Ragworth

Ashill5

I have a 3acre which was reseeded 3 yrs ago. There was a small few Ragworth last year.
Got it grazed down with sheep over the winter till early March.
Great cover of clover, but this year there has been huge increase in Ragworth.
Don't want to spray as want to hold onto the clover.
Any suggestions!

whelan1

pull them

kevthegaff

Ya I've got them bad too, it'll take two runs with the topper 6 weeks apart to get rid of the majority of them

johngalway

Weed wiper might be another option.

tfox

Pull them

It's the only way, you'll get rid of 90% the first year, most the next year, then its just a matter of pulling the few every year !!

Farmer Pudsey

Pull if not too many use a car trailer behind the tractor as it is nice and low, use gloves. Repeat any that regrow they are a bieniel. This means that if they seed this year it will be the year after next that they grow.

Have you a ragwort plantation next to you

Seaba

Ashill5 wrote: »

I have a 3acre which was reseeded 3 yrs ago. There was a small few Ragworth last year.
Got it grazed down with sheep over the winter till early March.
Great cover of clover, but this year there has been huge increase in Ragworth.
Don't want to spray as want to hold onto the clover.
Any suggestions!

Not sure if we got lucky or not but about 15 yrs ago we had a field absolutely covered in ragworth. We had cattle grazing it early spring.
We had about 10 sheep and 15 lambs who had little grass in the next field so we let them into the ragworth field. Because the cattle had eaten most of the grass all that was left was the young ragworth coming up that year. They ate the young green ragworth leaves/stems nearly into the ground and I swear there was not 20 ragworth in the field the next year!

Again not sure if this was luck or not but getting sheep to graze a bare field when the ragworth is just coming up worked for us.

Ashill5

Thanks for your replies.
I think that i will top them and get the neighbour to graze it with a few sheep in a couple of weeks when they are starting to regrow.;)

whelan1

just be very careful ragworth are palatable when dying/dead and are highly posionous , you dont want the cattle to eat them at this stage

bbam

whelan1 wrote: »

just be very careful ragworth are palatable when dying/dead and are highly posionous , you dont want the cattle to eat them at this stage

Poisonous for three weeks, isn't that the story?
Also I saw a point earlier about topping six weeks Appart would kill them, is this the case?

I'll probably try weed licking some later in the year, only have one two and a half acre field with any and it's fairly bad.

Username John

Seaba wrote: »

Not sure if we got lucky or not but about 15 yrs ago we had a field absolutely covered in ragworth. We had cattle grazing it early spring.
We had about 10 sheep and 15 lambs who had little grass in the next field so we let them into the ragworth field. Because the cattle had eaten most of the grass all that was left was the young ragworth coming up that year. They ate the young green ragworth leaves/stems nearly into the ground and I swear there was not 20 ragworth in the field the next year!

Again not sure if this was luck or not but getting sheep to graze a bare field when the ragworth is just coming up worked for us.

Ashill5 wrote: »

Thanks for your replies.
I think that i will top them and get the neighbour to graze it with a few sheep in a couple of weeks when they are starting to regrow.;)

We have sheep so we have zero ragworth

But I was always told that it was when sheep ate the 'heart' of the ragworth in the springtime, that was what killed them (the ragworth that is, not the sheep) . Which goes along with what Seaba says above.

Getting the sheep now might not fix the issue I'd say...

PatQfarmer

Username John wrote: »

We have sheep so we have zero ragworth

But I was always told that it was when sheep ate the 'heart' of the ragworth in the springtime, that was what killed them. Which goes along with what Seaba says above.

Getting the sheep now might not fix the issue I'd say...

+1. I was always told the same, eat the "heart" of it in springtime. Seen it work when neighbours sheep allowed in to clean off some fields when we were lightly stocked a few years back.
Sheep clean it off well.
I wouldn't top it and graze cattle on it, they'll eat all the dead stuff. Not too bad for youngstock that will be gone pre-24 mths, but for cows etc, you'll poison them. It builds in their system and never flushes out.
Sorry, but pulling (with gloves) is and always will be the best option.

bogman_bass

in my experience cattle rarely go for the cut ragwort proving there is plenty of grass to eat. Dont attemt g"golfball" grazing with it though. its different if its in silage or even worse, sprayed.

whelan1

for the last 2 years i pick 10 ragworth every time i go for the cows:) really makes a difference , noticing it this year , also when i go herding i pick 10 also:oi throw them in the skip

cj maxx

''I wouldn't top it and graze cattle on it, they'll eat all the dead stuff. Not too bad for youngstock that will be gone pre-24 mths, but for cows etc, you'll poison them. It builds in their system and never flushes out''

i topped a few fields that had various weeds, including ragworth recently. they're grazed by a few calves and a few 15mth bullocks.
will the dead ragworth do them any harm. kinda had it in my head that it wasnt poisionous until it'd flowered

Good loser

It's ragwort lad(ie)s. No aitch.

Dont be daft

Yeah, I'd pull them. Cant be that many in 3 acres.

We had a 2 acre field infested with them a few years ago. Nobody seemed to be bothered about it accept me. Went out one Saturday and gave about 8hrs pulling them. Sounds like madness but I couldnt stay lookin at them. Few popped up in the same field for the last few years, maybe 10. No bother keeping them under control after that.

Wear gloves or you'll tear your hands to bits. Wait for the ground to soften up a bit often helps

whelan1

cjmc wrote: »

''I wouldn't top it and graze cattle on it, they'll eat all the dead stuff. Not too bad for youngstock that will be gone pre-24 mths, but for cows etc, you'll poison them. It builds in their system and never flushes out''

i topped a few fields that had various weeds, including ragworth recently. they're grazed by a few calves and a few 15mth bullocks.
will the dead ragworth do them any harm. kinda had it in my head that it wasnt poisionous until it'd flowered

ragworth is very palatable when dying whether in flower or not.... always poisonous