ‘deterrent’ to each stump, but may find you are not allowed to do that. Plus, individual dollops of household products is much worse for soil health than a full chemical burn, if you’ve got masses of plants to tackle.

Try Rag forking after a downpour, but meanwhile - a builder’s bag and secateurs, carefully cut all seed heads into it and burn, just don’t let them fall.

We’ve sown a lot of wildflowers (voluntarily, not in a scheme), none of them where docks might like to start sticking their heads up, for that reason - possible need to spot spray! Once you’ve got on top of docks, likely take several years, it will be ok, just zap at very first sign of re emergence. It’s not your horses to blame, but the type of pasture management.
Good news on the ragwort, tho!

We can’t spray due to being on a vineyard and due to legal restrictions with the ‘wildflower meadow’.

Can’t really strim/mow/mass murder plants due to being on a designated ‘wildflower meadow’.

Would spending a day wandering around with a saw-knife thing to cut off seed heads and injecting the stems with vinegar do the trick? And what vinegar is recommended?

Luckily still only about 20-30 but dock has doubled since last year, it’s really getting on my nerves!

This weather is getting on my nerves, the summer paddock has almost been stripped bare despite my best efforts, we can’t use the winter paddock due to legal restrictions and I’m really worried that next year it’s just going to be a mess of weeds everywhere! The land was prime grazing before I put horses on it, I’ve been really careful about trying to keep it nice.
Any tips on land management without spraying or mowing it all down are welcome!

(I am aware that I’m in a weird position with regards to land management thanks to the weird vineyard and legal stuff)

Luckily ragwort isn’t an issue, had 5 plants this year in total! Yay!