Treating buttercups

[bouncing_ball]

Is there anyway to treat / improve soil that has lots of buttercups without taking horses off the field? Ideally looking to do it now?

Is it lime that’s spread to discourage them? Can it be spread now with horses grazing on field?

thanks

 

[HappyHollyDays]

Yes it’s lime but you might have to do it in sections over a few years if you don’t intend to move the horses as it has to be done at a specific time. The other way to help reduce them is to top them when they come into flower.

 

[paddy555]

I tried topping and it made no difference. I have had success and noticeable reduction with lime. I use calciprills every spring. Mine went on about a month ago which is the usual time for me. I spread mine with the horses on the fields and they are not removed although no doubt someone will say this is wrong. I have done this for around the last 8 years with no effect on the horses.
Calciprills are not a cheap way of doing it but easy to use. (little granules) If I had to spread powdered lime the horses would have to come off the fields. Powdered lime would require specialist equipment to spread. Powdered lime is what most farmers use, it is a lot cheaper. For smallholders and "small" horse owners with limited land I think calciprills are easier and better. No reason not to spread them now that I can see. Mine are spread in the first dry spell each year so the rain washes them in and the tractor doesn't damage the field. (you can spread a small quantity by hand if you have no other means)

ETA mine come in 600kg bags which mole valley deliver (for a cost!!) you can also get them in 20or 25 kg bags you could put in the back of a vehicle but I expect they are more expensive.

 

[HappyHollyDays]

Paddy how many acres do you treat and how much does it take? I’ve never heard of it before and having had a quick look it might be just what I need as I have one field which only gets topped rather than treated.

 

[paddy555]

Paddy how many acres do you treat and how much does it take? I’ve never heard of it before and having had a quick look it might be just what I need as I have one field which only gets topped rather than treated.

my fields are small approx 2 acres each and I use one 600kg bag per field so that is around 300kg per acre. I am on acidic soil so the PH is low. I do it once a year, every year, in around end of Mar when we usually have a dry spell. I think you could also do it in the Autumn but may have to take the horses off if they were to churn the mud up (if it was wet)

I have noticed that there is much more liming by farmers round here now on our acidic soils (obviously powdered lime delivered by lorries and spread by large machinery)

 

[HappyHollyDays]

Thanks, 900kg would do it with a bit left over if I got two 600kg bags.

 

[bouncing_ball]

I tried topping and it made no difference. I have had success and noticeable reduction with lime. I use calciprills every spring. Mine went on about a month ago which is the usual time for me. I spread mine with the horses on the fields and they are not removed although no doubt someone will say this is wrong. I have done this for around the last 8 years with no effect on the horses.
Calciprills are not a cheap way of doing it but easy to use. (little granules) If I had to spread powdered lime the horses would have to come off the fields. Powdered lime would require specialist equipment to spread. Powdered lime is what most farmers use, it is a lot cheaper. For smallholders and "small" horse owners with limited land I think calciprills are easier and better. No reason not to spread them now that I can see. Mine are spread in the first dry spell each year so the rain washes them in and the tractor doesn't damage the field. (you can spread a small quantity by hand if you have no other means)

ETA mine come in 600kg bags which mole valley deliver (for a cost!!) you can also get them in 20or 25 kg bags you could put in the back of a vehicle but I expect they are more expensive.

How do you spread it? Thanks

 

[PurBee]

Yes the calcium pellets are really good as paddy says.
I’ve used it on my veg plots on acidic soil, they’re non-dusty so can be spread on grazing field, with animals grazing it.

For complete newbies - there’s different types of ‘lime powder’.
’builders lime’ is highly caustic and will burn severely grazing animals. I once burnt my finger down to the bone with builders lime mixing up cement.

Agricultural lime powder is different to builders lime, but is dusty so wants to be spread while theres no grazing happening and a couple of rain showers to wash it into the soil before grazing commences.

Lime/calcium takes a while to change the soil p.h....its not instant. Months of the p.h very slowly adjusting. Hence why its applied annually.
Check soil p.h with an easy diy kit to first assess if you need lime.
Grass favours PH6.5...this ph number unlocks other minerals in the soil to be uptaken by the plant enabling the grass to be more nutritious.
PH 6-6.8 isnt intolerable for grass growth. PH below 6 and you’d definitely want to lime. PH 6 to bring it to 6.5 a little bit of lime. Dont go too alkaline!
Some ‘lime pellets’ act faster on changing the p.h, than traditional agri-lime powder...but the pellets are MUCH more expensive.
So for this years buttercups - top the field just before flowering to at least stop seed-production and more darn buttercups germinating...while also adding lime, once soil test shows it’s needed.

A corner of one peat field i have is PH4.5! Grass grows there, rushes, some buttercups, willow trees. It’s not used for grazing, is the wettest area, with metres deep peat soil. I leave it wild to assess it, observe the plants/insects etc.

Weeds can also generally take over grazing fields because tight grazing exposes soil, thins out the grass sward (if not managed well with over-grazing nor regular over-seeding of grass seed) so weed seeds from yesteryear see the light of day and germinate or are more easily germinated on patches of bare soil via wind dispersal.
So it helps to keep the grass fields thick with grass. After spring harrowing, scatter grass seed on the barest grass areas, then roll. Do it just before rain forecast to help germination.

Unfortunately ‘fatty’ paddocks where the intent is for sparse grazing, those fields are more at risk to suffer weed infestation, due to bare ground, very short grass.
Nature doesnt seem to allow bare soil...something ‘wild’ always ends up growing there if nothing if planted. Weeds more often than not.

 

[paddy555]

How do you spread it? Thanks

we have a tractor and fertiliser spreader. Doesn't take long to spread just empty the calciprills into the hopper and drive around the field. If you can't spread it that way and it is a reasonable area then your local farmer will have a fertiliser spreader and it won't take long.
I have spread it by hand before on difficult areas and to do that you need something to carry the stuff around in, wheelbarrow would be possible but harder work, back of a vehicle perhaps and a scoop and then just hand broadcast it.
It is a very easy product to handle.

 

[Muddywellies]

I had it done years ago. Took three treatments. Tho it was so long ago I can't remenber how long apart the treatments were. And the horses couldn't graze it for a while after. Was worth it in the long run tho.

 

[CPayne]

Best to check your soil pH before adding lime. Although buttercups are associated with acidic soil, they are also quite happy to grow in alkaline soil. My soil pH in all fields is just above neutral, so slightly alkaline, but one of my fields is full of buttercups. I think it’s where it’s been overgrazed and the ground is compacted so the grass doesn’t grow so quickly.

 

[bouncing_ball]

Best to check your soil pH before adding lime. Although buttercups are associated with acidic soil, they are also quite happy to grow in alkaline soil. My soil pH in all fields is just above neutral, so slightly alkaline, but one of my fields is full of buttercups. I think it’s where it’s been overgrazed and the ground is compacted so the grass doesn’t grow so quickly.

Thanks. Anyone who what is the best way to test soil pH? Lots of test kits on Amazon, but most don’t look very accurate.
It’s chalk soil, so I’d just assumed would be acidic.

 

[rextherobber]

Chalk would be alkaline I think?

 

[sbloom]

Calcified seaweed is what I always read was for treating buttercups. Chalk is alkaline so you're less likely to be acidic, but yes, buttercups do usually indicate an acid, and often waterlogged, soil. The waterlogging is likely what's causing the acidity, so the treatment should improve drainage, IIRC.

 

[Keith_Beef]

Thanks. Anyone who what is the best way to test soil pH? Lots of test kits on Amazon, but most don’t look very accurate.
It’s chalk soil, so I’d just assumed would be acidic.

Advantec Narrow Range pH Test Papers

 

[PurBee]

This soil test kit for PH, NPK levels is great and cheap compared to others on the market.

https://www.ebay.ie/itm/333799430362?hash=item4db7ff18da:g:kSAAAOSwU9xUPpi-


Chalk soils will be too alkaline for good dense grass growth so the spreading of organic matter....rotted manure, will help hugely to help nutritional profile and moisture retention, aswell as spreading sulfur to acidify the soil.

PH is important for good grass growth. A wild swing outside of PH6.5 will create conditions in fields that encourages other plants (weeds) to thrive, due to many nutrients in the soil being ‘locked-up’ and un-useable by grass if the soil PH is too high or too low.

That’s why with any plant you want to grow, soil PH is the first test to do. Correct any imbalance of PH and if there are still issues, move onto deeper mineral analysis. You could have a very rich mineral soil but if the PH is way out of ideal range, the plants wont uptake the nutrients.

 

[horsesense]

The weedkiller 2,4 D kills buttercups very effectively but does not harm the grass.