i've got mustard weeds out here literally up to my @ss!

[NMDemDist2]

so, do I pay the weed people $500 to kill em all for the season or do I try and mow the chit weekly all season?

:dilemma:

mustard up to my ass I tell ya!!!

I was gonna take a pic to prove it, but the batts are dead in the camera...... :banghead:

[terip64]

1. I worry about the weed people and what else they kill...

are they really that unsightly?

[NMDemDist2]

6. yes

they are

and I have a serious goat head problem inherited from the old owners too

I'm thinking to kill em out (esp the goatheads) for a couple years until I have time to deal with it

the yard is a mess as it is and needs immediate attention. and I want a veggie garden this year that will take some time to get established also

3/4 acre of weeds is a bit more than I can take on right now :cry:

[terip64]

13. I know how overwhelming it can be but do you want veggies growing where you sprayed weed killer?

We have 3 acres and my husband is ready to kill me over this. I know the organic stuff is expensive but I really do worry about round up and the like and I don't trust the people that make it either.

How about something like this?

http://www.ecosafetyproducts.com/Deadeye-Natural-Weed-Killer-p/es-d-rtu128.htm

[NMDemDist2]

15. no, i am not letting them spray anywhere near the viggie garden

i'm mowing that along with the 'yard' areas

[whistle]

2. Do you mean rape seed plants, that is a cash crop which can be used

...as a bio-diesel fuel

[NMDemDist2]

7. dunno, the natives call em mustard

they have small yellow flowers

[mitchtv]

29. Green manure

mow'm or turn them under. They won't come back this year if you mow them

[lastout]

40. at this point,there is no weed control that will help---mow 'em

I know that there are folks out there cautious about herbicides---I have worked on a Research farm for 28 years.Common herbicides such as Roundup will decompose in about a week.
If you use the herbicides correctly they pose no harm---
The problem lies in the field of production-- to feed the world you have to use herbicides---
If you want to save the rain forest the American farmer has to produce more
Oh--my advise-- 1 pint of 2,4-D per acre sprayed when the weed is 2"-4" tall will erase it next spring
my nickels worth-----

[Mojorabbit]

33. Cokk them with some bacon?

or a lovely dish like this
http://www.napastyle.com/kitchen/recipes/recipe.jsp?recipe_id=196

[LWolf]

41. It's a tumble mustard

common at least here in the west, where it grows from the northern U.S. border down to the southern:

Sisymbrium altissimum (Family Brassicaceae)

http://mint.ippc.orst.edu/tumbmustard.htm

[bananas]

3. rent a goat?

[NMDemDist2]

5. i seriously considered that

but they can be pretty destructive

[Horse with no Name]

11. Check out boer goats

They are wonderful meat goats and the meat is lean. Get a couple of them because they are social.
They aren't that expensive to buy.
You can go to the lumber yard and get you 4 cattle panels. Use baling wire to seal up the sides and then you can move your pen from place to place until they eat all of the weeds.
They aren't that destructive. My daughter showed them and we kept one on our porch.
He was in love with the mailman.
We put sweat shirts on him in the winter because he got cold.
They are also a pretty good money-making opportunity if you get the notion to breed and raise them.

Here are some links to get started.
http://www.boergoatshome.com/why_meat_goats.php
http://www.redboergoats.com/

[NMDemDist2]

21. yanno, a couple does might work

thanks for the links!

[Horse with no Name]

28. Someday I would really like to have a small Boer Goat farm

Nothing over 10-15...but ones of really good stock.
I've watched the markets over the past few years and it is just getting better.
I'm especially in love with the white ones with black heads, but for some reason the red ones are the ones on the move.
I joined a Yahoo Group for Texas Boer Goats a few years back...but like everything else, it turned political.
However, you might try joining one out of El Paso since that wouldn't be too far for you to travel to get them.
Many times people advertise when they have orphans to bottle feed and you can get them for free or at least very cheap.
Good luck!

[OnionPatch]

42. I had the same problem

With the mustard weeds around here. I had two goats at the time, and they wouldn't touch the stuff, so don't waste your time and efforts on goats for mustard!

My answer to the mustard is to keep mowing it (yard) and pulling it out (garden). It's been three years and there is a whole lot less of it around than there was at first.

Oh, I forgot to mention, I actually used a little roundup on it in a corner of property away from the fruit and garden. :hide:

[formercia]

4. It's good to eat.

even the wild species if you pick the young leaves. It's a bit hot for most people when eaten raw but a short blanching in hot water or fried in a skillet. Good stuff. I grow it for greens.

[NMDemDist2]

8. i'm lucky my hubby eats lettuce as it it

greens are pushing my luck big time

the new fencing is keeping the jack rabbits out who would usually take care of them for us

[TechBear_Seattle]

19. Well, there's your answer!

Maybe you could put a bunny door into the fence so the rabbits can get back in.

Or start raising rabbits in an enclosed pen that includes the worst of the mustardy area. You don't have to raise meat rabbits: there are several long hair varieties that can be hand-groomed to collect loose fur. The fur can then be spun into yarn, which is then knitted or crocheted into the warmest, most amazingly soft gloves, scarves, hats and garment trim you have ever had the delighted pleasure to touch. Start your own business or wholesale to those who already do this.

[NMDemDist2]

22. hey, I got no problem with meat rabbits either

my Grammy raised em and they are some tasty critters LOL

[Fridays Child]

9. If it's this one, you could harvest it for table mustard...

http://www.uapress.arizona.edu/onlinebks/weeds/blackmus.htm

[NMDemDist2]

10. that's the stuff, and there's a reason it's a restricted noxious weed in AZ

and here in NM too I bet

[nosmokes]

18. mustard greens are a staple down south. braise 'em with some bacon or

ham hocks garlic, onion and green pepper, serve w/ corn bread and beans and rice and you got a meal fit for a king on a pauper's budget. if you cook it up w/ bacon instead of salt pork or hocks that's what we call eating high on the hog.. then it's a dish fit for company cause you're showing off.;)

[NMDemDist2]

26. I hear ya!

i'll try it on Hubby, but i'm not gonna hold my breath

i did that dish with chard for him one day and it was NOT a hit

[stellanoir]

12. Not to make light of your acute frustration with this situation but your thread title

made me :rofl:

I'll ask my cuz the horticulturist for ya real soon.

Ahhh. . . he breeds goats as well.

[NMDemDist2]

17. that was the plan

getting em laughing and they might actually respond right?

:rofl:

[TechBear_Seattle]

14. You have a number of options

Like Formercia said, wild mustard can make for good eating, along with shepherd's purse and various other common "weeds." Eat the young leaves raw in salads, blanch the older leaves and eat like greens, and use the seeds for spicing meat and pickles. Check your local library for books on wild foods. Hey, free eats is free eats! (Just be careful for soil toxicity or exposure to frequent car exhaust and use one of the other suggestions if you have any doubts.)

Hire some neighborhood kids to pull them every week or every two weeks. Less frustrating than doing it yourself and much more ecologically friendly than using poison.

Use a scythe or mower to cut off the stalks, then use a small hand tiller to break up the soil, then rake out the weed roots. Plant something else -- a veggie garden, maybe, or some flowers, or a lawn. These desireable plants will help keep down unwanted plants, and since you are going to be weeding the area anyway, you are less likely to let things get so out of hand again.

Use the above option but instead of planting stuff, put down a base of sand and garden tiles. In the cracks between the tiles, plant chamomile or thyme. Or maybe some heavy plastic visqueen covered over with decorative rock or bark. This will get rid of the problem and prevent it from happening again.

[NMDemDist2]

16. 'use a small hand tiller'

are you KIDDING????

i'm looking at almost a full acre to treat :banghead:

[TechBear_Seattle]

23. Then get a bigger tiller!

Sorry, the last time I was faced with a similar problem, it was just an overgrown backyard.

On the scale you are looking at, livestock would probably be your best non-toxic solution: rabbits, goats or sheep would probably work. Or put the land to other use, such as an organic truck farm with the produce going out to a local farmers market. Peppers, onions, squashes, corn, some varieties of tomatoes, most legumes in early spring and late autumn... all should thrive without needing too much water. If you don't want to put in that kind of work yourself, invite a friend or some neighbors to help and make it a community effort.

[NMDemDist2]

25. water isn't the problem

they are mostly on the septic drain field which is not really suggested for a truck farm/vegtable use

i'm thinking I'll take down a section of fence and let the jack rabbits go to town

we really only put up the fence for our old blind dog so she could learn the boundry (which she has now). the young dogs won't wander but she would have. now that she's laid down her 'scent trail' the fence is moot

[efhmc]

20. I want to see them. I don't use pesticides so I am for mowing.

How many acres? Also, don't they die back when it starts to get hot where ever you are. They do in W. Texas. Have you thought about burning next fall and/or discing them under?

[NMDemDist2]

24. that was the plan

but this is our first year on this acre and didn't know what to expect and were still trying to get settled in

burn down and disc under is the plan for this fall for sure!

they probably will die back a bit, but I expect them to thrive on the septic tank and drain field out there

I really need to address the area with a less invasive native plant that will take advantage of the septic tank drain field

[efhmc]

27. The native plant society is very active here and helps with these

types of issues. Try contacting them and see if they can make a good suggestion. Whatever you do needs to go into the ground soon, as you probably know. Good Luck.

[NMDemDist2]

32. since I have no use for that area right now, what about a big berry

bramble? wonder how they'd do here.....

[efhmc]

34. Do you want to actually grow berries? Most berries require acid soil.

Also, do you really want an area that will be great for harboring lots of possibly undesirable critters?

[NMDemDist2]

36. i love berries but our soil is very alkaline not acid

and critters? hell, I got critters NOW, snakes, rabbits, mice, gophers, tarantulas you name em, we got em

[On the Road]

30. Just Think of the Famous Haiku

Endless yellow mustard fields in bloom.
In the West the sun,
In the East the moon.

[NMDemDist2]

31. see? now I could hang with the whole Zen thing totally

Hubby on the other hand......

[formercia]

35. Chcken Tractor to the rescue.

http://gladstone.uoregon.edu/~nfantasi/Chicken%20Tractors.htm

A chicken tractor is a movable floorless chicken coop for the purposes of pest control, lawn care, fertilization, and sheltering the chickens. When compared to traditional chicken coops the chicken tractor is far superior in many ways. The chicken tractor is a large step towards sustainable farming, and solves many of the problems that are presented by traditional coops and buildings used to house chickens.



This webquest is going to teach you all you need to know about chicken tractors, the different designs, their uses, advantages, even how to build your own! Just think, you may never have to mow your lawn again! Why, you ask? Because the chickens will do it for you.

[NMDemDist2]

37. now THAT's a great idea! n/t

[formercia]

38. and they eat bugs and produce fresh range eggs n/t

In the early Spring, when the mustard is coming up, just let them make a pass and they will prepare the surface, fertilize and eat the seedlings.

[LWolf]

39. To be honest:

Having lived in the desert sw for 3 decades, I never found any critter who really wanted to eat the stuff. <shrug>

I either used a weedeater to "mow" them, which worked wherever there was no water source to keep them growing, or I pulled them up by hand when they were young, (that's a lot of pulling), or in the more distant areas I let them grow and blow away when they dried out. My area, in the foothills, didn't have russian thistle tumbleweeds like the lower flat areas did, but we had plenty of mustard tumbos.

In my new digs in the nw, I'm still in the desert, lol. Here I deal with it by burning them off over the winter, when there is no fire danger. I also have sheep in the pastures; they don't climb fences like goats do. I just brought them home as lambs last summer, too late to deal with the spring rush of weeds. We'll see how they handle the weeds this year. I mostly want them to eat the cheatgrass/foxtails down before they proliferate all over the place.

[blueworld]

43. My two cents - solarize the soil

You've gotten quite a few great suggestions already, but I wanted to add something else for you to consider. I'm a Virginia Master Gardener & I've used this technique for years - works great. Once you mow or cut the unwanted stuff down to ground level, it would be best for you to till it under. Sprinkle the soil with a little water, and cover it with a clear plastic tarp. Leave the tarp down (weighted, anchored or whatever) for several weeks - depending on the season. The sun will fry everything underneath in the top few inches of soil: weed seeds, bug eggs (good ones too unfortunately), larvae, fungi, diseases, whatever.

When you pick up the plastic you can plant whatever you want. You can do this in batches for convenience, or lay down a few tarps at once to cover a larger area. It's called "soil solarization" and it works great for us.

Good luck!:hi:

[NMDemDist2]

44. thanks for the suggestion! and welcome to DU!

:hi:

[kestrel91316]

45. You don't have a weed problem, you have a goat deficiency.

[NMDemDist2]

46. obviously

:rofl: