Massive Ragwort problem - please help!

[t411y]

Really in need of some advice. Every single year we religiously pull all of the ragwort in our 20 acre field on a steep hill, we keep it at manageable levels despite our next door neighbour doing nothing about his.
This year the amount of ragwort has reached ridiculous levels (possibly because of the good growing weather).
The field is divided into 3, one has already been pulled as it didn't have much in. The largest (about 12 acres) doesn't have an inch (literally) that doesn't have ragwort growing on it.
It would be impossible to try and pull it all so we're desperate to find another option. Do we:
1) Wait for the stuff to go to seed, before mowing it and leaving it to rot down (according to http://www.ragwortfacts.com/ragwort-control-ecology.html this works)
2) Spray the field and hope it kills it all

The horses can stay on the field that's been pulled for however long it takes for any dead plants to rot down so that's not a problem.

Has anyone had the same problem and what did you find worked best, did anyone use the options above?

Thanks for reading all that! Any advice would be very much appreciated

 

[mosamac123]

We use Barrier H. You can spray when at the rosette stage, the plants turn black in an hour or so and die. The plants need to be dry so mid day onwards when the dew has dried. Hot and sunny days are great as the stuff seems to work double quick. We put it into a small trigger spray container now as we have nearly cleared the land after 4 years of hard work. Our first summer was a shock, there was so much to get rid of. We pulled lots and lots, then set about clearing it. Our motto is to never let it go to seed. 1 years seed means 10 years weed! Barrier H is the only thing we have found that does the job. We keep the horses off for at least 2 weeks to be safe. Very rewarding to use as each one sprayed dies.

 

[HardySoul1]

Surely hand spraying 12 acres would be a huge and slow task??

 

[Suelin]

Seems that you have 2 problems. The weed and the steep aspect of the land. Are you able to get a tractor on it, or is it too steep for that?

Personally I wouldn't let it seed. (frankly don't believe that "research" paper about it not seeding. I wish I did, I could have solved our problem years ago on that logic) If it were mine I think I would cut it just before it sets seed if you can and then sweep the field and remove cut weeds and burn them. Then I would roughly subdivide the land and clear it of plants one section at a time. It would be brutal but I can't think at this stage of the year what else you could do. Then next spring spray it with selective weedkiller to kill off anything that's left and then spot spray throughout the year to kill any stragglers.

I really don't envy you this problem at all. Good luck with it all.

ETA you could do worse than ask a local farmer/paddock management company for some advice and it might be better to pay someone in the short term to get topsides of it. Further speak to Natural England about getting your neighbour to get his land sorted. I think there are still rules and regs in place to stop folk from allowing the ruddy stuff to infest anyone else's land.

My heart goes out to you it really does.

 

[Polos Mum]

Having dug for 5 + years only to see clusters of new plants come back where I;ve dug the year before I am now convinced spraying is the only way forward. If you can get a tractor on to spray I'd do that - not ideal timing as the bigger the plants the harder to kill but compared to digging that size of field !!

Ragwort seed lasts 25 years in the ground so if you let it go to see you'll be generating your own problem for the next 25 years!

We rented a small field to make hay - it looked like a rape field there was so much rag in it. We sprayed it with something that killed everything - including the grass (I'll check with OH what it was) then left it for a month for seeds to germinate then another good all killer spray. then ploughed it and re seeded - then left field for a year - three years on there are a few that need spot spraying around the hedgeline but it did the trick. If you can afford for the field to be out of action for a year or more than this might be a long term option

 

[Ellibelli]

I've found the only stuff that gets rid of it is Depitox, and it took us four years of spraying before we had a ragwort free field this year, but I'm sure we will have to spray it again next year.......

 

[YasandCrystal]

We spent nearly £500 having 10 acres sprayed last year. I do think it helped somewhat however it was a pain, because the plants it killed were all between say 6 and 8 inches high asnd they just wilt and die but they remain standing with the possibility of being eaten. I kept our horses off these paddocks and we hand pulled around 6 acres.
This year I have some ragwort, however not in the quantities of last year. I found someone cheaper to spray but missed the spraying window due to the poor weather. It's a hateful thing and we also won't let it seed. The horses have plentiful grass so they won't touch it live. It's a big overhead and headache.
My neighbours who have scant grass just top and collect it win their paddocks with a ride on mower. I am not prepared to waste my grass.

Also with professional spraying you would need o have it sprayed spring and autumn and quite probably for several years to rid yourself of the problem. Ragwort seeds can lie dormant for up to 10 years it is said .

A farmer friend swears by spraying it with diesel which kills the plant and makes it undesirable for the horses - that is my best advice.

 

[Nicnac]

Get somebody in to spray professionally and remove all the dead bits before putting horses back on, ideally not before next year.

I wouldn't personally spray, plough and reseed. I have had this done and as ragwort seeds live, it seems, for ever and a day in the ground, it actually didn't cure the problem as there were so many seeds in the ground they just sprung up again. 18 years on and I never see ragwort as I have dug it up religiously every time I spotted a rosette and burnt them.

 

[Dry Rot]

The only way to kill it at this stage is with Roundup applied with a weed wiper. The plants will be left but dead.

Ideally, ragwort needs to be sprayed at the florette stage in May and September. If as has been advised this is done professionally, you will get an almost 100% kill. I don't think it is that expensive.

Another way to control ragwort is the graze with sheep. Sheep are partially resistant though it will kill them eventually. But sheep have a short life anyway, so it is not a problem for them. Sounds a bit brutal but that's what a lot do. But you do need quite a lot of sheep! (I'd rather have the ragwort!)_.

Frankly, pulling is a waste of time except to stop individual plants seeding.

Not taking action to control ragwort is an offence under the Weeds Act and farmers in receipt of Single Farm Payment can lose money. Report it to DEFRA. There's a site on line somewhere telling you exactly how to do that. The BHS site I think.

 

[windand rain]

I have found that for every one I dig out dozens more grow so this year have been using a combination of barrier H and pulling it where the horses are I dig some every day and will always get more the next day I do it while poo picking but it takes a lot of time

 

[lornaA]

Have you reported the problem to your local authority as that would be my first move as while their land is infested you will never clear your own!

 

[geminijess]

I would STRONGLY recommend spraying your paddocks. The best thing to do is research if anyone local in your area would come and spray your paddock firstly. I managed to get this very cheap as it takes very little time. I then contacted Agrigem who I went through all the weeds I had in my fields and they sent me the correct products and equipment we needed at a very competitive price. The staff were very helpful and there was also a treatment selector that helped me know what i wanted. I would recommend spraying to anyone especially in your situation as it's now saved my back no end and something i would do again in future!!

 

[YasandCrystal]

Love the way companies hop on threads and spout the virtues of their products!! All a little too obvious as 1st time posters

 

[geminijess]

Not at all - I've recently had the same problem and I know many more people are out there with the same issues. I didn't have a clue what I was doing nor what I was after and I wanted to try and help others ... I think it's very valuable to know when someone is trying to be helpful as I think as soon as you mention horses people's price tag shoots up! I'm sure there are many other companies out there that are just as helpful but people don't know about them.

 

[moorse]

SALT!!!! Plain old table salt poured onto the rosettes kills the ragwort dead within a day or two

 

[nagsinrags]

I feel I need to comment about ragwort after last year my field was a right mess this year I haven't hardly any and what I had has been pulled, I was always led by farmer to believe that it holding be picked until its flowered as this slows the growth rate, anyway to cut a long story short I have got rid of mine but the field adjacent to me is absolutely rife with it and they aren't making any attempt to get rid of the situation. Tonight when I went to field someone on the field next to me must have picked their ragwort and was burning it, surely if its harmful to touch it must be harmful to inhale black smoke off it?

 

[Gucc]

I too have a huge ragwort problem this year. I took on my field last year and dug out the few ragwort plants that emerged but after a hard winter I have moved my horses to graze elsewhere whilst the field has a rest. The ragwort has appaeared in abundance this year. The ground is too hard to dig at present and all my grass has burnt due to the hot weather. In desperation i spent Saturday cutting off the top half of the plant to avoid the flower from seeding until I am able to dig them out once the ground softens once we have rain. Does anyone think that this a viable solution as I've 2 fields left to do. I'm gutted as all last years hard work to get the field in a decent condition has been cancelled out due to the ragworts appearance this year and the weather killing off what grass I did have. Horses won't come back until the fied has no ragwort and the grass is looking a little healthier.

 

[YasandCrystal]

I am surprised you can't pull a mature plant Gucc - even in this dry weather. I have clay soil and the plants I have pulled have come up ok. Ragwort is not a heavily rooted plant. I think your idea of cutting the tops to stop seeding is a good one. My neighbouring fields simply top and collect their ragwort with a ride on mower - it makes for easier work I suppose, however does not diminish the yearly problem.

Also have you thought of fertilising the grass? I know people say horse grazing shouldn't be fertilised, but if you have sparse grass it clearly does. Our paddocks were never seeded, but just grassed from fallow ground, so we fertilise both via muck spreading and a low nitrogen fertiliser every year. The fertiliser helps the grass outgrown the weeds like thistles and docks. I would always fertilise now.

 

[Gucc]

No... I have tried to pull them at the weekend but my ground is so dry that I have cracks in the ground and digging the plant out is very difficult and then multiplied by the amount of them is a mammoth task hence trying to reduce the spread for next year. I haven't fertilised yet as I wanted to get the ragwort out as I didn't want to encourage that to grow after fertilising... Not even sure if that is the logical way to look at it or of the fertiliser would even encourage the ragwort. Luckily I have the additional grazing so the horses won't go back there till I have the ragwort out.

I am surprised you can't pull a mature plant Gucc - even in this dry weather. I have clay soil and the plants I have pulled have come up ok. Ragwort is not a heavily rooted plant. I think your idea of cutting the tops to stop seeding is a good one. My neighbouring fields simply top and collect their ragwort with a ride on mower - it makes for easier work I suppose, however does not diminish the yearly problem.

Also have you thought of fertilising the grass? I know people say horse grazing shouldn't be fertilised, but if you have sparse grass it clearly does. Our paddocks were never seeded, but just grassed from fallow ground, so we fertilise both via muck spreading and a low nitrogen fertiliser every year. The fertiliser helps the grass outgrown the weeds like thistles and docks. I would always fertilise now.

 

[t411y]

Hi everyone, thanks for the replies. I did a bit of research into what would be the best spray to use and bought some Roundup 450 which seemed to have quite good reviews. About half the field has been sprayed so far and we're just waiting to see if it kills it (fingers crossed), don't know how long it should be taking but it's been a few days since the first section was sprayed and it's taking its time to die so a bit worried that it's not working :/

I think we've reported the field next to us in the past but I don't think anyone cares to be honest. They know that the second they start clamping down on it being left to grow on private land they will have to clear all the verges and council land themselves.

 

[mon]

Hi everyone, thanks for the replies. I did a bit of research into what would be the best spray to use and bought some Roundup 450 which seemed to have quite good reviews. About half the field has been sprayed so far and we're just waiting to see if it kills it (fingers crossed), don't know how long it should be taking but it's been a few days since the first section was sprayed and it's taking its time to die so a bit worried that it's not working :/

I think we've reported the field next to us in the past but I don't think anyone cares to be honest. They know that the second they start clamping down on it being left to grow on private land they will have to clear all the verges and council land themselves.

Sheep we neighbour infested railway line and never have any as they graze it, but why don't high ways and railways control it it is disgusting.

 

[Dry Rot]

Hi everyone, thanks for the replies. I did a bit of research into what would be the best spray to use and bought some Roundup 450 which seemed to have quite good reviews. About half the field has been sprayed so far and we're just waiting to see if it kills it (fingers crossed), don't know how long it should be taking but it's been a few days since the first section was sprayed and it's taking its time to die so a bit worried that it's not working :/

I think we've reported the field next to us in the past but I don't think anyone cares to be honest. They know that the second they start clamping down on it being left to grow on private land they will have to clear all the verges and council land themselves.

Roundup will take at least ten days to kill EVERYTHING and provide an excellent seed bed for the seeds from your neighbour's infestation to spread to yours. Sorry!

I shall be spraying a field with Roundup soon but it will then be ploughed and re-seeded. The spray will kill all the weeds and all the old non-productive grasses.

 

[cm2581]

Headland polo is excellent but you have to spray twice yearly for several years to really get on top of the problem. Also harrowing the ground around early april when the seedlings are establishing can lessen the problem as ragwort doesn't like ground disturbance at this stage. I would also second fertilising the ground to encourage grass growth and cross grazing with sheep to help establish a good dense sward. No one of these things will work but all together they form a good plan of attack.