Ragwort

[gnfencer]

When I worked for the forestry commission, we used to pull it annually, after complaints from a particular horse owner,

To get to the wood concerned, we had to drive past her place, bright yellow with tansies( local term for ragwort).

[headgroundsman]

Pulling ragwort is fools work! It'll likely grow back in the same spot from either broken off roots or old seeds in the now freshly exposed soil.[/quote

It is a shame to put people off taking positive action against this weed. Pulling it properly with the help of a ragfork will greatly reduce the amount there in subsequent years. As it is a biennial there will be some flowering next year but then you should see the benefits of your work after that.

[Mull]

Sheep on in spring, they'll graze any new ragwort growth and keep it gone.

[Will Heal]

Sheep on in spring, they'll graze any new ragwort growth and keep it gone.

 

 

Is it not harmful to sheep?

[tommy w]

Pretty much had to be pulled on SSSI grazed with ponies. Formula H is pretty effective but as usual in conservation, pretty expensive too.

[Mull]

Is it not harmful to sheep?

 

 

They don't live long enough, and would only eat small, new growth usually, maybe not as toxic. But where there is sheep there is no ragwort generally.

[tommy w]

Doesn't it bioaccumulate? So one sheep eats very little but one human could eat lots, potentially.

[Mull]

Doesn't it bioaccumulate? So one sheep eats very little but one human could eat lots, potentially.

 

 

No idea! As I said maybe the young plant has very little toxicity, need a biologist to come along and enlighten us:)

[openspaceman]

When I worked for the forestry commission, we used to pull it annually, after complaints from a particular horse owner,

To get to the wood concerned, we had to drive past her place, bright yellow with tansies( local term for ragwort).

 

tansy is a different plant but easilly mistaken for ragwort.

[Mull]

tansy is a different plant but easilly mistaken for ragwort.

 

 

Maybe the horse owner in question called it tansy when they were in "ragwort denial":)