Controlling Thistle

[SprigOfTheLivingDead]

So, it's getting into Autumn here in Minnesota. Leaves are falling, turkeys are running around and my neglected jalapeno, scotch bonnets and tomatoes are wilting. Soon enough the cold will come, snow will fly and then the season known as mud will begin again and with that will start the whole process of thistle growth, the bane of my prairie.

Who amoung you has faced off this scourge in a large area and won? I spent a good amount of time this early summer yanking it out of my land, but that still leaves acres of it to go. What methods or chemical have you used with success against this?

Once the plants started to flower I just went nuts with clippers and took the flowerheads off, but I still didn't come close to getting it all. That may have prevent some seeds from spreading, but the roots are still alive and well.

I also went thru some areas and just clipped the plants at soil level, hoping to starve them of light in the tall surrounding grass

 

[Britesea]

Y'all are going about it all wrong. You gotta go out there and rub your hands and smack your lips and talk about how good this will be on the dinner table. Soon as Mother Nature figures out you WANT them.... I guarantee they will all get blight and massive insect raids and shrivel up and die....

 

[tortoise]

I have pasture infested with thistle. We brush hog just before it flowers, but that's not really enough.

In the yard, we've dug it out. My son did the work. I paid him $0.25 per intact thistle root. This year I haven't found a single thistle rosette in the lawn!! I pay him for digging out of the pasture too.

 

[Beekissed]

http://greyduckgarlic.com/women-vs-weeds.html

 

[elwood]

When i was a teenager my gf had 3 acres next to us. It was entirely full of thistles. It took us 3 years to eradicate them. All by shovel.

 

[Lazy Gardener]

As we move forward, i think it's a good idea to know what local plants are local... not only to have the knowledge, but actually experience the collection, prep, and eating them before the need is pressed upon us.

 

[flowerbug]

while i was thinking last night i realised that i didn't mention my most favorite method of dealing with thistles that doesn't involve digging or sprays or burning - just chop it down and smother it with a few layers of overlapping cardboard, newspapers and/or craft paper or cardstock. as long as they don't let any light through they will work for a while. if you need to redo them again you can do that, they're normally not that expensive to source (or free).

and for those of you who feed animals those huge bails of hay, you could put down cardboard over the thistles and then top it with a bale of hay. the animals will trample everything around that bale and the cardboard will keep the thistle from coming up through the hay.

repeat as often as needed or move to the next area as needed.

 

[Britesea]

Never know, your mom might fall in love with a couple of adorable kid goats... they are so cute!

 

[Britesea]

What a guy will do for a girl when he's young....

 

[tortoise]

http://greyduckgarlic.com/women-vs-weeds.html

Thank you @Beekissed !!! DS12 pulled a wheelbarrow full of thistle. DH chopped them with a weedwhacker in a barrel. Fed to ewes with cracked corn on top. First feed last night. I am hopeful!