Spraying and fertilizing

[Crazy_Caz]

Ok, so have had a quote for spraying for docks, buttercups, etc., and then fertilizing 2 days later...... seemed reasonable but since then 2 other people have rung me back in response to my enquiry for spraying and one of them has said that there is no point spraying now as its too late and the same with the fertilizing...

So my question is - is it really too late to do it now? I have literally not much grass but mostly buttercups, thistles, docks and stinging nettles.... the paddocks that have been rested are showing virtually zero grass regrowth despite being harrowed and rolled recently... I am having to give my horses hay and feed to supplement them.... its over 4 acres and with 4 horses and is rotated....

Any help and advice would be appreciated as I would hate to just throw this money away!...

 

[pennyh]

the ideal time has passed but given that your paddocks are so bad i would certainly go ahead with spraying , if they are as bad as you say i would treat this as a try to get it in check measure with the expectation of having it done again next spring

 

[Crazy_Caz]

just spoken to a very nice chap who has recommending topping the field and getting it sprayed in a couple of weeks when the weeds get their regrowth (kind of like creating a new spring)

sounds like a good idea to me...

 

[Tia]

When was the field last seeded? And do you know what ley the seed was? As you are seeing no new grass then I suspect the grass is all dead and you will need to reseed.

We don't ever top after spraying, however we use a broad leaf weedkiller which takes time to poison the plant right down to the roots. If you cut the weed when it isn't fully dead then you are impeding the weedkiller from doing it's job.

The other option is to top, reseed and then continue topping during the summer. Be careful to not cut it too short otherwise your young grass shoots could be burned by the sun and then you will have wasted your money.

You are really doing this at the wrong time of year so it will be a bit hit or miss as to whether it works or not, but best of luck. When I lived in England, I generally reseeded in the Autumn and fertilized in the Spring, a few weeks after spraying. Over here in North America, we do it the other way around.

 

[Crazy_Caz]

Hiya

Only owned field for 2 years and before that it was left to go wild and cut for hay every other year.... the first year we used it for hay then put horses on it... rested half over winter (horses in at night out during day) on other half.... took a long time for rested bit to start growing.... put them on it for about 2-3 weeks and rested it again... had it all harrowed and rolled and now nothing but buttercups, thistles (alot) and dock, stinging nettles....... there is grass but it doesnt seem to be growing much for this time of year.....

had a quote of £456 to spray for weeds and then 2 days later fertilize it... its a lot of money to waste and I do know its wrong time of year now but in March/april it was so wet..... so may just get it all topped.... get it sprayed for weeds after 2 weeks (guy on quad bike quoted me £45 an acre) and then perhaps seed it?

This field needs some money spent on it.... just want to make sure I do it right....