Hello!
I am new to this list and am looking for environmentally friendly ways to deal with star thistle. I have burned and mowed the area last year and it has substantially reduced the amount of thistle and also delayed its growth. It grows quickly as soon as the weather turns hot. Then it is too late to burn or mow. It is way too tough to do weed-eating when it gets large.
I am not familiar with BD preps or what to do with weeds in a large area. In my garden areas, I weed by hand. Although I have purchased some Round up, I am hesitant to use it in case I might want to grow anything edible in this south facing slope. It is too large an area to weed by hand, though I pull as many as I can and burn them before the burn season is over. I always prefer not to use chemicals and would like an alternate solution.
Does anyone have any solutions that they might share with me?
Thanks so much!
Evelyn Bishop
>Subject: Re: Bio-Dynamic weed control
>Date: Sun, 23 Dec 2001 09:08:19 +1100 > >Dear Merla, > >What you propose sounds good. > >We control noxious weeds here with BD but it takes a while to get the swap >over. The ash will knock it and retard its vigour the first year. Then when >you keep repeating it you will gradually win. You also need to keep knocking >the weeds physically as you are and be sure they don't seed. Some weeds >spread underground when they are cut and so it is often best to cut them >just before the seed sets. Burning them in a low fire risk time is also good >on a leo moon. > >Weeds are not easy. However they are good indicators of what is going on in >the ground. You do need to plant competing pasture and then spray it with >all the preps 500 plus 502 to 507 in a barrel compost spray. Be sure also to >use 501 also. Thistles, if purple, often show the ground needs light and is >a bit sour. > >This is just a brief summary. You could keep me going for hours on things we >have tried. There isn't a weed problem at home but I have tuned into many >properties where there is and given advice on a programme to turn it around. >Its a fascinating lead into understanding an area. Great fun trying out >brews to help. > >BarbaraMSN Photos is the easiest way to share and print your photos: Click Here
