ragwort - help!!!

[bheb2186]

What's best to spray on ragwort to get rid of it? I picked them out by hand last year but it seems as if it's doubled this year and is sprouting up in places it wasn't last year. I'm lucky enough to have a big enough field to be able to split in into half.

 

[JennBags]

Even if you get it sprayed, you still have to go round and dig all the dead plants out afterwards!

 

[bheb2186]

That wouldn't bother me, just need to get rid and get it under control. Only took the field on last year so the ragwort has been untouched for a while prior to me I think

 

[Abby-Lou]

Its best to knuckle down and dig it out, it does get easier once you break the back on the issue. My problem is my next door neighbours field is covered in the stuff Grrr

 

[Exploding Chestnuts]

As long as they are small you can use weedkiller, I use verdone on lawns to kill off dandelions and ragwort, but they really need to be done asap.
Headland Polo is the one for grassland, contains MCPA
http://www.headland-ag.co.uk/presstech/232790848-492192442015.pdf

 

[bheb2186]

The field next to mine is similar and covered too some are small, some are getting bigger. What's the time period to keep horses off the ground till its safe to graze again?

 

[Exploding Chestnuts]

The field next to mine is similar and covered too some are small, some are getting bigger. What's the time period to keep horses off the ground till its safe to graze again?

That is the worry, you would go round the field after 5-7 days and remove dead plants and dig out any missed. I would inspect again a week later and if there are none left, leave it another week.

 

[Polos Mum]

If you can leave the field until the dead plants have rotted away that's fine - but it's 4-5 months. I didn't have much success with Headland Polo, Ragwort is only susceptible - so you have to be lucky for it to work.

I used a mix of Agritox and Depitox - that seems to work - you need a proper licenced sprayer - anything you can buy over the counter as a lay person isn't strong enough .

 

[Polos Mum]

If you can leave the field until the dead plants have rotted away that's fine - but it's 4-5 months. I didn't have much success with Headland Polo, Ragwort is only susceptible - so you have to be lucky for it to work.

I used a mix of Agritox and Depitox - that seems to work - you need a proper licenced sprayer - anything you can buy over the counter as a lay person isn't strong enough .

 

[bheb2186]

Thanks everyone, will look into it a bit more and weigh options up. Biggest problem I think is dealing with my field and the neighboring field not being dealt with

 

[Gloi]

If next door will let you into their field going round and chopping the flowers off into a bag before they seed and getting rid of them will save a lot of seed getting onto your land for next year.

 

[Polos Mum]

If you have a neighbour with a problem then you're in for the long haul, Rag seeds live in the ground for 25 YEARS waiting to germinate - so even if your neighbour now started to be responsible it's a long time to undo what's already in the ground !

We used to live next door to a disused railway and although I did go up and chop of all the heads before they went to seed (same with all council verges locally) we also resigned ourselves to spraying twice a year!

 

[sare_bear]

Was just thinking about this myself. I dug them up last year and put some salt down the holes, but where there was one last year there are about 10 now. I was going to spray and then dig them up after about a week, in the hopes that I am less likely to leave some roots behind. Not sure if this will work though?

 

[Polos Mum]

. Not sure if this will work though?

Anything you can do is better than nothing, spraying first should give you the best chance that the root is dead when you dig out the visible bit of the plant - the evil stuff can grow from the tiniest bit of root so spray will always work better than digging unless you can spend 15 mins on each plant and then sow grass in the big hole you'd leave !

 

[flirtygerty]

As I understand it, landowners and councils have a legal responsibility to get rid of ragwort, do what you can but contact your local council

 

[popsdosh]

As I understand it, landowners and councils have a legal responsibility to get rid of ragwort, do what you can but contact your local council

LOL good luck. Why contact the council if the ragwort is on the neighbours field. DEFRA police this act but dont expect any action any time soon. Better grassland management goes a long way to stopping it becoming an issue or as we say in farming dont keep horses As they are the main culprit! I will now duck for cover.

A mix of 2-4D and MCPA does the job AKA Agritox and Depitox or other commercial names There is a new product from Nufarm called Thrust http://www.nufarm.com/UK/Thrust that people have been getting very good results with. Have not used it ourselves yet . I will say the autumn is a better time to use herbicides for Ragwort control. Really after this year it is going to be more difficult to obtain the chemicals as from the autumn only buyers with the relevant training certificates will be able to obtain them and apply them.

 

[L&M]

I had some success with the war against ragwort with a product called Barrier H - great for spot spraying and used to come with its own spray attachment, so ready to use.

I had a field near to a large motorway, which was littered with the stuff, so assume the seeds blew over. The seeds can lay dormant for many years, which is why it comes back despite you killing this seasons 'crop'.

There are laws that could also force your neighbour to deal with their ragwort, imagine the details will be on the Defra or Environ agency websites, but 100% commitment over a period of several years, is the only way to get rid.

 

[Polos Mum]

There are laws that could also force your neighbour to deal with their ragwort, imagine the details will be on the Defra or Environ agency websites, .

This is absolutely true but I've never known anyone get Defra to actually act, councils and other government agencies (MOD etc) are the absolute worst at ragwort control so I'd imagine they can't really get involved in private land issues without being accused of some major hypocrisy!!

OP - if you do get joy with DEFRA do share how you managed to get them to act