Early Spring

[RL338]

Today I dug out the plow and plowed the garden. On normal years there would be 2’ of snow back there yet. Ground was dry. Usually late April to early May is the standard here.
Some of the neighbors are starting field work already. If it wasn’t for a turn in the forecast this coming week I would start discing corn stalks.

 

[JD338]

It's a welcome break. We have been cutting autumn olive and multi floral rose but we are done now due to the warm weather. These invasive species are already starting to bud out making the herbicide ineffective. The Stihl Brush Saw has really worked well.
We will be back at it in September.

JD338

 

[Bruce Mc]

It's a welcome break. We have been cutting autumn olive and multi floral rose but we are done now due to the warm weather. These invasive species are already starting to bud out making the herbicide ineffective. The Stihl Brush Saw has really worked well.
We will be back at it in September.

JD338

I have a slightly older model of the Stihl. I use it for Youpon and Quisache. It is a good tool.

 

[salmonchaser]

Get a lot of work out of my brush blade as well. North east Oregon overall is relatively dry country but it has been a dry spring. We got home Friday morning and are really suprised how little snow there is on Mt. Emily across the valley, or on Mt. Harris in our back yard. Snow pack through the Blue Mountains is light this year. That is concerning on many levels. Regardless, I’m behind on my chores.

 

[JD338]

Beautiful country Don

JD338

 

[KinleyWater]

It's been awfully warm here, too, but now we're in for a bit of a cold snap. I worry that a lot of farmers are going to start in on the field and get bit with an April frost. Hope I'm wrong.

 

[salmonchaser]

Beautiful country Don

JD338

I'm a lucky man!

 

[wvbuckbuster]

Was hoping not to start cutting grass until April but looks like maybe later this week. then again, I hoped for the same thing last year. Dan.

 

[salmonchaser]

I'll just put the horses in the yard

 

[truck driver]

Ahhh garden season.
The past couple of years I have been fighting a short growing thistle but this spring it has gotten out of control and it has bloomed all winter long. I seems that the frost, snow and generally cold weather has had no affect on it. It has grown and bloomed all winter providing lots of seed to germinate and grow this spring.
I had to use a fork to dig it out of the garden since it has a large mat root base so pulling was out of the question along with using a herbicide since it would kill the wife's rose bushes around the edge of the garden.
Digging the thistle out let the air get to the ground and dry it out enough that I ran the roto tiller in it today since I know it would be May before I could work the ground up since April is usually very wet here. I'll get some black poly and cover the surface to keep the weeds down and hope to keep the thistle down also. I have sprayed 8 gallons of round up around the yard to try and control what is growing in the grass.
It's a loosing battle since the farmer that rents the field behind my house has been no-tilling the field for years with out ever plowing the weeds under, just spraying weed killer and planting no tilling corn and soy beans.
I come from a farming family and have never seen this much thistle in the 40+ years I have lived on my property.

 

[JD338]

Roger

Take a look at Garlon 4.
It kills everything. That's what I'm using for autumn olive, multi floral rose and buckthorn.

JD338

 

[truck driver]

Thanks JD I'll see if I can find some.

 

[salmonchaser]

Most thistle reacts well to spraying just before it flowers, any of the 24d types should work. Weird how your plant is acting! Is it a Canadian thistle?

 

[truck driver]

These are pictures from plants that were sprayed last week with round up that I mixed an once stronger than the directions called for. Though the leaves have dried up the flowers are still active and producing seed. The stuff will take over an area and smoother already established grasses.

 

[JD338]

As a follow up to the Garlon 4. It is mixed with a surfactant and blue dye and applied immediately after it is cut. Here is an example of an autumn olive that's been cut and treated.

JD338

 

[wvbuckbuster]

These are pictures from plants that were sprayed last week with round up that I mixed an once stronger than the directions called for. Though the leaves have dried up the flowers are still active and producing seed. The stuff will take over an area and smoother already established grasses.

I've seen this stuff. Ground Clear works on it. Dan.

 

[RL338]

Mixing 4 ounces of round up to 1 gallon of water kills whatever I’m spraying. Spraying large areas I like 2 quarts to an acre.

 

[wvbuckbuster]

Well, I cut my grass this year for the first time. Dan.

 

[salmonchaser]

Kinda looks like star Thistle but just can’t tell for sure. Can’t see any of the old spines however so still looking in the book. Mixing Round up extra strong is counter productive. It burns the top off before in can be translocated to the roots.

 

[truck driver]

Kinda looks like star Thistle but just can’t tell for sure. Can’t see any of the old spines however so still looking in the book. Mixing Round up extra strong is counter productive. It burns the top off before in can be translocated to the roots.

Thanks for the response.
I don't think I'm mixing it too strong but just adding enough to make up for the extra water that goes into the sprayer before you can get the water turned off. These pictures were taken 5 days after it was sprayed. I would have thought it would have been burnt to the ground since it says 24hr to kill anything you spray. Maybe I got a bottle of old stock that had lost it's potency.