Cutting Thistles

rusty6 · Aug 31, 2016

For some reason we have a tremendous growth of Canada thistles this year. Mostly on uncultivated ground like this old pasture. This ground has never been broken but I've never seen such a crop of thistle. It bothered me enough to take the six foot rotary mower and 730 Case and spend a good four hours cutting yesterday. I've heard an old theory that by cutting thistles at the right time it will kill them off right down through the root systems. I guess we will see.

Bob NY · Aug 31, 2016

You need to cut them after they flower but before they go to seed 2 years in a row.

bradley martin · Aug 31, 2016

Herbicides would likely be a surer option!

Dick2 · Aug 31, 2016

I think that it has to be wet and humid so the plants will not clot and bleed out. Otherwise the cut stem will clot over and grow back again. If the thistles are ripe and you chop them down, with a little help from the breeze, you will be scattering thistle seed across the country. Better look for a deal on a lot of herbicide.

IA Roy · Aug 31, 2016

If you can pasture the land, put salt blocks in the center of the patches and move them as the livestock tramples the plants down. I agree the herbicide approach is a better one, if it has not been broken or tilled, I would use something that would kill everything, and seed something next year that might smother it.

Dean · Aug 31, 2016

Never known anyone having any success killing Canadian thistles by mowing, no matter when or how often one mows.

Dean

jeffcat · Aug 31, 2016

I would go with Bob. Flowering sucks a lot of power from any plant and if you can cut before it ripens. trouble is when the plants bloom at different times. Now you have a pain in the buns. When I was a kid I used to go around with a corn knife and wearing welder gloves. That was a real fun job. I can remember one time my dad and I were driving up the road and a neighbor was out with his John Deere and a brush hog. You got it.......every thistle was ripe and there were MILLIONS of flying seeds in there air. It looked like a fog. We were both laughing so hard we had tears in our eyes. He replanted his field for the next 199 years!

farmerwithmutt · Aug 31, 2016

Timing is critical you have to wait and
have patience. Wait till after they
flower and just before they seed if the
timing is right they won't have time to
reseed before frost. One other thing is
build a good stand of grass that will
smother the thistles out. It is a slow way
to do it or you can do the quick fix and
spray. I've had good luck doing the timing
and grass over the years and pasture is
thick and good the neighbor sprayed and
over grazed and still has thistles.

guzzibob · Aug 31, 2016

I have the same issue with Musk Thistle . After fighting for several years I found that if you spray them in the Rosett stage they are easy to control. Once they bolt they become harder to handle. What seemed to really get them under control was bugs . Yes mother nature took over with some kind of beetles that lay their eggs on the blossom then the larvae eat the seed. I guess nature knows when it's time.!

gene bender · Aug 31, 2016

Why didnt you spray them when they were small and they would have ben dead by now mowing them will not kill them.

Dean · Aug 31, 2016

Canadian thistles are perennials.

Mowing at the right time will help prevent the spread of hundreds of millions of seeds but will have no effect upon established plants.

Dean

Dean · Aug 31, 2016

Hard to tell from the photo, but those do not look like Canadian thistles.

Dean

rusty6 · Aug 31, 2016

(quoted from post at 18:38:22 08/31/16) Hard to tell from the photo, but those do not look like Canadian thistles.

Dean

No question, they are Canada thistle. I've seen enough to know. No, I won't spray this original native prairie. Out in the field I have no problem as glyphosate does a good job. I was not too impressed with the fence line spraying my neighbour did. He killed off what used to be a good strip of hay along the fence with roundup. What grew back was part Canada thistle and part wild oats. Useless as feed.
This just seems to be an ideal year to grow thistles as I see them many places they dont' normally show up.

flying belgian · Aug 31, 2016

Gosh, you should have mowed them before they went to seed. What's the point in mowing them now?

rusty6 · Aug 31, 2016

(quoted from post at 20:59:35 08/31/16) Gosh, you should have mowed them before they went to seed. What's the point in mowing them now?

The point? Very simple. I can look across the pasture now and it looks like a park. Not a jungle. I did it for looks I guess. If it kills the thistles too, well that is a side benefit.

WI Dan · Aug 31, 2016

thank you for the story and picture. A good looking field is hard to complain about!

How close to the ground can your mower cut?

rusty6 · Sep 1, 2016

(quoted from post at 21:57:04 08/31/16) thank you for the story and picture. A good looking field is hard to complain about!

How close to the ground can your mower cut?

I am quite surprised just how close and fine cut this rough cut Farm King can do. If I set it right down it is as good as a lawn mower. Of course in heavy cutting like the prairie wool and three foot tall thistles I did not cut so low as it takes a lot of power and I'd have to travel pretty slow. I did most of this job in third gear, sometimes fourth. Maybe 3 mph. You can see it working here in this video from 2012.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XtNNOeKRcrc

Dean · Sep 1, 2016

Awful small Canadian thistles.

Canadian thistles grow 6' tall and more.

I worked on them for over 20 years on my place but now rarely find one.

Dean

David Snipes · Sep 1, 2016

Milestone is the best Canada Thistle herbicide around. Fall regrowth is a good time to spray.

Cutting Thistles

rusty6

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Bob NY

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bradley martin

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Dick2

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IA Roy

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Dean

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jeffcat

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farmerwithmutt

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guzzibob

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gene bender

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