When can I trust my grazing?! Sycamores

[Redders]

Hello. Last year I had a cluster of sycamores removed from the field, annoyingly after lots of seeds had dropped. I spent a few days using a leaf sucker to get as many seeds as possible. For the last few weeks I have gone through the paddock, and pulling up what I see, and twice, the last time being 3 weeks ago, did a big inch by inch pull session. But there were nowhere near as many as were there last year (was like a carpet, I ended up topping, baling and discarding the bales to get them gone).
This year I keep expecting the carpet to return, but it hasn’t. I’m routinely walking through and checking, and I have found a few strays I missed before (had secondary leaves so weren’t new sprouts) and two new sprouts. There was one patch last year that was insane, could not move for sycamores, so I keep checking there.
I would love to move them off winter grazing and in to these paddocks in the next couple of weeks but I’m paranoid the carpet will return.

When can I trust that they have all sprouted? I expect to be checking there regularly anyway for strays and dormant seeds but it’s a sudden explosion of them coming up I am worried about.

Thanks

 

[HappyHollyDays]

I have 7 sycamore trees around my track. By this time last year it was a complete nightmare and like you I ended up topping and bagging them up and even after I’d done that I worried all the time. I walked the paddock yesterday and found 2 sprouting seedlings. I still have all my trees so maybe the conditions for germination haven’t been as conducive this year as it was last or they were so prolific last year they have exhausted themselves and there won’t be the same explosion of seedlings. I plan on moving my two over at the end of the month but will keep checking and I plan to top and bag again regardless whether I can see any seedlings or not. It’s not easy is it.

 

[Boughtabay]

I took mine out of the field 2 weeks ago due to mud & gelding my baby cob. Went to inspect to put them back out again and found a sea of baby saplings in every hoof hole/bare patch of mud without grass we don’t even have any trees by that field (but plenty everywhere else on the farm!!). I’ve turned some sheep in there for the last few days and they’ve hoovered the majority up. I can’t spot any saplings unless I really go looking now. So if you can find someone to borrow a few woolly hoovers off I’d recommend!!

 

[Redders]

I’m really hoping that I won’t get an explosion but I’m so worried I might. Maybe I should leave it another two weeks and do my daily monitoring. The annoying thing is, I have my ride on mower that I can use, but not if the grass gets really long, if it gets really long I’ll pay to too and bale but that means waiting until the grass is much longer. We were going to too and bale anyway but I’m trying to avoid it as it means waiting over a month minimum to be able to have the grass growth and weather, if it’s too wet the heavy grass will lean over and protect the bloody seedlings. I’m glad I had the trees felled, I’ve replaced with native species. BaB if you had an explosion in the last two weeks, and I haven’t, maybe I am safe. Ugh it’s such a nightmare!

 

[Jambarissa]

I think there are few times of year it's safe, you've got leaves then seeds then saplings, it's pretty continuous.

You could have it tested instead, hopefully it's safe then you can just do the occasional session to stop them establishing.

 

[HappyHollyDays]

Testing is very hit and miss. You can test several seeds, seedling and leaves from the same tree and get completely different results each time so I work in the assumption they are all poisonous.

 

[Pearlsacarolsinger]

If you've had the trees felled and picked up last year's seedlings, it is unlikely that there will be anymore. Unless I've misunderstood the timelines.
We've had 3 felled this year and we've only found a very few seedlings from last autumn's seeds although there were loads the year before, which the sheep dealt with for us.

 

[Redders]

If you've had the trees felled and picked up last year's seedlings, it is unlikely that there will be anymore. Unless I've misunderstood the timelines.
We've had 3 felled this year and we've only found a very few seedlings from last autumn's seeds although there were loads the year before, which the sheep dealt with for us.

Ah interesting. I had them felled in the early autumn I think, early in the year I tried just getting overhanging branches lopped off but I could see it wasn’t working so the tree surgeon came back to fell them, annoyingly after some really heavy winds and I could see the seeds falling as I stood there wailing I did two rounds of hoovering in the hopes I would get most of them. Maybe conditions aren’t as good as last year for the explosion, maybe the winds blew the seeds off before they were ready and they won’t germinate?! I live in hope. I’ll give it a couple weeks of monitoring and have a really inch by inch search before I release the paddock.
I didn’t see the point in testing as it’s so variable seed by seed, tree by tree, year by year and I didn’t want the worry

 

[Muddy unicorn]

This time last year our top field was carpeted with thousands of sycamore seedlings - this year so far I’ve picked maybe 20 or so .. last summer was wet and miserable for the most part whereas the summer before was a drought so it’s not surprising the trees have reacted differently

 

[HannahB]

How strange, we've got one big sycamore and never had any saplings before but found thousands the other day all sprouted up But I used to have sheep so maybe that's why I never saw any before. Saplings were in my winter field, horses luckily dont like it and have been moved. I pulled loads then harrowed (for moss) and seems to have been working for saplings too

 

[Marigold4]

A question about sycamore seedlings and where they grow. There is one sycamore tree bordering my field. I have fenced off the area around the tree but the seeds land in other parts of my field on windy days. I spend hours picking them up. I have my field divided into 4 paddocks. In the paddocks where the grass is short and eaten down, the saplings grow well. They are easy to find, I check daily and I have picked them all out now. In the other two paddocks with longer grass, I hardly find any saplings. Is this because they are harder to find or because the seeds can't get near enough to the soil to root themselves and turn into saplings? I have now topped the longer areas and will rake up and bag the topped grass, then hope to put the horses safely on it?

 

[Errin Paddywack]

From my experience of picking up the helicopters I find they have mostly shed the actual tiny seeds so even religious picking up won't prevent saplings. We have a few sprouting now, first we have seen this year.

 

[follysienna]

A question about sycamore seedlings and where they grow. There is one sycamore tree bordering my field. I have fenced off the area around the tree but the seeds land in other parts of my field on windy days. I spend hours picking them up. I have my field divided into 4 paddocks. In the paddocks where the grass is short and eaten down, the saplings grow well. They are easy to find, I check daily and I have picked them all out now. In the other two paddocks with longer grass, I hardly find any saplings. Is this because they are harder to find or because the seeds can't get near enough to the soil to root themselves and turn into saplings? I have now topped the longer areas and will rake up and bag the topped grass, then hope to put the horses safely on it?

The grass outcompetes them and blocks sunlight so they struggle to germinate and grow in longer grass. They seem to love muddy areas too! It probably also depends on the direction the seeds were blown in over the Autumn. The majority of the seedlings in my field this year are the opposite side to last year.

 

[Fransurrey]

I've never had them before and have probably picked up over 500 by now, this year. We have no sycamores bordering the fields, so god knows where they've appeared from. Must be the woods at the bottom of my field. I have no choice about field as I'm at livery and my field is my field. I'm now only picking up the odd one and have left the winter section open to encourage them away from the summer (restricted) area. I can't section bits off, as they were all over the hill, not just one area. I'm just hoping that it's a one-off due to all the storms, as opposed to a freshly matured sycamore nearby!

 

[MNMyShiningStars]

We have just had one of our summer fields sprout up a carpet full in the last 2 weeks! Spending what little spare time I have picking them by hand. Will have to use this summer field last this year as I think that's how long its going to take me to clear it :-(

 

[Marigold4]

From my experience of picking up the helicopters I find they have mostly shed the actual tiny seeds so even religious picking up won't prevent saplings. We have a few sprouting now, first we have seen this year.

I have found if I go out and pick them up in the autumn every day the wind blows (yes, I know), then I get them as soon as they land and the seeds are still inside. It's a really annoying job and gives me neckache but I just have to get on and do it. So far, so good - in the 6 years we have had this field, none of the horses have been ill with it. We have two foals now so I have to be extra careful.

 

[Marigold4]

The grass outcompetes them and blocks sunlight so they struggle to germinate and grow in longer grass. They seem to love muddy areas too! It probably also depends on the direction the seeds were blown in over the Autumn. The majority of the seedlings in my field this year are the opposite side to last year.

Thanks for that reply. That's good to know. I can't see any in the longer grass so fingers crossed they just haven't germinated and I can use that bit of the field.

 

[hollyandivy123]

i would never normally suggest to use

Problem Guide - Sycamore

www.agrigem.co.uk

but if you have removed the trees, maybe use Grazon, to remove non grass and then reseed with biodiverse grass species and meadow plants an area around the stumps, keep this fenced off to establish and then you should have not problems next year?

 

[rextherobber]

i would never normally suggest to use

Problem Guide - Sycamore

www.agrigem.co.uk

but if you have removed the trees, maybe use Grazon, to remove non grass and then reseed with biodiverse grass species and meadow plants an area around the stumps, keep this fenced off to establish and then you should have not problems next year?

I read something ( I think RVC?) that said you need to remove the dead seedlings if you spray, so you may as well pull by hand?

 

[Redders]

I read something ( I think RVC?) that said you need to remove the dead seedlings if you spray, so you may as well pull by hand?

Yes this is partly why I won’t bother spraying, still need to remove after as they remain toxic for 8 months in forage. It seems the only way is hand pull or cut and bale and discard/bag and discard!

 

[santas_spotty_pony]

There is definitely nowhere near as many this year as there was last year here. I try to collect them as often as I can, but they are in my summer field and one of my resting winter fields so not too important at the moment. We will mow the area where they are and collect up the clippings before the horses are turned out there again anyway. If I had to use to field I would fence off the area where they are just to be safe.

 

[rextherobber]

I've never had them in my fields before, I guess the wind came from an unusual direction when the seeds fell last autumn. We have LOADS. I'm finding them in all the fields, but far fewer in the fields nearer the house, maybe 5 spread across an acre. I've had them tested and they are highly toxic. @spotty_pony 2 How do you manage when the leaf comes down ? Mow them up as well?