Ragwort Again

[LouiseS]

Ragwort - I have a lot of it and am on strict pulling regime - but how to get rid of it?

Burning - is the smoke poisonous? Does anyone know?. Somebody suggested to me that it might be and therefore you would be well advised not to breathe it - almost an impossibility with the size of bonfire this would have to be.

What happens if you compost it down (assuming out of reach of anyhorses - probably closed container?) - is the resullting compost poisonous and or anything that leaches out in the process?

Any suggestions?

Louise

 

[LouiseS]

And I forgot to mention that someone advised me to put salt in the 'hole' after you had pulled - supposed to kill off any roots left behind. Is this an old wives tale or is there some scientific basis for this?

Louise

 

[Lgd]

We've always burnt ours and have never had any problems. Not ever done anything with salt so I don't know the answer to that one.

 

[virtuallyhorses]

salt

I'm not sure how pervasive ragwort roots are but certainly putting a dose of salt onto the area would make it less likely that anything would regrow- but that would include grass, since most plants don't like salt. Simply making sure that you pull up as much root as possible, would probably do the trick just as well, without having to lug a bag of salt around the place

Burning is the best method to get rid of ragwort. Ragwort kills over time by causing damage to the liver.
It is equally dangerous fresh or dried (and this would include composting) I'm not sure about leaching, it is a plant with high alkoloid content like hemlock (which as we know was commonly made into a lethal tea) so it would seem likely. Suggest that you burn to be safe, if you're worried about fumes - don't stand upwind.

 

[Mehitabel]

regarding putting salt down, i'd worry about the horses licking it and accidentally eating the roots or any fallen leaves from where you'd pulled it up. we just pull, and stamp over the hole so it's covered and flat.

 

[Lucy J]

burning is best because when the fluffy seeds start to fly around you can end up with ragwort everywhere the next year.

 

[ros]

Hi Louise

Another good reason for not composting (as if you need one) is that it won't get rid of any seeds so you'd just be spreading it around to multiply. That goes for lots of weeds. If you spread dung from weedy pasture you get the same results. Amazing how tough some of these seeds are!

 

[Kerry's Partner!!]

Ragwort, Oxfordsire and Hi Louise

At risk of being sued - but your own expert advice on this is needed Louise (which I know you can give).

I think that, regardless of the good publicity Oxfordshire has received in respect of getting ride of ragwort, it is rampamt throughout Oxfordshire. It is growing inch by inch along the railway lines and adjacent fields across Didcot for example - and some further afield e.g. in some of the fields where hosehage etc etc. is produced.

I'm not at all surprised you are having a problem.

Sandra