Organic friendly weedkiller

Mule

Mule

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Need some info on weedkiller. I've recently bought some grazing land. There is a lot of ragworth in one area of the property. I've picked lots of it, but i think I'll have to spray it, as more is growing.

The thing is my new neighbours have a vegetable garden and want to keep things organic. I can use pesticides further away from their house but I don't want to use them beside their vegetable garden. Does anyone know of a weedkiller that works on ragwort but isn't classed as a pesticide?
 
Salt (even better with the addition of vinegar) but it isn't selective, it kills grass as well as weeds. Mix it and use it o the rosettes of leaves
 
JillA said:
Salt (even better with the addition of vinegar) but it isn't selective, it kills grass as well as weeds. Mix it and use it o the rosettes of leaves
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Do you dissolve the salt in a little hot water first so it becomes a saline solution? My patio is covered in weeds even though I weed it by hand and I can't use pesticides because we have the ducks in the garden so this sounds the ideal solution.
 
I would normally recommend using a weed-burner but perhaps atm that isn't such a good idea, the neighbours won't be so pleased if you set their garden on fire!
 
Whatever you choose be prepared to do it a LOT - Ragwort seeds live in the ground for 25 years, so you will be getting new rosettes for a very long time to come if it has been allowed to seed in your fields. Hence it has to be a practical solution to be done year in year out.
Could you selectively spray with a knapsack sprayer to avoid any blowing onto their land or is it run off you are concerned about?

I used to live near a derelict railway line and would cut the heads off all flowering ragwort in sight and burned them to try and limit the seeds landing on my grazing. If you pull it you have to take it home and burn as the flower heads will go to seed even on a dead plant !

I collect it on all the verges around me as the council don't care!
 
You can get a sort of wick thing, like a giant cotton bud, that you use to smear weedkiller on the rosettes, no spraying. No idea what it is called, though.
 
Polos Mum said:
Whatever you choose be prepared to do it a LOT - Ragwort seeds live in the ground for 25 years, so you will be getting new rosettes for a very long time to come if it has been allowed to seed in your fields. Hence it has to be a practical solution to be done year in year out.
Could you selectively spray with a knapsack sprayer to avoid any blowing onto their land or is it run off you are concerned about?

I used to live near a derelict railway line and would cut the heads off all flowering ragwort in sight and burned them to try and limit the seeds landing on my grazing. If you pull it you have to take it home and burn as the flower heads will go to seed even on a dead plant !

I collect it on all the verges around me as the council don't care!
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Yes, it blowing onto their land is what I want to avoid. The knapsack way sounds a lot less time consuming than smearing it on individual weeds.
 
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mule said:
They wouldn't be complaining about pesticides then!
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Indeed!

Seriously, OP, I would ask them to work with you to get rid of the ragwort. After all, if it wasn't for their veges you would just be able to spray as wildly as you liked. Once you have got rid of this year's ragwort crop, it would be useful, if you can, to borrow some sheep. They help the grass to grow closely, so that there isn't room for weeds to grow and, they will eat more weeds than horses do.
 
Pearlsasinger said:
Indeed!

Seriously, OP, I would ask them to work with you to get rid of the ragwort. After all, if it wasn't for their veges you would just be able to spray as wildly as you liked. Once you have got rid of this year's ragwort crop, it would be useful, if you can, to borrow some sheep. They help the grass to grow closely, so that there isn't room for weeds to grow and, they will eat more weeds than horses do.
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Yes I agree we should work together. I don't know if I can get sheep. I can certainly make enquiries.
 
I've used a mixture of white vinegar, salt, and a few glugs of washing up liquid, which works a treat, although it's not selective so be careful what you squirt it onto. The washing up liquid helps it to stick to the leaves of the plants.
 
I've found the soap/vinegar/salt mix burns off the tops of weeds great, but they grow back soon. I'm trying a product for weeds called Burnout containing clove oil right now: overnight, weeds appear to have died but grass appears less affected. TBD how long it lasts and if it really kills weeds or just burns the tops.

For ragwort, if you can put on a pair of gloves and hand pull them (easier after rain) or at the very least chop them at the root (and collect/destroy everything you pull/chop) you will see results, and you'll significantly lower the number of new seeds getting into the soil for next year: since it's a biennial plant after 2 years of this you'll see good results. While seeds can live in the soil for 25 years, the vast majority really don't: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/03015521.1983.10427734

:)
 
Thanks everyone for all the ideas. I've lots to try. One thing I'm fully decided about is that ragwort is a pain in the ****;)
 
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Xanthoria said:
I've found the soap/vinegar/salt mix burns off the tops of weeds great, but they grow back soon. I'm trying a product for weeds called Burnout containing clove oil right now: overnight, weeds appear to have died but grass appears less affected. TBD how long it lasts and if it really kills weeds or just burns the tops.
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Update: the clove oil herbicide burned the tops within a day - and smelled good too! Not much affect on grass either. Bad news tho: all weeds were not totally killed. So - better than salt/vinegar/soap, not as good as chemical weedkillers.
 
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