OT: milkweed success

[Steve in VA]

Apologies first about spreading weeds, but... Growing up they were everywhere as were the monarch, and other, butterflies. They got sorta hard to find past few years and so I began spreading seed in the fall on some really marginal land. I've been working to get the place back in shape after years and years of neglect. Haying what we can and bush hogging the rest. This chunk was troublesome to cut and damp to boot. So, it's been given over to the flowers, the rabbits, deer, and anything that wants a few acres. Two years of seeding and now I've got a great crop of milkweed. The butterflies are thick on the blooms. As a kid I used the sap to treat poison ivy since, as a kid, I was always out messing around in the woods.

I'd be interested to hear from folks doing similar.

 

[johnlobb]

I have been trying to let the few that sprout naturally grow, but SWMBO keeps pulling them up.

 

[pete black]

I too have established milk weed, however I moved them from my hay fields to other locations less likely to be mowed. You are probably aware but the weed makes a tuber similar to a small sweet potato. Dig down to retrieve and replant in a desirable location. Beautiful weed with the orange blooms. Another good attracting is the annual zinnina flowers, butterflies and gold finches love feeding on the blossom seeds.

 

[Ken Macfarlane]

Agh! We never had milkweed here but it's moved in the last 15 years! What a pain to get rid of it! Plowing does nothing, roundup stunts it a bit, pulling can be done 3 times a year with no effect.

 

[Hayfarmer]

weedmaster, 2-4D with banvil works pretty good

 

[farmerwithmutt]

Also to make better habitat I think it's every 3 years you burn it to keep shrubs and trees down. Neighbors do it kinda neat to see 40 acres plus on fire. Makes beautiful prarie in time. I let weeds grow even thistles I mow fences tight to keep the shrubs and trees down and then mow everything at least once a year. Right now I can look at my green lawn more than a little messy but white clover growing and bunny munching away.

 

[caterpillar guy]

Milkweed the dain of the crop grower.

 

[Steve in VA]

I hear ya but all hay and cows for miles and miles. Not a row crop to be found.

The bane of my existence is the autumn olive.

 

[WGM]

Canada thisles are considered a noxious weed and here in Indiana it's against the law to allow them grow in any quantity. In fact you don't take care of them the township will do it for you and put the cost on your next real estate tax bill. Besides, they will eventually spread and take over and you will have nothing but thistles.

 

[Leroy]

Same in Ohio but wish the goverments in both states would follow their own laws and keep them under control on goverment land including the roadsides.

 

[Stan - Florida]

During WW II, we school kids were given mesh bags to collect milkweed pods in. We did this in the fall before the pods burst. The pods were somehow used to make life jackets for the military folks.

Stan

 

[farmerwithmutt]

Easy way to get rid of thistles mowing at the correct time wait as long as you can just before the flower out cut them and usually if you cut right they don't have time to flower before frost. The other thing is get a good thick stand of grass going if you notice driving down the road there is few thistles growing on road banks. Most of the developed prarie around here doesn't have thistles. I've also noticed my worst spot is where I get run off from my neighbors field or where I feed cattle. One university tried growing them and couldn't I've found out over the years it's better to work with nature than fight it.
If you step back you can almost look at some weeds as nature's fence and nature is trying to correct a problem. My one neighbor has all kinds of thistles he sprays mows etc but one thing he will do is graze it into the ground mine across the fence is rotational grazing with good grass and no thistles.

 

[Greg K]

Lol. Not anymore. Glyphosphate fixed that problem, however when everyone was cultivating it sure was a problem. I can't even imagine how many I cut while walking beans.

 

[Steve in VA]

Stan, that's a new one on me. Had to go read up on that. Interesting.

 

[Stan - Florida]

Let me know what you find out or where I should look, too.

Stan

 

[Stan - Florida]

Steve,

Found it! Googled Milkweeds for life jackets. Learned more than I needed to know, especially the part about getting paid 15 cents per bag. I don't recall getting paid at all. I do remember buying U.S. War Bond Stamps for a dime and when you got a little book full of them you could turn them in for a War Bond.

It's terrible to be old enough to remember stuff like that and can't remember it.

Was out on the golf course the other day and the starter told me that he had a guy who didn't see very well and asked if the old codger could join me since I have good eyes. Sure, I said. The old guy got up on the tee and smacked a good drive, maybe 150 yards. He asked me if I saw where it went and I said, "Sure". He asked me where it went and I had to say, "I can't remember"

 

[led]

Didn't they call it kapock ?
Led

 

[Jon Erickson]

I mow around the white clover on my lawn in west-central MN. Honey-bees love it. Average of two bees per square yard all day long. An easy way to do some good.

 

[Traditional Farmer]

The place I baled hay at today the owner and his kids went out and cut the pods off the milkweeds I had cut yesterday to get seeds so they can plant a
bed of them next year for the butterflies.

 

[Whiskey Bent]

When I was a kid my grandma told me that the "milk" from milk weeds would get rid of warts. I had a couple warts on a finger and a couple times a week I would put the milk on them. It took about 6 months but they went away and never came back.

 

[Adirondack case guy]

Had a bunch of them growing next door on the "organic farm. They finally couldn't get anyone to cut the hay??????, and it got moldboard plowed and planted to buckwheet. Still lots of milkweed growing. The wife and I harvest the heads befor they bloom and freeze them up for winter meals. Taste and texture much the same as brocolli.
Loren

 

[Texasmark1]

(quoted from post at 21:57:25 07/23/16) Steve,

Found it! I do remember buying U.S. War Bond Stamps for a dime and when you got a little book full of them you could turn them in for a War Bond.

It's terrible to be old enough to remember stuff like that and can't remember it.

I still have one of my partially filled in stamp books. May be worth something some day. Still have some E bonds from back in the '60's too.

 

[Steve in VA]

How do you prepare them? This is another one I'd never heard of before.

 

[showcrop]

I have had a little milkweed here and there. I have pretty well eradicated it by going out in summer after first cut with my 2.5 gal sprayer of Round Up. When there are only a couple doz plants you can get it before it gets a toe hold.

 

[Stan - Florida]

Well, I think kapok is a tree. I sort of remember that softballs used to have kapok inside, but I wouldn't bet the farm on it.

Stan

 

[T in NE]

It's only their roadside til tax and weed season comes along.