Dealing with Stinging Nettles

[awkward]

Why not just bale it up. My stock aren't bothered when it's in their silage.

 

[Y Fan Wen]

I use a rotowiper to keep them under control.

 

[Roy_H]

Well I have just purchased a salt block and will chip it up and spread it over a patch that the sheep are in and are going into tomorrow. Will see if they eat the one's in their section and what happens to the others where the sheep were.

I think using a bag of dendritic would have been simpler. Those who say too much salt will poison the land, yes of course but you only need a sprinkling on a bed of nettles to do the job. Anyway, didn't sugar beet growers once use the stuff as a fertilizer?

 

[New Puritan]

@SouthWestConvert - please can you explain this a bit more? It sounds interesting:

I was thinking of a bacterially dominant compost tea spray as nettles would be more fungal dominant than grass but not sure if it would be effective

I would have thought some combination of cutting them back and then grazing the re-growth hard would work eventually - you have mentioned you are mob grazing anyway.

I don't know a lot about nettles as they haven't been an issue on my farm (though I could trade you some docks if you get stung ), but as per what @Will Blackburn says, if they indicate high phosphate levels then trying to alter the balance a bit might give them less of an edge. What are their other preferences re soil pH or K levels etc., and can these be changed to make your fields less accomodating to them?

 

[Paul E]

Salt is a more toxic chemical than glyphosate!

2 oz of salt is sufficient to kill a small child.

Best get plenty in 'coz Jeremy Kyle show is on.!

 

[Flat 10]

I think using a bag of dendritic would have been simpler. Those who say too much salt will poison the land, yes of course but you only need a sprinkling on a bed of nettles to do the job. Anyway, didn't sugar beet growers once use the stuff as a fertilizer?

Still do. But beet comes from the beach and you can hurt most other plants with it........

 

[Banana Bar]

How harmful are chemical sprays, which ones do you refer to, where have you sourced this information?

 

[mikep]

I just spray the buggers as sheep won't eat them until they have finished the fence posts off first except for the one day in Sept/Oct when overnight they eat the lot.
However you could cut them for fodder as they are very high mineral content. Can't tell you a vast amount more but saw some Demeter types doing it years ago.

 

[Scruffywelder]

Finger bar mower or a scythe and sheep.

If the base of the stalk is cut cleanly then the sheep can pick it up from the cut end and eat up the way quite happily*.



* or at least the Manx Loughtans my mum kept when I was a kid would. Admittedly those damned things thrive on anything but decent grassland!