remedy for thistle?

[SleepyFarmall]

Is there a remedy for thistle infestation in the garden. It's really taken over. Thanks, Michael

 

[showcrop]

Spot spray round-up.

 

[Traditional Farmer]

A good hoe or tiller and add some K

 

[Cliff(VA)]

I had a problem with thistles in my lawn once. I let them grow up tall and when the flowers first came out I sprayed the tops (carefully) with Roundup. Watch your overspray. The thistles died and the grass underneath was un-affected. Worked great.

I also had a friend who would treat honeysuckle in shrubbery with Roundup, rubber gloves, and a sponge. He claimed he could kill the honeysuckle without hurting the shrubs.

Just rememeber anything you drip on will die also.

Hope that this helps.

Cliff(VA) now (NC)

 

[Russ from MN]

I have always used 2,4-D for thistles, but you have to be careful what you spray it on, but it won't kill grass like roundup. You might get better response on Tractor tales forum, this is supposed to be about tools.

 

[RM-MN]

What kind of thistle do you have in your garden. Thistles may require different control depending on the type and stage of growth. There are at least 6 varieties of thistle where I live, some easy to control, some nearly imposssible.

 

[WAYNE-N-TEXAS]

Grazon , won't kill grass

 

[Tony in SD]

I would not recommend tillage as a means to kill thistle. If you till thistle the roots will continue to spread and make it worse. Fall spraying just before a hard frost works well. Round up or 24D depending on where it is.

 

[Gary Mitchell]

My thoughts as well. A hoe will work wonders on thistles, especially a grub hoe. gm

 

[ss55]

What kind of thistle? Bull, Blue and Russian are easy to control.

Canadian thistles are much more difficult. Killing off the top is easy, the roots take years to starve out. Tordon can work, but be careful with it.

 

[rustred]

use round up, kills all weeds too.

 

[560Dennis]

Canadian thistle have quite a vast root system according to traditional farmer book , (1919)
This may help you , I found it very interesting when I read it awhile back
Tell what you try .

 

[caterpillar guy]

Thistle is best sprayed in the fall for best kill. Canadian thistle will not kill around here with roundup nor 24D till fall. They are sucking down nutrients for winter and will suck the spray down then as in summer they are not doing that so don't kill them according to my chemical people here.

 

[2090]

Shovel below the surface, permanent, works everytime, no question.

 

[David Snipes]

Milestone herbicide is the ultimate herbicide for Canada Thistle. It has a residual effect and may not be good for a garden. 245 is good if used in the fall; it has a short residual. I you don't want to use chemicals you will need to hand dig up the entire root system.

 

[Donald in MN]

my dad had a pasture that had a lot of musk thistles. his crop consultant said to use 24D mixed with banvel and crop oil. he said the thistles liked to take the banvel in with the 24D . we could see the results in a day or two. also there is a spring 24D and a fall 24D but i dont remember what they are called.

 

[Texasmark]

P+D????......the P is probably what gets them as its for woody plants, trees, brush, etc., the D for broadleaf things.

 

[Aaron SEIA]

If you take a hoe to Canadian thistle the problem will be worse every time you try. Each cutting will make a new plant. Knowing which thistle you have is going to dictate what you fight it with. I'll second the Milestone. Not cheap, but very effective. Probably a multi year battle once you figure out what you've got.
AaronSEIA

 

[72supr]

Grazon Next.

 

[cjunrau]

take a scissor and cut the tops off when it is raining or when watering garden. if rain water gets in the stem it dies.

 

[Hay hay hay]

You said GARDEN!...Be careful using herbicides. Several can last in the soil for years and are deadly to vegetables. Read the label carefully. Hay fields and gardens are very different.

 

[showcrop]

(quoted from post at 05:31:10 07/02/22) You said GARDEN!...Be careful using herbicides. Several can last in the soil for years and are deadly to vegetables. Read the label carefully. Hay fields and gardens are very different.

That's right!! That is one of the great things about Glyphosate. When I was eliminating milkweed from my hay fields There would be about a ten inch diam. grass kill in two weeks. In two years it was all grass again.

 

[T in NE]

Picloram- I believe the chemical name for tordon. D for 2,4d.
A quart in a 15 gallon tank with a half quart of anionic surfactant will kill a 3 foot cedar brown dead in 2 weeks.

 

[fixerupper]

Like several guys mentioned if this is a garden where you grow vegies you better not use Grazon or Tordon. Straight Grazon is 2-4D and Tordon. I am not sure about Grazon next, maybe no Tordon in next? Tordon will guarantee you won t grow broadleaf plants in the garden for several years. Thistles that grow from seed annually like Musk or Bull can be killed with 2-4D in the fall. They germinate and come up in the fall and winter over, Then they grow up the next summer. Hard to kill the next spring but super easy to kill in the fall.

This post was edited by fixerupper on 07/03/2022 at 10:33 am.