canada thisel

[jane]

I am an organic farmer since 1990,canada thisle is my only weed problem,any idea how to control canada thisle without lossing my certification.

[buss]

I have heard of some organic operations using hot steam as a weed control tool. There was a small study done in the Peace Country on thistle control with steam with mixed results. The thistles grow back of course. I have heard that the railways have used steam for weed control and I have also heard of steam making machines that are manufactured for organic orchards as weed control tools. In the distant past people have tried to use modified flame throwers and high voltage machines to effect the same pupose. All of these methods can be quite harzardous to operators. At any rate, a web search using some of the phases in the message as keywords may be helpful to you.

[bubba]

I have heard of producers using a rodweeder for Canada Thistle. The key is to try to pull out the weed by the root. Cultivating only provides temporary top growth control. Try leaving land undisturbed in the spring ans wait for canada thistle to begin growing. This will mean delayed seeding so be prepared with the right crop and variety for your land. A rodweeder may help to reduce your problem. It may be of interest to search some historical Guides to Agriculture. Go back and learn what the researchers were recommending prior to the development of herbicides.

[dickens]

I recall witnessing a beetle that fed on C. thistle. I am relatively sure it was not the blister beetle (which feeds on many plants). Sounds like you are in this for the long term. You might be surprized what you will learn by going into a few infested fields (especially after there has been a strong summer wind out of the south).

[dickens]

Regarding steam treating Canada Thistle - Don't waste your time and effort. Steam control is extremely time and energy intensive, with results that are less than impressive. It's the equivalent of spraying herbicide at 10 times the recommended rate - you burn the hell out of the top growth and leave the root unscathed. Besides the fact that the energy wasted to produce steam could be better used elsewhere...

[dickens]

The best non-chemical control of Canada Thistle can be found by rotating into legume forages such as alfalfa in your Canada Thistle infested land. As a creeping rooted perennial, Canada Thistle problems 'stem' from the root, not the seeds. In mid summer (July), Canada Thistle is just coming to flower, and thus its roots are at their weakest point in the growing season. Cutting your alfalfa at the recommended time is also the best time to literally nip CT in the bud. Subsequent and frequent recutting of the Canada Thistle regrowth right into the fall is the next step, as you literally prevent the patch from photosynthesizing by removing the above ground parts. Over a couple of years the roots will starve and your problem is solved. Check a 3 or 4 year old alfalfa stand - if cutting was accomplished in prime times, the thistle problems will be minimal... Just my $.02 - good luck - organic control of Thistle will likely be frustrating! PS please disregard steam as an option. Rodweeding? Why not go back to a horse-drawn plow as well?...again, just my $.02

[organic]

I have heard that if you cultivate the thisel patches on the 21 of every month without fail you will start to eliminate the weed. Also I also farm organically and found one year that the thistle weevil moved in and ate my plants. Fence your patch and let sheep have at it or a couple of hogs, good luck

[drlammers]

In 98 we had 60 acres of fallow that was wall to wall thistle. We tilled with a cultivator 4 times and intended to spray with glyphospate in the fall. After harvest when we were ready to spray, it was freasing every morning. My brother tilled the plot deep (5-6 inches) with spikes as we could not spray. In the spring we figured we had 60% control and then sprayed it out. Spiking deep froze the roots. Likly one more rip the following fall would have saved a chemical application.

[lorne]

I have heard that cattle or other animals like sheep or goats will eat the stuff. The key is to have enough animals out there to eat it down then when it grows back they should be turned out again to eat it down again, this will have to be repeated all summer long, so in affect you are using livestock to do you summefallow.

You would have to do intensive grazing possibly using electric fencing to keep the numbers high enough in a small area to eat it to the ground before moving to the next section of the field. The problem is that most people do not have enough livestock to do this effectively.

Lorne