**HELP!!!. I need to improve my PASTURE!!!*****

[midwestmilkmaiden]

HEllo All!!..
So.. we reside on a small but abundant 2 acre homestead. I raise goats and chickens , but am now realizing just how seriously bad my pasture is!!! ... And with only 2 acres to work with . . I'm trying to make the best of it!! See, we have a ton of thistle and cockleburr.. also known as burdock.. which makes for a huge mess in the fall!!!!!.. and it multiplies sooo quickly!!

So.. I'm getting crazy with ideas to fix this problem .. I normally would never think of using a weed killer such as Round Up or anything similar to that .. but I don't know any other option!!! which brings me to my biggest dilemma!!.. for anyone that may have any help , advice, or suggestions... would the goats try and eat the weeds that i spray with round-up , ya think?? I"d like to rotate them to make sure everything would be safe.. .but like I said I'm limited on space!!!

BUT.. if i can answer this question of mine .. then my next step would be to lay down some good pasture seed mix!.. just getting to this step is my problem right now!!

All suggestions are VERY welcome!!!!

 

[Marion]

I don't know anything about goats but I do know that Roundup will kill anything that is green, including the grass. We spray the hayfield in March when the grass is still dormant, weeds are usually the first to sprout here. There are some herbicides that will not kill the grass but only certain weeds, your best bet is to talk to your local Dept of Agriculture office, they should know exactly what and when to spray PLUS what is and isn't safe to use with the goats etc. Sometimes a good turf grass will take over and choke out weeds eventually, another thing is to mow those weeds before they have a chance to go to seed, eventually most will simply die out because they are annuals and depend on reseeding themselves every season. Hope this helps.

 

[beak]

We just mow and keep the weeds down. Usually set the blade about 4". We had a lot of weeds when we first moved in but after 6 years they're pretty much under control.Have horses so anything that isn't organic is out.