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delly-b
Gold Member
 United Kingdom
1107 Posts |
 Posted - 10 May 2009 : 2:03:08 PM
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Does anyone have any personal experience of using Barrier H for Ragwort and any other weed?
Last year I broke my back digging up the Ragwort but I think this year, I have as many plants if not more.
I have been reading allsorts about Ragwort and get varying opinions on what to do. Several say just digging up snap the roots and more plants will grow etc. Others say spray the plants then dig up. Then some say if you spray with Barrier H, there is no need to dig up... the list goes on.
So I decided to give Barrier H a go. I have sectioned off the land and put the horses into a smaller paddock and just pulled the Ragwort from there... I have now just spot sprayed the ragwort in the larger field with Barrier H... (I have a few larger plants and lots of very tiny rossets).
If you guys use Barrier H, could you please let me know the best thing to do now?? I have noticed very quickly after spraying they have already started to colour. Will the plants wither away in approx 2 weeks, turn to mush and do what exactly... or will there still be a plant there left to dig up?
(after I have got rid of the Ragwort my intention is to top the field, harrow then re-seed, harrow and roll and leave for a few months, but any advise greatly appreciated).
Thank you
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Adele
Batley, West Yorkshire |
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angb
Bronze Member
United Kingdom
112 Posts |
Posted - 12 May 2009 : 12:24:45 PM
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We used Barrier H some years ago, without much success, I'm afraid to add . I find pulling the plants more effective than anything - unfortunately this does take time and its hard work. 
Why do you then want to re-seed, harrow etc? If the grazing is in bad condition, the best thing to do would be to top dress with fertiliser and then rest the field, probably until next year, also consider irrigating the field if like us here in Norfolk you havent had much rain. Possibly re-seed the bare patches. The worst thing about Ragwort is that the seeds can lie dormant for up to 100 years . Which unfortunately means you may still have a problem in years to come. Good pasture takes a lot of time and effort, I do know someone who is hand-lifting buttercup plants from her field at the moment!
Once you have sprayed with Barrier H the plants should just die, wizen up and disappear (Should!)
Best of luck! |
http://160kminoneday.blogspot.co.uk
http://smallholdingpleasureorprofit.blogspot.co.uk |
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Zarena
Bronze Member
189 Posts |
Posted - 12 May 2009 : 3:18:08 PM
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| I use Barrier H and find it very effective because the ragwort goes black overnight and withers away in no time. As long as there is plenty of grass I use it while the horses are still on the pasture while the ragwort is at small rosette stage. No self respecting horse will choose the black withered stuff over grass. In that respect it is better than conventional sprays which take much longer (up to 6 weeks) to rot the plants but have a more permanent effect. With these sprays you must remove the stock until all trace of ragwort has disappeared. With Barrier H the ragwort plants come back next year unfortunately but it is a very useful product and saves the backbreaking pulling. |
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Vera
Membership Moderator
United Kingdom
8652 Posts |
Posted - 12 May 2009 : 5:07:00 PM
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I tried it but wasn't that impressed with it.
Last year I tried something new and I am reaping the benefit this year!
I dig the plant up at rosette stage and then spray the hole it came out of with two or three squirts of roundup. It kills everythiing. Including the grass BUT this quickly recovers. DO NOT use it with horses in the field though. It says to keep livestock away for two weeks but I leave it longer than that.
Ok I ended up with brown dead patches a few inches across but this year the grass is fully recovered and very little ragwort. I think its the ones I missed last year that are coming through this year.
I have just 'done' my front field with this method and only took about a dozen plants from the whole field, last year there were around 100 plants!!! |
    
Hampshire |
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Kharidian
Platinum Member
England
4297 Posts |
Posted - 12 May 2009 : 7:32:33 PM
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Oh.....Barrier H!!!!! When I first read your heading I thought you were talking about "Preparation H" (for haemorrhoids) so I wondered what it was doing in a public forum!
Seriously, you will have as many plants the second year - ragwort is a biennial plant. So think positive - you shouldn't have so many in the third or subsequent years if you're diligent now.
I would also be wary about harrowing the field - as Angb said, the seeds can lay dormant for >20 years so do you really want to bring them to the surface?
Caryn |
Kharidian (Prince Sadik x Khiri)........ Alkara Cassino (H Tobago x Rose Aboud)
aka "Roger".................................... aka "Chips"
     
The first image is from an original painting by Pat Shorto.
South-East Essex |
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delly-b
Gold Member
United Kingdom
1107 Posts |
Posted - 13 May 2009 : 10:33:38 AM
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Caryn.... SOOOO funny!!! that gave me a chuckle!
Blimey, I am fed up of the stuff! I think I will start digging up the plants now they have withered... they have all mainly been pulled before flowering stage since I took over the land so hopefully pulling will sort it... IN TIME!!! lol... Thanks Vera, I thought about doing that too after pulling ... I have seen something called Relay Turf which should get rid of most weeds which I may try to spot spray the roots. I am going to leave the horses off the main field for as long as possible I think until I get everything sorted.
As for harrowing, (just using the small chain harrows on the ATV) I was advised to do that to pull out all the dead weeds and grass so the grass sward would get better. I was going to over seed too to try get things denser too?
The land always had cows on with the horses before and they must have eaten everything, as its never been as bad as this with the ragwort... and the pesky railway dont seem to listen when I have been badgering them to sort out their bankings too.. but thats another fight and story!
so... back to pulling and digging then!
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Adele
Batley, West Yorkshire |
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geegee
Platinum Member
England
3682 Posts |
Posted - 14 May 2009 : 10:02:57 AM
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I have only just started using Barrier H and was very impressed that, within an hour, the plants turned brown and withered. Now, 5 days later, the plants are completely dried out and seem to be disintigrating. So as far as the instructions go, it is doing exactly what it says on the tin.....
I wasn't aware that the same plant could come back next year. I don't know how it could if it was killed the year before?....
I will continue with Barrier H myself, as it seems to have worked. Will let you know after the two week instruction.
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Vera
Membership Moderator
United Kingdom
8652 Posts |
Posted - 14 May 2009 : 10:31:05 AM
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Hi Lisa,
Like you say it can't be the same plant once it is dead as long as the whole root is dead not just the bit above ground, but Ragwort is Biennial so new rosettes will grow every other year. So all the plants you kill this year won't grow next year but the ones you miss this year will grow this year, miss a year and then grow again in 2011.
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Hampshire |
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Zan
Platinum Member
Scotland
3213 Posts |
Posted - 14 May 2009 : 12:07:56 PM
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Vera---I understood that Roundup has to go on growing geen leaf to work so I am not sure how squirting it into the hole will work. Not in connection with Ragwort, but a hedge I wanted rid of, and was told once it was cut to the ground to wait till the new leaves were covering it before I sprayed with Roundup, otherwise it wouldn't work.I seem to recall reading on the instructions that it must be sprayed on plants while growing and with leaves showing as well.
Glad it's working though  ---but maybe it is the digging that is doing it and the Roundup isn't doing anything???? Spraying the plants at rosette stage with Roundup would certainly work, if you don't mind some dead grass round it.
Haven't tried Barrier H, but have been told it doesn't kill the root off properly so the same plant grows back again. Roundup definitely kills the whole plant, root and all. |
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geegee
Platinum Member
England
3682 Posts |
Posted - 14 May 2009 : 1:26:19 PM
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Thanks for that, Vera....
Heather - Blimey, isn't it all so confusing. Barrier H advertises itself saying that it kills ragwort, so one would assume that also meant the root.
I don't know about anyone else, but this year, Ragwort seems to be in abundance. I have never seen so much of it. I dug it all up last year and it is back with a vengeance. I don't fancy having to dig it up again, which is why I tried Barrier H.
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delly-b
Gold Member
United Kingdom
1107 Posts |
Posted - 15 May 2009 : 12:36:42 PM
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| My sentiments too Lisa! I thought there may be someone with some miracle cure lol! Anyway, looks like all this rain is going to put a stop to the spraying this week, but I am going to get ready and try anything that is recommended! |
Adele
Batley, West Yorkshire |
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geegee
Platinum Member
England
3682 Posts |
Posted - 15 May 2009 : 2:46:53 PM
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| Well, Day 6 of Barrier H and it looks like the rosette is stone dead. Just about to go and dig up one plant and see what the root looks like....I'll be back |
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geegee
Platinum Member
England
3682 Posts |
Posted - 15 May 2009 : 3:04:43 PM
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Ok, I'm back
I dug up 3 plants.
1 was a teeny tiny rosette = root dead
2 was a rosette size of 450g baked bean can = root not quite dead
3 was a rosette size of palm with splayed fingers = root not looking very healthy.
On each, I rubbed the root between my fingers (Don't worry, have washed them thoroughly now  ) and each time my fingers reaked of the pungeant (sp?) smell of Barrier H.
So this must mean that it is being absorged by the root?
As with you Delly-b, we also have rain forecast so will continue when the weather improves.
Do let us know how the little blighters are getting on???? |
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Zan
Platinum Member
Scotland
3213 Posts |
Posted - 15 May 2009 : 4:36:43 PM
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I hope the roots are dead Lisa, but a friend reckoned they didn't die because of the amount that grew back . By the way, are you aware that Barrier H is just Citronella oil diluted with water---Citronella about 23%, so you could probably save a lot of money buying trade size bottles of Citronella and diluting it yourself. I suspect it is just burning the leaves off and isn't entering the plant systemically to kill the roots. Be as careful handling/ taking care not to inhale as you would with a chemical weed killer---natural doesn't necessarily mean non poisonous, and there has been stuff on here before about how poisonous Citronella is.
http://www.pitchcare.com/file/xMLDNJLUhQ.pdf
ETA---a better test to see if it works might be to mark a couple of plants that have been treated and observe them through the summer to see if it dies back, then recovers and regrows? Obviously they would need to be outside the grazing area so you could mark and observe properly. Just a thought |
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Edited by - Zan on 15 May 2009 4:50:13 PM |
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delly-b
Gold Member
United Kingdom
1107 Posts |
Posted - 20 May 2009 : 4:43:59 PM
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little update on my ragwort...
I checked the field today, amidst the rain! The plants I spayed before have died right back (and a small amount of the surrounded grass) but the leaves are still there at the moment... I am going to see what happens in another week.
Hows yours Lisa?
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Adele
Batley, West Yorkshire |
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geegee
Platinum Member
England
3682 Posts |
Posted - 21 May 2009 : 09:10:12 AM
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Well .....it will be 14 days this Saturday.
The tiny rosettes have disappeared!
The others have died right back but dead leaves are still apparant.
I pulled a couple of the stage 2 and 3 plants (see above posting) last night and the roots are not looking healthy but are still alive!!!! 
I have a dreadful fear that Heather (Zan) could be right. If the root doesn't die then it completely defeats the object.
I am going to try and call the manufacturers today and let them know my findings. I want their comments 
Will let you know, Delly-b  |
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Vera
Membership Moderator
United Kingdom
8652 Posts |
Posted - 21 May 2009 : 10:09:30 AM
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That was my finding with it Lisa, it certainly knocked them back but it didn't seem to finish them off for good and they grew back again.
Zan, you are quite right when it says to spray on a growing plant but I'm thinking that despite digging the plant up inevitably roots get left behind which are alive and so absorb the Roundup. |
Hampshire |
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delly-b
Gold Member
United Kingdom
1107 Posts |
Posted - 21 May 2009 : 11:16:17 AM
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I have something called Blaster too now to try.
I have mainly got it for nettles thistles and buttercup etc and it is a selective herbicide but my neighbour has tried it and said it works to will see how that goes... to be honest, I tried it a few days back and I know we have had a LOT of rain but not convinced it will work. I have only spot sprayed the rossetts at mo, but will see.
On a brighter note... They say we should be having a great weekend sun wise, so maybe I will get chance to do some more work on it.
Adele x |
Adele
Batley, West Yorkshire |
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geegee
Platinum Member
England
3682 Posts |
Posted - 21 May 2009 : 11:40:44 AM
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I tried ragtime last year and it did work but I would have needed gallons of the stuff! It turned the roots to mush.
If only there was a spray that you could use that doesn't require spot spraying. I would much rather pay someone to come and spray the whole field and be done with it.... |
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Zan
Platinum Member
Scotland
3213 Posts |
Posted - 21 May 2009 : 12:17:41 PM
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Lisa--if you want to do that you could get someone to spray with something like Agricorn D , early in the year when the ragwort is at the rossette stage. The trouble is it will kill all broad leaved plants in your pasture, which may or may not bother you, depending if you have old pasture with herbs and stuff in it or not;
and because the grass has been sprayed with it as well, although it won't be affected, you would have to keep the horses off it for a good length of time. |
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geegee
Platinum Member
England
3682 Posts |
Posted - 21 May 2009 : 3:32:20 PM
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Ooh, thanks for that Heather. I don't mind it killing broad leaves as it is only the winter paddock that is affected. They are in a different field for the summer.....
Mind you, rosettes are getting quite big now. Hope it isn't too late for this year? |
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Zan
Platinum Member
Scotland
3213 Posts |
Posted - 21 May 2009 : 6:33:29 PM
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| As long as they are just rossettes and not getting stems it should be okay I think, but might be verging on being too late for this year. Will also get rid of docks and buttercups in one fell swoop If I remember rightly it might affect clover, but not sure about that. You don't want too much clover for horses anyway---high nitrogen. |
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vanishtrik
Bronze Member
England
136 Posts |
Posted - 21 May 2009 : 8:05:43 PM
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an organiic farmer once told me that if you pull the ragwort up and then put some rock salt in the hole it wont grow back, and i have to say were ive done it it hasnt come back, but its still back breaking work
karen |
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