Donkey-friendly weed killing (From Smallholder)

Donkey-friendly weed killing

9:40am Wednesday 23rd November 2011 in Livestock

Dear NLO We are wondering if you can advise us on our donkey paddock? At present it is very weedy with lots of purple bugle and ragwort (which we are gradually digging up, but it’s still winning) We would like to weed kill the whole area then wait and then rotavate it and re seed for next year.

Can you recommend a weedkiller that would be safe to use given that donkeys will eventually go back on the field? And when should we re-seed?

Rob Jeffrey answers.

As an organic farmer I have not used weed-killers for 12 years or more, writes Rob Jeffery However, the best time to re-seed is at the end of August and the first half of September and you could spray to kill off everything before then. If you miss this window another one arrives in the spring in April/May when the soil is moist and warming up.

Re-seeding techniques Unfortunately spraying will leave a lot of dead and poisonous Ragwort on the surface, which will not be buried by the rotovator and might poison the donkeys next year.

Ploughing should bury most of the dead material if expertly done and the dead standing weeds are broken up using a flail topper, but some will inevitably come to the surface and will have to be hand-picked before the animals go in.

I would expect the total cost of spraying, topping, ploughing, re-seeding and subsequent spraying to be at least £200 per acre.

The important fact to understand about re-seeding is that the soil contains millions of weed seeds, particularly Ragwort, all waiting for an opportunity to germinate. By creating a seedbed you are providing that opportunity, so your new grass sward will be full of weeds which must be controlled by spraying early next spring.

An alternative If you have sufficient grass in the sward now, to fill out and create a thick sward once the weeds have gone, then I would try mowing, rowing up and collecting the dead material, then spraying the re-growth when it is only two or three inches long. Several sprays in autumn and spring should have a significant effect on the Ragwort and docks, but will not remove them all.

Seek advice from an agronomist from your local agricultural supply company and ask the cost of all the spraying before you start. It could be very expensive indeed.

You cannot leave the donkeys in the field during any part of this operation.

The best method When I was farming organically I used to go to a local fruit farm and ask if I might employ some of his Eastern European labourers to come to my farm and pull out Ragwort and dig out docks.

They were always lovely people who worked hard and worked out much cheaper and more effective than chemicals and machinery, even when I paid them more than the going rate.

If you can find some of these workers I am sure they will prove to be the most cost effective solution. You must be careful to use registered workers who are not illegal immigrants and find out how much they are to be paid before you start.

It is advisable to hire them from a local employer when he can spare them and to have a dozen or more at a time, preferably but not essentially with a supervisor.

Each worker should bring a timesheet to provide a record of his/her working hours and you should pay the supervisor or the farmer from whom you have hired them. Ask for a receipt to prove that you have paid for them. It is possible to get into quite expensive trouble if you are caught employing unregistered foreign workers.

You will have to provide any tools required, toilet facilities and drinking water. It will be necessary to provide empty sacks and a trailer into which they can put the Ragwort, so that you can cart it away and burn it.

No tools will be required for Ragwort pulling provided the soil is not too dry and hard at the time. Docks will require a strong garden fork and it will be impossible to remove the whole root and many small docks will grow up the following year.

It is advisable to get these weeds removed before the flowers turn brown and the viable seeds fall out as soon as they are touched. That way you will prevent the spreading of millions more seeds.

Provided the workers collect everything they pull out, the donkeys can stay in the field during the operation.

If required more grass seed can be spread and harrowed in and rolled immediately the weeds have gone.