Spear thistles in new ley

Chev54

Member
I’ve a new clover/grass ley that was planted last spring, is a good ley but is now absolutely covered in spear/boar thistles. Anything I can spray with that won’t harm the clover or plantain ? Or is it going to be a weed wiper job, it’s a 30 acre patch so if I could get away with spraying it I’d prefer that. Any suggestions ?
 

hubbahubba

Member
Location
Sunny Glasgow
Had the exact same in 18 acre grass and plantain planted last summer. 15x 16 litre knapsacks later i feel like im winning. Looked at all alternatives. Been using blaster pro but the blue die is a must.

Nearly got a friends weed wiper untill he couldnt get it to work. Also thinking im spraying more smaller thistles as the weed wiper would get. Quad sprayer is too stop/start and slow in thick areas.
 

neilo

Member
Mixed Farmer
Location
Montgomeryshire
Had the exact same in 18 acre grass and plantain planted last summer. 15x 16 litre knapsacks later i feel like im winning. Looked at all alternatives. Been using blaster pro but the blue die is a must.

Nearly got a friends weed wiper untill he couldnt get it to work. Also thinking im spraying more smaller thistles as the weed wiper would get. Quad sprayer is too stop/start and slow in thick areas.

I admire your persistence.👍

I’ve just let ewes and lambs into one of my similar patches yesterday, planning to chase them out with a topper after 3 days. Likely spot spray, or spud up, any survivors.
 

Derrick Hughes

Member
Location
Ceredigion
Same but docks as well , do I get rid of weeds or keep the Clover and Herbs , it's a mess

Also Ollie advised me on Docks and Charlock/;Yellow Weed in new ley no Clover think it was Hurler MCPA if you could just refresh my memory please with the rate , few spuds as well to take out in same
 
Somebody really needs to come with a clover friendly weed spray like the old legumex

Old Spruce was ok but rather expensive. The return of MCPB and the like would be very useful though I am not sure how effective it ever was on spear thistles. I wonder if a pass with MCPA might be as good as it gets. Will sting the clover hard but I've seen it recover from this.
 
It's surprising how many you can do by hand in half an hour. I don't bother with the dye. Coming back the next day and filling in the gaps is quite rewarding.

The cheapest mcpa will do them

If you are going to do them with a knapsack I would use grazon as it is far more potent than MCPA though I admit it is more expensive. But if you're spending the time to do them by hand I'd make it stick. (y)
 

DrDunc

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
Dunsyre
Weed wiper set up correctly can be astonishingly effective

Weed wiper set too high, or kept too dry, can be astonishingly soul destroying the next day after 30 acres when the only thing that's wilting is the quad bike driver(!)

Use a wiper on every reseed here. Usually cut the first year, wipe then top the second, and congratulate myself on such a lovely weed free and clover rich sward the third

Anyone know where to buy replacement carpet for the roller????
 

Qman

Member
Mixed Farmer
Location
Near Derby
I've had the same trouble on a re-seeded 20 acre field. I sprayed the old grass with Thistlex, then Roundup, then disced it and drilled the grass seed. Thousands of boar thistles grew and not wanting to lose the clover, I've topped it twice. I too would like a spray that leaves the clover as I'm trying to use less fert.

I wonder where all these thistles come from, my previous grass didn't have any and this field has not been ploughed since the Crimean War (the 1853-1856 one) . Where did you buy the grass seed from? I'm suspicious that the thistles may come in the seed. (I bought my seed from a company beginning in A)
 

DrDunc

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
Dunsyre
I've had the same trouble on a re-seeded 20 acre field. I sprayed the old grass with Thistlex, then Roundup, then disced it and drilled the grass seed. Thousands of boar thistles grew and not wanting to lose the clover, I've topped it twice. I too would like a spray that leaves the clover as I'm trying to use less fert.

I wonder where all these thistles come from, my previous grass didn't have any and this field has not been ploughed since the Crimean War (the 1853-1856 one) . Where did you buy the grass seed from? I'm suspicious that the thistles may come in the seed. (I bought my seed from a company beginning in A)
Seed reps who also sell chemical sprays are to blame

They maximise their profits by adding thistle seeds to your order

It's true, I tell you(!)
 
Seed reps who also sell chemical sprays are to blame

They maximise their profits by adding thistle seeds to your order

It's true, I tell you(!)

The grass seed I used to get weighed out and bagged I would say was cleaner than any cereal seed I have ever seen dressed, I can tell you that.

The farms growing grass seed would have amongst the cleanest crops you will find anywhere. They have lengthy and peculiar rotations because the need for varietal and species purity is so high.
 

hubbahubba

Member
Location
Sunny Glasgow
I admire your persistence.👍

I’ve just let ewes and lambs into one of my similar patches yesterday, planning to chase them out with a topper after 3 days. Likely spot spray, or spud up, any survivors.
20220522_113547.jpg

My plan is to graze hard again and top in 3 weeks. After chemical is fully worked and before any i have missed have flowered.

Blaster pro i think is same as grazon? Would thistlex kill them faster? Some do seem to take there time to fully curl up.
 

ladycrofter

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
Highland
Spear thistle seed is partly light-activated so they can be hundreds underground, as soon as it's disturbed - 🌱🌱🌱😠
Found out the hard way decades ago. I used to pull them up, then in the autumn they would be a fairy ring of wee ones around the hole.
I expect when putting in your new ley, the seeds must be coming to the surface. A bugger.
 

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