Mother Nature and Balance

[grassfarmer]

Cowman, you must have too much spray fogging your brain!
"If you cut off the thistles now they will do their best to survive and go into a rosette stage? Bushy and short as they try to store up energy to survive and live another day? Everything will be geared to putting as much energy into the roots, instead of everything going to the seed heads for reproduction. Fall is the time to kill thistles...permanently!
Cut them now, spray them around the end of August and the problem is solved"

Plants store their energy in their roots so if you cut them they will regrow from the energy reserves in their roots until such time as they have enough leaves to photosynthesis efficiently. Short bushy regrowth thistles resulting from being cut this late (July)in the season will be trying to grow rapidly above ground to reach maturity at the expense of root development. If you want to kill thistles by spraying with roundup transorb for example you will get a good kill late in the fall because that is when the plants have finished their seasons growth, matured and then start diverting their energy back down into the ground to prepare the roots to overwinter and grow again next year. So in fact if you insist on spraying in the fall to kill thistles cutting them now will be counter productive. Still I don't expect the chemical makers, purveyors of junk science, to tell you that as they prefer to sell you more spray every year or two to fight this ongoing problem.

[grassfarmer]

Just read a blurb on the net about the proposed pay raise. Apparently it is supposed to be 27%. Discussions supposedly took place last week in caucus, and the Liberals seem to know all about what was said which makes me suspicious.
I doubt that any of the MLA's would have leaked the info to the Liberals, so perhaps its all BS !!!

[madcow]

Funny isn't it, how everyone seems to think they are "worth" or deserve "something" and what a great job! they have done, regardless of the state of things.The fisherman down here were on a bit of a rampage last week and blockaded the ferry to Newfoundland over a dispute with federal fisheries minister Geoff Regan over crab quotas.They were arguing their point that they have a right to earn a living with their lisence and gear.That they deserve a fair return on their investments and labour.I agree.BUT. They don't work any harder or longer, or invest any more ,if as much, than we do.WE aught to have a right to a living as well,but if we whisper any such thing we are labled "the poor wining farmers " "never satisfied ".If the rest of the country had to live in our 'reality' it might do them , including the MLA's, a world of good.We can do everything right and go broke while most of the rest of the country gets paid a descent wage as long as they stay awake ,or at least don't get caught sleeping.

The industry ( one report) lost 7 billion ,were compensated 2 B while govt pats themselves on the back.???Job well done ?? Here in N.S. all we asked was to help us break even !

[cowman]

Well I do know a thing or two about killing thistles, as it is my bread and butter?
By cutting the plant in the bud stage you stop seed production and you do throw the plant into the rosette stage, which is a perfect stage for eradication.
By using a product like Roundup Transorb at this stage you are not going to control the problem like you would later. However you are also limiting the competition and I would suggest you would be creating a perfect seed bed for new emerging thistles?
A product like Graze on or Ally will get those "rosette type thistles as well as any seeds or regrowth the next year. The trick is to lay down a residue.
Timely grazing in early June is fairly effective at reducing thistles. Mowing is an awfully expensive and time consuming operation in my experience...maybe not worth the effort unless the thistle population is out of control.
Buckbrush has become a major problem in the eastern portion of Red Deer County. It literally makes the pasture useless as it covers everything and the cattle won't venture into it. These are mostly large very rough pastures where economics dictate a very cheap management system. The carrying capacity is not large due to poor sandy soil and lack of moisture. Buckbrush and absinthe seem to find this a very good place to thrive and if not controlled will soon render the whole pasture useless. Cheapest and most economical way of control is spraying...sometimes so rough you need some pretty specialized equipment.

[nicolaas]

I agree with cowman, spraying works for me. About 15 years ago, before roundup price came down, We would kill thistle with Banvel by spraying in late august/early sept. on our summerfallow. The time to kill is fall. To me mowing will cost you more money in the long run than spraying. Your time has to be worth something. The cost to swath cropland per acre is approx. $8.00, mowing a pasture costs more than that. With chemical at least you may spray one or two, possibley three years in a row, and then your done. With mowing, it is one/two times per year, indefinitley.

[grassfarmer]

Better still let the cows mow any thistles poor management may create - they don't charge for swathing and use the 17% protein greens as fuel! You also don't kill all the legumes and simplify the plant community opening up spaces for further invaders to move in. Unlike spraying or cutting proper grazing can eliminate thistles.