New pasture/new farm -- toxic plants/field care

[Sunny Citizen]

I've just purchased a small homestead with 6 acres of pasture. I have one cow (she's a Jersey -- been bred back to a beef bull -- due in March) and her 1 year old Jersey heifer. The previous owner made ONE mention of having dealt with nightshade on the property in the past...he's run cattle on it for 20 years. They thought they had poisoned it all. In walking the pasture, I found a couple of dried up stalks (maybe 2.5 feet tall) in the pasture of mostly Bahia. I pulled these odd plants up by the roots -- and got a "thornish" poker on my hand. It stung and itched later. I threw them away. Was this nightshade???? What do I do to insure the safety of cows? Also, should I fertilize now? With what? I may like to go natural/more organic. When do I seed? This is my first place!

 

[regolith]

No thorns on black nightshade and it doesn't sting. I'm not familiar with deadly nightshade, but I think you likely have something else there.
Mostly the cattle ignore black nightshade, so it's not much of a worry.
Fall or spring are both good times to seed, fall is better.

 

[dun]

Did it have yellow seed balls on it? Sounds like Bull Nettle aka carolina nettle, that's what they call it here. It is toxic and in the nightshade family

 

[Jogeephus]

Pull a soil test. No need to spend money on seed or fertilizer if you don't have your soil right.

 

[Sunny Citizen]

I didn't see any berries or leaves. Thanks for the advice about soil testing.

 

[Lucky_P]

2.5 ft tall, unlikely to have been bull nettle/horse nettle - though that's the only member of the nightshade group that I associate thorns with. But that's a shorter plant, tends to sprawl out.
Makes me wonder about redroot pigweed...Amaranthus retroflexus

 

[dun]

2.5 ft tall, unlikely to have been bull nettle/horse nettle - though that's the only member of the nightshade group that I associate thorns with. But that's a shorter plant, tends to sprawl out.
Makes me wonder about redroot pigweed...Amaranthus retroflexus

You're right. Pigweed does tend to be bristly and is taller. The spines made me think nettle height makes me think pigweed. But different areas of the country have so many weird and different plants that without a picture of it growing it's hard to figure.

 

[jerry27150]

sounds like jimsonweed, lot of it around here if you disturb soil. some guys barnyards are full of it. it is poison but they rarely eat it. I also pull it out by the roots as they come out easily

 

[Hook]

It would be easier to help you if we knew where you are located

 

[Sunny Citizen]

I am in East Texas. (just updated my profile so it will show up) I am taking soil samples and having them sent for evaluation.

 

[Brute 23]

2.5 ft tall, unlikely to have been bull nettle/horse nettle - though that's the only member of the nightshade group that I associate thorns with. But that's a shorter plant, tends to sprawl out.
Makes me wonder about redroot pigweed...Amaranthus retroflexus

I've seen bull nettle go 2' or better. :nod:

If you pulled it out by hand your a bad mo fo. :clap: We use to have some big bushes that were shredded year after year. Never failed we would go running through the pasture and one would light you up. It was a dead sprint for the nearest water source. It would always be in the sandy areas where the doves were. If you couldn't find a dove you could bet it was in the canopy of a bull nettle bush.

Wonder if it was just a regular thistle? Was it tall and slender? Not really bushy? They kind of sting and itch. Its a much more tolerable amount.