Bracken

[suffolksmallholder]

Bracken has value in the gardening world. If Asulox is now unavailable parhaps encouraging a crop to harvest and bag to sell on is a way forward?

Composted New Forest Bracken

SS

 

[PhilipB]

Bracken has value in the gardening world. If Asulox is now unavailable parhaps encouraging a crop to harvest and bag to sell on is a way forward?

Composted New Forest Bracken

SS

An ecologically minded walker who saw me white suited and knapsacked yesterday made a similar point.

The problem is that most of my, and the UKs, bracken grows in places that aren't easy to mechanically harvest.

 

[ollie989898]

I will never understand this perennial to and fro over asulox. It's either safe to use or not. Why they fudge about reauthorising it every year I will never know. I think the truth is that these organisations are either infested with or listen too heavily to clipboard wielding enviro-freaks who in all honesty don't want anything, sprayed anywhere, ever.

 

[Hilly]

I will never understand this perennial to and fro over asulox. It's either safe to use or not. Why they fudge about reauthorising it every year I will never know. I think the truth is that these organisations are either infested with or listen too heavily to clipboard wielding enviro-freaks who in all honesty don't want anything, sprayed anywhere, ever.

It’s a bloody joke , it’s not the end of the world tho glypho dose the same .

 

[ollie989898]

It’s a bloody joke , it’s not the end of the world tho glypho dose the same .

Yes but it's non-selective and in my view that is less desirable in a place where bracken is the species you are trying to control.

 

[Hilly]

Yes but it's non-selective and in my view that is less desirable in a place where bracken is the species you are trying to control.

Doesn’t matter the grass is not long in coming back .

 

[Oat]

If you were to spray it with Asulox (by helicopter of course), it would be best to wait a little longer until all fronds were unfurled and they had just started to bronze over. At this point the flow of nutrients is back down to the roots, so Asulox will be translocated the greatest and should give really good kill and little or no regrowth next year.

 

[JohnGalway]

We had storm force winds from the South West a few days ago, it blew salt everywhere. One of the effects was to damage the bracken. As well as that I'm also sorta half assed (infrastructure issues) paddock grazing sheep. Ye can see the result from one grazing/trampling plus the salt spray. I'm interested to see how or if the bracken recovers. I hope to do one or two more grazings this year, but differently as I'll be able to strip graze the 0.6ha paddock next time, therefore increasing the animal density & impact. I had 163 ewes & hoggets and 120 odd lambs in there.

View attachment 881841

I am tempted to spray the remaining bracken with seawater. Not sure it'll have the same effect as wind blown salt spray. Has anyone heard of such a thing? The idea being to weaken/knock back the bracken rather than kill it off like a chem would.

 

[glasshouse]

I am tempted to spray the remaining bracken with seawater. Not sure it'll have the same effect as wind blown salt spray. Has anyone heard of such a thing? The idea being to weaken/knock back the bracken rather than kill it off like a chem would.

Waste of time.
Use Roundup

 

[Macsky]

I think glypho is the way forward, you get very little penetration to ground level on a thick stand, an of it is thick there isn’t much of value underneath it anyway.

I sprayed this last year:

I was reversing up with the tractor and got as far as I could before the 6’ high stuff folded the booms in or I spun out, it’s horribly slimey under old stands of the stuff.

this is another bit that’s been under bracken and gorse for decades, glypho last year and ripped the gorse out with a digger, the soil looks great but again really slippy, I took off skiing down the slope on a couple of occasions whilst rotavating.

I’ve read that it is quite alleopathic, realeasing chemicals that hinder other plants. I wonder how long these take to break down? Do t want to be chucking expensive seed too early on if it’s doomed to fail!

 

[Y Fan Wen]

If you were to spray it with Asulox (by helicopter of course), it would be best to wait a little longer until all fronds were unfurled and they had just started to bronze over. At this point the flow of nutrients is back down to the roots, so Asulox will be translocated the greatest and should give really good kill and little or no regrowth next year.

Last few years it hasn't been legal to use before 1st July or after 14th September. The first pic was sprayed end of August. I was doubtful about senescence having gone too far but I had to finish the container anyway and it seems to have worked quite well.

 

[Y Fan Wen]

I think glypho is the way forward, you get very little penetration to ground level on a thick stand, an of it is thick there isn’t much of value underneath it anyway.

If I can run over it with wheeled vehicle then I would wipe it.

 

[JohnGalway]

Waste of time.
Use Roundup

No interest in using roundup or asulox

 

[Macsky]

No interest in using roundup or asulox

Then just keep hammering it one way or another, it doesn’t like being disturbed. Mob stocking or harrowing or rolling or cutting, it’s not that difficult to get rid of, it’s just the ground that it normally thrives in is the more difficult to access!

 

[glasshouse]

I think glypho is the way forward, you get very little penetration to ground level on a thick stand, an of it is thick there isn’t much of value underneath it anyway.

I sprayed this last year:
View attachment 885141
I was reversing up with the tractor and got as far as I could before the 6’ high stuff folded the booms in or I spun out, it’s horribly slimey under old stands of the stuff.

View attachment 885146
this is another bit that’s been under bracken and gorse for decades, glypho last year and ripped the gorse out with a digger, the soil looks great but again really slippy, I took off skiing down the slope on a couple of occasions whilst rotavating.

I’ve read that it is quite alleopathic, realeasing chemicals that hinder other plants. I wonder how long these take to break down? Do t want to be chucking expensive seed too early on if it’s doomed to fail!

Well done, i hate bracken

 

[glasshouse]

No interest in using roundup or asulox

Why?

 

[JohnGalway]

Then just keep hammering it one way or another, it doesn’t like being disturbed. Mob stocking or harrowing or rolling or cutting, it’s not that difficult to get rid of, it’s just the ground that it normally thrives in is the more difficult to access!

I believe I can solve the terrain issue, which you're spot on about, by enlisting animal density to trample bracken first at it's emergence then at any stage that fits my grazing plan. The salt spray from the storm was interesting in how it really burned the leaves off the stems, and fast! That could help me as I only have sheep, had I cattle too I wouldn't bother maybe. I figure, perhaps in error who knows, that repeated disturbance as you put it by trampling and robbing the bracken of it's solar panels has to eventually knacker the plant above and below ground. Not sure it reads this way, but I'm coming at this from the point of view of what conditions can I create in this space for something else to grow there? Rather than how do I kill the bracken. Damaging the bracken canopy will also help other plants as they won't be shaded as normal.

Why?

Because I have seen little benefit from chems on this farm in the decades they've been used, only mounting costs & problems. The direction I will be bringing the land and the stock calls for phasing out chems anyway, so it's win/win for my pocketbook, my health, and that of my land.

 

[Hilly]

I believe I can solve the terrain issue, which you're spot on about, by enlisting animal density to trample bracken first at it's emergence then at any stage that fits my grazing plan. The salt spray from the storm was interesting in how it really burned the leaves off the stems, and fast! That could help me as I only have sheep, had I cattle too I wouldn't bother maybe. I figure, perhaps in error who knows, that repeated disturbance as you put it by trampling and robbing the bracken of it's solar panels has to eventually knacker the plant above and below ground. Not sure it reads this way, but I'm coming at this from the point of view of what conditions can I create in this space for something else to grow there? Rather than how do I kill the bracken. Damaging the bracken canopy will also help other plants as they won't be shaded as normal.



Because I have seen little benefit from chems on this farm in the decades they've been used, only mounting costs & problems. The direction I will be bringing the land and the stock calls for phasing out chems anyway, so it's win/win for my pocketbook, my health, and that of my land.

Glypho is salty funnily enough

 

[JohnGalway]

Glypho is salty funnily enough

It is, I know which I'd rather on my chips though.

 

[Hilly]

It is, I know which I'd rather on my chips though.

You have more to fear from pissing about in an around bracken than you have glypho , get it burnt off with glypho and be done with the bracken once n for all