Dock control

[onesiedale]

Controling weeds with an holistic approach we should take a note of the weak points of the plant we want to get rid of, and concentrate our efforts at this time to reduce them.

I've tried this with some success on thistles. The mob grazing of heifers and constant moving and resting of grassland has resulted in a positive difference.

However, the docks in the cows milking platform just don't seem to have a weak point. They just seem to go from strength to strength.

How can I stop them without resorting to chemistry?

 

[holwellcourtfarm]

Controling weeds with an holistic approach we should take a note of the weak points of the plant we want to get rid of, and concentrate our efforts at this time to reduce them.

I've tried this with some success on thistles. The mob grazing of heifers and constant moving and resting of grassland has resulted in a positive difference.

However, the docks in the cows milking platform just don't seem to have a weak point. They just seem to go from strength to strength.

How can I stop them without resorting to chemistry?

Have you tried ultra high density grazing the patches of docks? @Kiwi Pete might have more idea as well.

 

[onesiedale]

Have you tried ultra high density grazing the patches of docks? @Kiwi Pete might have more idea as well.

Yes. Doesn't seem to have much effect . . . and the cows hate me for it

 

[Mc115reed]

Is it just me or have docks grown in true force this year aswell??

 

[onesiedale]

Is it just me or have docks grown in true force this year aswell??

They certainly have. Have they come about as a result of last year's over-grazing during the dry weather?

 

[milkloss]

You won’t see a dock on a sheep farm.

 

[Mc115reed]

You won’t see a dock on a sheep farm.

Come too my place I beg too differ [emoji23][emoji23]

 

[milkloss]

Come too my place I beg too differ [emoji23][emoji23]

Might need pushing harder. The local sheep men hardly know what a dock looks like!!

 

[Kiwi Pete]

The far end of a dock's root will never dry out.
But the thickest patch of them here is not in a dry spot at all.

Monotony aids docks, ie land that is always cut for hay in ..... and then grazed with ...... to ..... residuals.
This is basically a recipe; to graze docks out we need to be a little more creative with the tools than that - and don't farm with recipes!
A couple of wet or dry years show that "the recipe approach" bakes the wrong biscuits

 

[Kiwi Pete]

Might need pushing harder. The local sheep men hardly know what a dock looks like!!

You can definitely push sheep a lot harder than dairy cows, as onesiedale says the dairy cows get pretty peevish when you push them.
I just get a "rent a mob" in each year and run them with the cattle, it just means an extra strand on the fences for a few weeks til they respect the boundaries.
They do a whole round, about ten weeks, and then they go away home again.

I get $18/head income and the docks/ragworts are cleaned out, not for everyone but it works for me

 

[Sharpy]

Controling weeds with an holistic approach we should take a note of the weak points of the plant we want to get rid of, and concentrate our efforts at this time to reduce them.

I've tried this with some success on thistles. The mob grazing of heifers and constant moving and resting of grassland has resulted in a positive difference.

However, the docks in the cows milking platform just don't seem to have a weak point. They just seem to go from strength to strength.

How can I stop them without resorting to chemistry?

We have two cutting fields that have always had a fair amount of docks, every time I cut them (never earlier than mid July, often late August ) the mower was covered with wee iridescent beetles. Last year we cut in mid June, and did a second cut, no fert or dung. No docks at all, none again this year. Very few beetles either. I think that the wee beetles were living on the docks, and I removed the food source, forcing them to eat the roots!

 

[tinsheet]

Top them when it's raining,
Pull them we got paid 50p a sack as kids cleared a 7 acre field over 3 days (it was riddled) then burnt the bags, wouldn't be so keen now though .

 

[Boohoo]

20 odd years ago I dug them out during school holidays, now I walk around with Grazon in the knapsack. I know it's chemistry but in my mind it's better than spraying full fields.

 

[holwellcourtfarm]

You can definitely push sheep a lot harder than dairy cows, as onesiedale says the dairy cows get pretty peevish when you push them.
I just get a "rent a mob" in each year and run them with the cattle, it just means an extra strand on the fences for a few weeks til they respect the boundaries.
They do a whole round, about ten weeks, and then they go away home again.

I get $18/head income and the docks/ragworts are cleaned out, not for everyone but it works for me

But, but, but......

Think of all the poor folk making and selling premium dock pesticides that you are stealing a job from

 

[Kiwi Pete]

Have you tried ultra high density grazing the patches of docks? @Kiwi Pete might have more idea as well.

Probably the opposite tack is needed for docks - keep cattle in a place long enough to eat them down, then follow with sheep to properly obliterate them.
Mowing encourages them like nothing else, but sometimes you have to get into them stop them seeding, if they've got out of control

But, but, but......

Think of all the poor folk making and selling premium dock pesticides that you are stealing a job from

Pesticides have their place, not everyone has the freedom that I do.
Not sure if you have those spot wipers over there, basically a capped PVC tube with a rope "wick" at the bottom?
You can just dab them with a sniff of chemical and it sees them off.

 

[Poorbuthappy]

Just to prove they can be encouraged or suppressed by grazing, I took this pic a few weeks ago.

The dividing line is just where the electric fence was. The field has always been bad for docks, but something about how or when the bit on the left was grazed this year has suppressed them. Trouble is, I'm not sure what I did! It's the field that's been managed the worst overall in terms of trying to graze holistically.

 

[Samcowman]

Just to prove they can be encouraged or suppressed by grazing, I took this pic a few weeks ago. View attachment 830094
The dividing line is just where the electric fence was. The field has always been bad for docks, but something about how or when the bit on the left was grazed this year has suppressed them. Trouble is, I'm not sure what I did! It's the field that's been managed the worst overall in terms of trying to graze holistically.

When you work it out make sure you let us know. Did the piece on the left have better animal impact earlier on?

 

[Poorbuthappy]

When you work it out make sure you let us know. Did the piece on the left have better animal impact earlier on?

Both had good rest early, then the left was grazed first, and just sheep, whereas the right I think was left too long before grazing and then had cattle and sheep.
It's a 20 acre field, which I divided into 5 sections, with the intention of rotating the hogs with lambs and store heifers around along with another 8 acre field. But as I say, made a mess of it and grazed some too tight and for too long, and let some get too strong. The latter is where the docks are strongest, the tight grazed piece has docks but not as thick, and the piece on the left in the pic probably grazed about right, first time round anyway.

I've got too many groups and thus too many rotations going on, leaving me short of fencing, and short on time to move fencing.

 

[Barleycorn]

I was talking to The Small Robot Company at Groundswell ( https://www.smallrobotcompany.com/ ), and they are trialling killing docks with electricity, would love to give it a try!

 

[Buggerallbandwidth]

Docks are aggressively competitive if left unchecked. Sheep certainly clear up any ragwort here but not very good on docks. I spot treat with knapsack (Grazon Pro.) And sometimes with a hand held MicroWipe with glyphosate. Just dab the rope on the big rosettes and it does a reasonable job.