Weeds: which ones are most troublesome for you?

[Denim Deb]

I saw kudzu years ago. I had never heard of it B4 and was amazed at all these valleys that were just covered w/vines. But yeah, kudzu can be a big problem if you don't have something to keep it in check. I've heard it's also great to feed to cows.

 

[Hinotori]

I've never seen spiny pigweed but with a name like that, it sounds nasty.

As for goats, hubby fell in love with nigerian dwarves. I found a few from milking lines for sale and if I can get him to help put up some fence this weekend, I can get them. We have the posts and fence already, and the back of a delivery truck the previous owner left. It's 8 x 16, has no floor, but is on a high spot and next to where I'd like munched first. Some straw down inside and it would be good.

 

[Denim Deb]

I've never seen spiny pigweed but with a name like that, it sounds nasty.

As for goats, hubby fell in love with nigerian dwarves. I found a few from milking lines for sale and if I can get him to help put up some fence this weekend, I can get them. We have the posts and fence already, and the back of a delivery truck the previous owner left. It's 8 x 16, has no floor, but is on a high spot and next to where I'd like munched first. Some straw down inside and it would be good.

Believe me, it is! I have to wear leather gloves to pull it out. http://www.ppws.vt.edu/scott/weed_id/amasp.htm

That sounds good for the goats. They'd probably love it.

 

[pinkfox]

Kudzu is a problem around here, it hasnt made it to my property but thereshuge swaths of it on propertis around me...it just consumes everything.

in terms of goats, honestly i havent found then that hard to contain. ive got my 2 nubian girls, there young so there mischevious, the fence ther behind right now is wimple welded wire and t-posts, its NOT tight, nothing fancy, if they realy pushed at it they could probably push it over...but theyve only "escaped" once and that wa because i didnt close the gate properly...and then they were just happily munching on the brush next to thier house. a quick shake of the feed bucket and they follw me wherever i want them to go lol

ive thought about chaining out my goats but the neighbors dog says oh hell no, id have to sit out the whole time they were thethered with my gun. unfortunatly a goat on a chain is often LUNCH on a chain if your not carefull...(they also have tendencies to wrap themselves around things when trying to tether them on brushed property.

3-4 strand electric is generally enough to keep them in once they knwo what it is...thats what im in the process of putting in.

but if going goats always get a bottle baby (one thats just about ready to wean makes it asier on you and still gets that bond) that way, like with my girls, if they do escape ect its just a case of offering them a treat and theyll come straight to you as opposed to chasing round a skittish goat lol.

i deifnatly think you shoudl go goats first, theyll start work clearning the land so you have more room for the ducks lol.

 

[Dawn419]

Dawn here we RENT goats (Frankly I looked into goats and learned that they are hard to confine thats where I met my goat renters. They bring the goats in collars a chain and a stake for each. s/he takes them home every night now that coyote are starting to move into our area. The place that I bought had been empty for a year and a weed called kudzu (sp?) was uo to the roof on all the outbuildings. While I was asking questions and telling them what I wanted done the couple got funny grins and asked if it was STILL clear around the house? Turns out they had been brought in by the Realotor (sp) to get the house ready for the market. T was impressed, asked what the reat of the job would cost, and got on their waiting list. Later learned that they were small holders that got most of their income from the goats (milk and cheese) had over expanded the herd, hack of pasture was a problem. renting goats was a WIN-WIN-WIN for them and their customers. me cheap kudzu control + FREE,fertilizer. Them free goat feed and a lot of people learned about their dairy products! Oops almost forgot dba "KUDZU KIDS' ~gd

I wish we had a rent-a -goat service locally...I'd sign up in a heart beat!

We've got Kudzu here in AR, but fortunately not on our place (that I've found) or any property close to us (that I know of). The cat briers and stray blackberries are bad enough that I hope Kudzu never makes a move here. Trumpet vine is another one that I hope never shows up on our place. We were eaten up with it at the last place we lived (in Middle TN) and we called it "Kudzu in disquise".

 

[so lucky]

My Goat Story: Years ago we "inherited" an abandoned railroad right of way, which was filled with briars, saplings, poison ivy and wild honeysuckle. I bought a baby goat, Dave, intending to let him clean up the space. He was a bottle-fed pet, cute as could be. As he grew, we tied him out. He constantly got loose and crossed the creek over into the civilized neighborhood, munching on their flowers and shrubs. He did a pretty good job on the brush and vines on our property, and seemed to have a good life. I had been told that goats are inherently healthy and trouble free (!) Well, he got some kind of weird bladder issue and the vet had to do some reconstructive surgery on him. Not cheap. It's been nearly 40 years ago, so please forgive my vagueness. Then soon Dave got very sick again, and the vet said it was meningitis. The vet said it was causing Dave terrible pain and blindness, and advised that we put him down. So we did. That's my goat story.

 

[Beekissed]

I don't know the name of it..it is sort of nondescript, gets about 10 " high, has soft leaves and will have small yellow or white flowers if left to mature. Easy to remove by hand but very, very easy to come back and take over if left alone. It is the only weed we have in this garden this year and I don't believe I've ever had this much of a problem with it as we have this year. Usually it grows here and there amongst other weeds but this year seems to be it's year to shine.

Luckily we have green pathways and mulched, narrow beds, so it only grows on the fringe of the mulch or in the thinner areas of the mulch. We just mow it down or chop it off with a hoe on the rare occasion.

In my garden back home I had trouble with this succulent, low growing plant that~if left alone to get bigger~would get stickers on it....very pervasive and very hard to pull up or eradicate. Don't know the name of it either....I'm not much of a botany afficiando.

 

[odd_duck99]

Dandelions of course. The ones I had in my yard survived several regular doses of Round up. I got desperate. After that I gave up and just plucked the flowers when possible in the front yard and around my gardens.

Bind weed is a terrible foe. I tried plucking it, but it just multiplied. It's very deep rooted and has a woody stem. The only way I could control it was with a woody plant killer like you would use on blackberries.

Hosrsetails. Ugh. I didn't even fight those much, just pulled them when they bothered me in the veggie beds.

There was another one that has really deep roots, grows pretty tall when left alone, is "pokey" (not thorns, per se, but ow!), and produces a purple flower which turns in to a bazillion seeds that look like dandelion fluff. >_<

 

[terri9630]

Dandelions of course. The ones I had in my yard survived several regular doses of Round up. I got desperate. After that I gave up and just plucked the flowers when possible in the front yard and around my gardens.

Bind weed is a terrible foe. I tried plucking it, but it just multiplied. It's very deep rooted and has a woody stem. The only way I could control it was with a woody plant killer like you would use on blackberries.

Hosrsetails. Ugh. I didn't even fight those much, just pulled them when they bothered me in the veggie beds.

There was another one that has really deep roots, grows pretty tall when left alone, is "pokey" (not thorns, per se, but ow!), and produces a purple flower which turns in to a bazillion seeds that look like dandelion fluff. >_<

You can eat dandelions. Turn them from a weed to a salad or tea.

 

[~gd]

Dawn here we RENT goats (Frankly I looked into goats and learned that they are hard to confine thats where I met my goat renters. They bring the goats in collars a chain and a stake for each. s/he takes them home every night now that coyote are starting to move into our area. The place that I bought had been empty for a year and a weed called kudzu (sp?) was uo to the roof on all the outbuildings. While I was asking questions and telling them what I wanted done the couple got funny grins and asked if it was STILL clear around the house? Turns out they had been brought in by the Realotor (sp) to get the house ready for the market. T was impressed, asked what the reat of the job would cost, and got on their waiting list. Later learned that they were small holders that got most of their income from the goats (milk and cheese) had over expanded the herd, hack of pasture was a problem. renting goats was a WIN-WIN-WIN for them and their customers. me cheap kudzu control + FREE,fertilizer. Them free goat feed and a lot of people learned about their dairy products! Oops almost forgot dba "KUDZU KIDS' ~gd

I wish we had a rent-a -goat service locally...I'd sign up in a heart beat!

We've got Kudzu here in AR, but fortunately not on our place (that I've found) or any property close to us (that I know of). The cat briers and stray blackberries are bad enough that I hope Kudzu never makes a move here. Trumpet vine is another one that I hope never shows up on our place. We were eaten up with it at the last place we lived (in Middle TN) and we called it "Kudzu in disquise".

Really? Heck I bought the red kind 3 times and couldn't keep it alive! finally had to settle for the wild yellow kind. There was a pine tree that was broken off about 30 feet from the ground. I grew Wisteria up it but wisteria can take some time before it blooms. It got a lot of attention as it bloomed, purple then white [both wisterea] and finally the yellow trumpet vine. I had to mow around it fairly often as all of the plants would send out runner roots to start new plants. I recently visited the old place It will be a real landmark along the highway that they run though my house and barns the plants are already well established on the fence that they put up to keep deer off the highway. I expect they will have to spray it to knock it down.