what needs doing to a field that has ragwort if you want to cut it for hay?

[china]

my mums boss has a 5 acre field sat there doing nothing but it gets a huge amount of ragwort in there during the summer, with the trouble i am having trying to get hold of hay i have asked mum to ask him if i get it sorted and cut if i can keep the cut, He earns a ridicule amount of money so its no loss to him!

 

[ldlp111]

Well you'll either have to dig up any ragwort you see or could try spraying it but will still have to check that there's no ragwort in there before you cut it.

 

[FairyLights]

If its the odd plant then just pull it up and burn it, if theres lots then dont do hay graze it with sheep instead. Remember ragwort is biannual, ie it flowers in the second year, in its forst year it is just green rossette type plant nearer to the ground wirh no flowers,so even if you pick and remove the flowering plant you will most probably stil be mowing the unflowered ragwort with the hay crop. I wouldt risk it.

 

[ldlp111]

Tbh you'll struggle to find a field that ragwort doesn't grow in, in this day and age.

 

[china]

it gets a ridiculous amount of ragwort in it, the women who rented it never did anything so it spread more and more each year, there has never been a year that i havnt seen ragwort in there.

 

[martlin]

In that case, you need to spray it - call a local agri contractor, they will tell you the whens and the whats It won't be cheap, though.

 

[china]

i expect hel pay for it if he knows how much hay is going for ;-)

 

[ofcourseyoucan]

i would suggest the field is sprayed in the spring, and also grazed off by sheep and cattle. and kept reasonably short by grazing for the rest of the year, repeat this in the second year and you might get reasonably safe hay in the third year. you will also have to pull/spray surrounding areas to limit the worst of reseeding. unfortunately there is no quick way to get rid of the ragwort.

 

[Pearlsacarolsinger]

If its the odd plant then just pull it up and burn it, if theres lots then dont do hay graze it with sheep instead. Remember ragwort is biannual, ie it flowers in the second year, in its forst year it is just green rossette type plant nearer to the ground wirh no flowers,so even if you pick and remove the flowering plant you will most probably stil be mowing the unflowered ragwort with the hay crop. I wouldt risk it.

You do realise don't you that ragwort is poisonous to sheep as well? They only eat in because they haven't the wit not to.

OP, you will have to apply weedkiller specifically targetted to kill ragwort.

 

[Cuppatea]

plough it up and sow italian rye grass. you can get silly money for it then!

 

[joeanne]

You do realise don't you that ragwort is poisonous to sheep as well? They only eat in because they haven't the wit not to.

Most sheep end up next to gravy and potatoes before the ragwort ever becomes a problem to them.....

Dig and burn, dig and burn, thats the only safe way to get rid of ragwort.