Eradicating Salvation Jane / Patterson's Curse

[offshoresa65s]

Hi

We have just purchased 4 & 1/2 acres in the Clare Valley, South Australia.

We are not going to run any stock, except for visiting Kanga's and rabbits and birds that wander through. We can also get the occasional feral deer.

We are approaching our first winter up here and the Clare Valley gets more rainfall than surrounding areas due to it's elevation, approx 450M compared to your usual flat Mid North climes of South Australia.

We have probably an acre of mature and very juvenile plants of Salvation Jane.

I've grubbed probably 60% of the larger, more developed specimens, some as large as dinner plates to the bread & butter sized plate sized plants.

There are thousands of juvenile plants about the size of the circumference of a golf ball.

I've been around and sprayed Zero on these juvenile plants, after 4 days, doesn't appear to have hurt them at all.

Will Zero kill this noxious weed? or is there some other herbicidal agent that's not catastrophically deleterious to myself and my neighbours health, both in the short & long term view.

Cheers

Offshore

[bsrlee]

Zero aka Roundup should work, it can actually take a couple of weeks to really show, even though the plant is doomed - weeds are tough. Check that the bottle is reasonably refesh & was well sealed - the active ingredient does oxidise in a couple of weeks when sprayed onto the weeds & I suspect that it also 'goes off' in the bottle if enough oxygen can get at it.

Always buy the concentrate rather than the pre-diluted spray, IIRC Roundup is the concentrate & Zero is pre-diluted - these days it is a generic product despite all Monsato can do & every man & his dog is selling it under a variety of names - just check the bottle, if it has a chart giving differing dilution ratios it is the concentrate.

Of course, for Patterson's Curse you may need to use a higher concentration. Bin-Die is also good stuff, kills just about everything except grass - main thing is that it is poisonous to fish, so run off is a problem there.

[Kidbee]

An alternative to fighting the fight with controlling it and the pests, is to put some beehives on the block. You will get great honey and the bees will thrive on the very nutritious pollen. You then become a "primary producer" and can offset your other income against your losses from the bees!!!!!! Not a bad way to go with a small flea-ridden block overrun with Pattersons Curse, rabbits, kangaroos and feral deer.

Gary

[whitewood]

bsrlee is on the right track. The stuff they sell at 'burnings' is not the best product for the job. Weed control on rural block has to be approached in a different manner to suburban gardening or you'll spend too much time maintaining your property instead of enjoying it.

Visit your local agricultural supply shop and seek their advice on what is best to kill the weeds you don't want while retaining the grass and not harming animals. They will be knowledgeable about local options and will sell you say 5 litres of Roundup or amicide 625 that will last you a long time and be less expensive in the long run. A back pack to spray the herbicides will also be a good investment.

Whitewood

[tea lady]

Yeah! Just don't do what that rich bloke did to the hills behind Port Willunga. Sprayed the whole thing with round up to get rid of the stuff and now they are COMPLETELY purple. :doh: Despite the advice of actual experts that that was not the way to go. I can put you in touch with some people who might know what to do if you like. Certainly no easy solution, I know that.:C Good luck.

[DavidG]

Depending on the slope of your block:-

Slashing reduces flowering.

Glyphosate 360 at 100 to 1 (Water, Glypho) will kill the rest in a week.
Seeds can survive for 11 years so don't relax but keep
spraying every year. One plant going to seed means more
work next year.

If you can drive over your block, look up EBay for a 50 ltr
12v spray with 10mtr of hose. Search for -12v sprayer (About $100)
Saves carrying the backpack and they work well (I use one).

[offshoresa65s]

Hi

Thanks for the prompt replys.

Yes, the zero I was using is just your every day garden variety Zero. I don't have the concentration of the bottle in front of me, but I'll give it another couple of weeks and see if the original spraying has had any effect.

Some of the larger plants have very established roots, some as big as my thumb, they'd be several seasons old I guess.

I am happy to grub out the large ones, but I was hoping the baby plants would be just like any other broad leafed weed and susceptible to the zero by virtue that they were juvenile. We'll see.

I'll let you know

Cheers

Offshoresa65s

[FenceFurniture]

Zero is definitely the ripoff version of Round Up. Unbelievable how much they charge for water. Either way it's slow to get results, but they'll happen

After that, I don't really know what I'm talking about, but if PC is a broad leaf then it may be susceptible to a broad leaf poison like Weed & Feed. This stuff is brilliant on Dandelions etc - they go black and buggered in about 2-3 days, but the surrounding grass gets fertilised. Wicked result!

[China]

You should also repeat the application after 14 days

[wheelinround]

An alternative to fighting the fight with controlling it and the pests, is to put some beehives on the block. You will get great honey and the bees will thrive on the very nutritious pollen. You then become a "primary producer" and can offset your other income against your losses from the bees!!!!!! Not a bad way to go with a small flea-ridden block overrun with Pattersons Curse, rabbits, kangaroos and feral deer.

Gary

Beat me to it.:2tsup:

Round Up :no: native animals eat the grass remember.

[Andy Mac]

Coming from a family farm that now uses huge quantities of Roundup (should have shares in Monsanto:rolleyes:), I'd be checking out its use and possible side effects pretty thoroughly before using it regularly. Strange thing is my step-father, who has lived almost his entire life there but now mostly retired, reckons he doesn't remember anywhere near the weed problem we have now, even 20yrs ago. Resistance is increasing.

Much info on the Net, mostly from an extreme anti position: Hazards of the World (http://www.motherearthnews.com/Organic-Gardening/2005-10-01/Hazards-of-the-Worlds-Most-Common-Herbicide.aspx)
but some more balanced: Glyphosate and Cancer (http://asgap.org.au/apol20/dec00-3.html)

[offshoresa65s]

Hi

It's now day 12 since spraying with Zero, probably 50 % of the baby plants are begining to show signs of yellowing leaf tips, so I'm guessing that if it doesn't kill them, they may at least be weakened and vulnerable to insects. Some of them are showing signs of neat little round holes through the leaves.

Given that, I don't know if there are any insect predators.

I will spray again next week when I'm back up here.

Meanwhile I'm ging to make another post about water filtration.

Thanks for all your input, this is a great resource.

Cheers

Offshore

[whitewood]

Offshore

The rate at which Roundup works is influenced greatly by the rate of growth in the weed. If they are growing quickly (read summer / rain) then the results are quick. The reverse is true. You are getting a result so be patient before you go to the trouble and expense of respraying. I feel too much roundup can't be good for the environment.
Whitewood

[offshoresa65s]

Hi.

Great news, walking around the areas that I sprayed, I've got about a 90% kill / success rate.

I forgot who advised me of this, an early poster, but you were spot on, 14 days to kill them.

Cheers

Offshore

[tea lady]

:2tsup:

Now you just gotta do it every year for 11 years. :C As all the seed comes up. Makes revegetating a bit tricky.:doh:

[whitewood]

As I posted earlier to visit a rural supplier store and get some advice. I did when I started on my plantation 14 years ago as a complete novice. There are herbicides that kill weeds and not pasture. There are premergance sprays that kill seeds before they germinate. Each State (area) has it's own problems and therefore own solutions. What works in Northern NSW may not be suitable for your block but the local Ag store guys will know what will and save you a lot of time and effort to get you block looking like you want it.

Whitewood