pasture spraying

[stocky]

i know nothing about spraying pastures. here is my situation and would like to know if there is a spray or a mix that will do what i need done or will i have to spray more than one time.
in my creek bottom fescue pasture i have carrot weed and thistle. i also have thorn trees that are about a foot tall. i want to kill the thorns and the carrot weed and the thistle that are there, and the ragweeds that come in june-july.
i dont want to kill the fescue or the clover----i have lots of clover.
i have been told i have to wait until the thorn trees leaf out.
am i asking something impossible? or is it possible to do this in one spraying? what spray or mix and what timing would i use to accompish what i would like to accomplish? thanks for any ideas

 

[TXCOWBOY]

Most herbicides that kill out thistle, carrot weed, and ragweed will also kill out your clover. You are stuck with not many options. Most herbicides work really well like Grazon P+D for these types of applications, but clover still does not hold up to it. Plus it requires a pesticide applicator license to purchase.

One thing you might consider is using a mixture of Remedy and diesel and give a basal treament on your briars and brush. You can do a basal spot treament even before they leaf out. Remedy does not need a pesticide license to purchase.

 

[MY]

Turflon/Garlon will get all of your weeds and leave your grass alone. Unfortunately, it WILL get your clover. However, you could spray Turflon and then seed back with clover and you'd be rid of the thistle and other weeds. Turflon is also the only thing that will touch berry vine.

 

[shorty]

How big of an area of weeds do you have ? When I just have small patches of big weeds I use a hand weed wiper and wipe the weeds with roundup . Just make sure you don't get any on what you don't want to kill.

 

[Bama]

As others have mentioned there are several products that will work on the weeds but will kill the clover. You can spray a lighter dose of 2,4-d and it will kill most of your weeds but will knock back your clover. It will recover in a few weeks. A high enough dose to kill all of your weeds will put a hurt on the clover. What I have done in the past is to use a wick bar with cornerstone. This only works if the weeds are taller than the grasses. It kills whatever it touches. As far as the thistle I would spot spray them for sure. They can take over a pasture in a hurry. The remedy does a good job of this. It calls for mixing with 2,4-d. This mixture will also kill brush. As mentioned above it can be mixed with diesel as well.

 

[stocky]

txcowboy, my, shorty, and bama, thanks for the input. i was really afraid of the answer on the clover. i havent sprayed for the last 2 years because i was afraid i would kill the clover and i didnt want to do without a year of it. i am to the point now, that i am probably going to have to spray anyway before the weeds and the thorns and the thistles take over.
this pasture is about 60 acres and there are patches of carrot weed all over it here and there and the ragweeds can get pretty solid, i have to brush hog them before they go to seed to keep them from shading out the thigh deep fescue blades each summer. the thorn trees are scattered all over it and becoming thicker---sounds like time to bite the bullet and spray to kill all the nuiscances and reseed clover in the fescue sod next winter

 

[dun]

the thorn trees are scattered all over it and becoming thicker

If the thorn trees you're referring to are locusts, brush hogging or cutting them will only encourage them to sprout from root nodes and you just keep getting more. You need to kill the tree first, then cut them. Or you can cut them and treat the stub/stump with a good systemic root killer. I've never found one that works all that well. I kill the tre then a month or two later cut it off.

dun

 

[Bama]

If your after the throny bushes. Grazon, or 2,4-d alone wont get em. Go with the remedy. Mix it with 2,4-d. It will kill them down to the roots. For larger stuff don't cut yet. spray the base with Remedy and diesel, or better yet drill a 1/4 inch hole in it and fill it with the mixture. Let it die then cut it. If you cut it witout sprayin it will produce many suckers. Surmount is also anther approach. All of the above will kill your clover.

 

[stocky]

thanks bama, dun. and yes, they are locusts. they are just getting tall enough to hit with the brush hog, so brush hogging is no longer possible. you are right, it will spread them like crazy and also get the thorns in the tractor tires---i sure hate those things----lol

 

[Beefy]

i would spot spray if at all possible. now is the time to get the thistles before they bud out. ive got to get on that real soon. our main weeds are thistles and persimmon trees. i want something that i only have to spray once. i dont want to have to come back and respray. friggin persimmon trees just wont die.

 

[xtrmeharley]

Is it to my understanding that diesel acts as a carcinogen, breaking down the plant's tissue and making it susceptible to the herbicide. I can understand how that makes the herbicide ineffective if it (diesel) works too well before the herbicide gets a chance to enter the plant's system. Also, the soap acts as a surfactant, breaking down the surface tension of the carrier of the herbicide, which in turn makes the solution "wetter" by not staying as droplets on the leaves and such. Would Spike 20P be a solution. It will kill most all woodies and leave the grass. One might find that trees are killed outside of the application area depending on the root areas, I guess. Supposedly there is no grazing restriction, only to be very careful around ground and surface water.

 

[jerry27150]

crossbow & diesel will kill locust by spraying the bottom 18 inches of trees less than 6inch diameter. bigger ones i girdle & spray around where i cut. it will kill stumps of those freshly cut. there is one time of year you can cut locusts & most will not come back either, but i am not sure of the exact date