Plant ID?

[homesteadingnky]

Anybody have a clue what the little yellow flower/weed things are that are taking over pastures and hay fields in this (KY-TN) area? I need an organic solution for them.

I'm also curious what "organic" remedies you have for removing thistles (other than a grubing hoe) ;) Something safe that you can spray on them and kill them easily ;) ???

Thanks,
Homesteading Dad

[madmac]

Dandolions, maybe? Eat em as they are suppose to be good. I know, that wasn't funny. If it is dandolions you are in for a battle of your life. I don't know if anything that will make them go away. I tried for years to get rid of them and lost the battle. They would come up every spring. I was able to keep them under control but never made them go away.

[rockymtngirl]

Hi KY - I can't help you with the plant ID - but I have found the following mixture to work on pretty much any weed:
1 gal vinegar
1 cup salt (any kind will do)
1 T. dish liquid (this is just a sticking agent)

Mix it up and spray or I use a garden watering can. I think the spray would give more even/better coverage.

I've also read you can use rubbing alcohol mixed with water - but I don't have the proportions.

Good luck!

[homesteadingnky]

It's not dandelions. I love them and so do my rabbits. They are a pretty and shiny looking flower that grows fairly low to the ground, they have 5-6 petals (I'm guessing as I haven't inspected them that close yet).

They are completely taking over the pastures around here! The other day I saw an entire field (big field) completely covered in them and it was a hay field and cows won't eat the stuff.

I think last years drought made them worse. I've searched the internet over and haven't found any info. I just emailed our county extention agent to see if he knew.

I have considered using vinegar. In fact, I just told my wife a few minutes ago that I thought I'd try that next.

As for the dandelions, I wouldn't mind if my whole yard was dandelions and plantain. Cheap rabbit food! ;D

Thanks,
Homesteading Dad

[Shamrock1121]

Call the ag. agent at your County Extension Office for more information, or stop by with a sample. I agree with the vinegar or vineger mixture along with everyone else. I've found it works pretty well, even though you may need to make several applications to get the job done. The cheapest vinegar I can get is at Sam's Club. It comes 2 gallon plastic jugs in a box for under $4.

-Karen

[MountainDreams]

Lime.
I think you probably have the same weed that was taking over our pastures here. (SC) I talked to our county ext. agent about it and he told me to lime the fields. We limed spring and fall for 2 years and by the third year it was almost totally eradicated. I hope the new owners continued, but...(shrug)
The county agent told us that most weeds grow best in poor soil. In addition to the lime, we had a local turkey grower spread liquid manure on the fields every year. Really upset the neighbors, but the pastures loved it! LOL

Sharon

[bookwormom]

the plants are either buttercups, of the ranunculus family, I have seen pastures here full of them. As far as I know they are even posioneous.
since they are blooming now it may be hop clover (trifolium agrarium). My yard and pastures are full of it and I am glad of it. It is a legume and legumes put nitrogen into the soil. About the thistles, if you have a lot of them I don't know. for one or two, dig them up.

[Drawbar]

We really need a picture I am afraid. It could be just about any weed. The good news is, once you learn what kind of weed it is, you can figure out how to get rid of it.

The key to weeds is this: Weeds are natures way of saying you have a nutrient defeciency in the ground.

People spray with pesticides, and grub till their fingers are blistered, but all to no avail, because the ground the weeds live in have a nutrients that are helping that particular weed thrive, while the wanted grasses and legumes are needing something else.

For instance, pig weed thrives when the iron-magnesium ratio is out of balance. This keeps the "good" grasses at bay while the pig weed just flourishes. Milkweed flourishes when sulfur is needed in the soil....

I think you can see where I am going with this. First figure out what you have for a weed exactly, and what it thrives in for soil. Next get a soil sample of the pasture in question, and then see what you need to add to make the change that is needed to discourage the weed in question, and make your good grass thrive. Just don't take the "easy" route and spread urea on the pasture. Its a quick, easy way to bump the nitrogen level up and get the grass to outgrow the weeds, but its expensive and non-organic. (it does work though)

[homesteadingnky]

It's a type of buttercup. *The problem is it's on my father-in-laws land for the moment. *It has become so bad because of over grazing and the drought last year. *Thanks for the ideas and for trying. At least now we know what we're up against.

As for the thistles (his land as well) we have grubbed out hundreds of them the last few weeks to keep him from spraying 2,4-d. *There has to be a better way!

Thanks,
Homesteading Dad

[sbemt456]

Homesteading buy the FIL a donkey, they supposedly will eat the thistle to the ground. Better yet barrow one, cause ya may not want to mess up family relations by permantly having such a critter. But I have heard that they will clear out the thistle in a field.

stella

[AlchemyAcres]

Buttercup is a sure sign that your pasture needs liming.
As Stella said, donkeys love thistles.

~Martin :)

[homesteadingnky]

We offered to buy him a donkey the other day but he doesn't want one on the place. If he would consider a better rotational grazing plan like my brother-in-law and I have tried to get him to do it would help. The county ext. agent said that the over grazing has greatly magnified the problem. The drought played a big role in that as most folks around here were running low on hay last year and left their cows in the same pasture too long.

So, explain the lime. do buttercups thrive in acidic soils?

They have a BIG chicken house and spread the chicken manure on the fields instead of lime. Grows some really thick hay in spots but these buttercups are quickly taking over (along with the thistles). ::)

My hands are kinda tied, since it is his land, but I would love to give him some sound facts and better alternitves to the problem than spraying 2,4-D. He doesn't want to spray. He just thinks it's the only way to fix the problem.

Thanks,
Homesteading Dad

[AlchemyAcres]

So, explain the lime. do buttercups thrive in acidic soils?


Yes.

I prefer dense pasture that's predominantly bluegrass and white clover.
I shoot for a soil PH of 6.4



~Martin

[FirestarterKY]

We call that weed "mustard".
I've heard it comes form the corn planted.
Corn fields will yield the yellow mustard and soy fields the pretty purple.
It's just the seed that gets into the seed farmers plant.
That's what the ole farmer here told me.
It's taken over here too, and I just keep it cut down. It will die off about the end of June and the grass will take back over.
That is my experience.
I sit right next to a crop field so there's no reason to try to fight it, for me anyway.
I just keep it cut and wait for it to die.
It loves cool springs, which is why it is so thick this year.
But, I do keep it cut so the grass doesnt die under it.
POisonous? Well, it does give off a burning fume in my nose while I'm cutting it.
One field is full of it and another is spotty.
So I just keep the spotty areas cut in the other field.
Ya'll take good care!!!!!

[homesteadingnky]

That may not be the same thing. Not sure ???

The county ext. agent said that it germinates in the fall and even grows through the winter. These are hay fields and pasture fields that haven't been re-sown in many years yet the buttercups are spreading like wildfire. He said that each plant produced 1000's of seeds. :-[

At any rate, it's on the top of my hit list at the moment!

Homesteading Dad

[MooseToo]

so do a search for hop clover - today they're blooming all over south central ky and they do no harm in a pasture or hayfield - in fact, as said already, they are a beneficial legume - no sense spending bucks on herbicide for buttercup if your weed actually is hop clover

[homesteadingnky]

I have positively identified the plant as Buttercup. I was going to post a picture from google images to show you what I have but apparently I'm not smart enough to do that. :-/ Go figure.

Anyway, I do appreciate all the input! :)

Thanks,
Homesteading Dad

[bookwormom]

firestarter, I have seen the mustard blooming yellow in the spring in old cornfields here too. Mustard does no harm, some people even grow it as a green manure, you can pick it as a wild green before it gets big and flowers. My MIL always gathered it and as a matter of fact, we went in last years cornfield to pick it, together with some other greens with fancy names like 'fuzzy pettycoat, speckled beet, creasy mustard'.

[bookwormom]

thistles, that reminds me of my childhood. In spring when thistles just formed a rosette of leaves close to the ground, we were sent out with a bucket and a knife, we cut them off at the bottom and took them home and my grandmother scalded them with boiling water and then fed them to the cow.

The last few days I had a job I hated as a kid, still had to do it though, pick off potato bugs.

[homesteadingnky]

worst cast scenerio, at least the thistles are edible, even to humans. Been picking off a few tater bugs myself. Don't mind that near as much as chopping out thistles though. ;)

[homesteadingnky]

BINGO! You win a prize. That's the pretty yet aggravating culprit. We've had them around forever, just never like this.

[stilltryinat50]

have a million of those plants here also (nw TN). A few years ago my sons went to Heritage Days here and eldest son talked to an herbalist there who had one of the plants in a pot. She said they were used in an herbal remedy ( can't remember what kind son said). She also said they were rare( son told her they were everywhere here). You may be sitting on a gold mine homesteadingnky, ;D ;D

[homesteadingnky]

Wouldn't that be sweet. ;) Seriously doubt it though!

[bookwormom]

if that were so I sure would like to know about it. have seen nothing of the sort and doubt that it is rare and used for herbal remedy.

[tomato204]

That's easy enough to find out, but you really need the scientific name of the plant, any idea which "buttercup" it is?

[homesteadingnky]

A trip through any our the surrounding counties here would prove that it is certainly not rare! Invasive, YES...Rare, NO! :)

[onetwig]

I have The Herb Book from 1974. It lists properties and uses:Acrid, anodyne, antispasmodic, diaphoretic, rubefacient.Tall field buttercupis used like the pasque flower.Only the fresh plant is poisonous and effective medicinally. A homeopathic extract of thefresh plant is used for skin diseases, rheumatism, sciatica, arthritis, and rhinitis. Preparation and Dosage: Do Not Use Without Medical Supervision.
They convinced me with the poisonous part! Onetwig