# Help with killing off azaleas, and protecting A/C unit



## CountryFried (Jun 7, 2011)

I have two azalea bushes in the area I'm going to put my babies, I will cut them down, but is there something (safe for goats) I can put on the stumps to prevent them from growing back?

Is there a good book, in color, I can take through the fenced area to make sure there are no hazardous plants?

And, my a/c-heat pump is in the fence where the goats are going.  Any suggestions on how to enclose it so the goats can't get to it?

Thanks for any help!


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## Chirpy (Jun 7, 2011)

I can't help with the plants issue but for the pump... use something like cattle or hog fencing securely attached to t-posts or wooden posts to fence around it.  Make sure you fence it far enough away from the pump so that they can't put their heads through (if the spaces are large enough) and reach the pump to nibble on it.  

Whatever fencing you use:  It has to be strong enough fencing that they can't climb on it with their front feet and weaken it over time.  Make sure it's tall enough (probably 4 ft.) that they can't jump over it.  Make sure they can't push their head under it and try to climb under (that's particularly an issue with smaller goat breeds like Nigerians and Pygmies).


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## CountryFried (Jun 7, 2011)

Ohhhh, thanks for the idea of cattle panels!  I actually am getting some to enlarge my hog pen next week, and that's a perfect solution!

The yard for them is fenced (properly!) with 6' chain link, so I'm hoping that will be sufficient.  If I have issues, I'll run some electric around, too.


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## elevan (Jun 7, 2011)

I have 2 possible suggestions for the azalea stumps.

Salt...lots of it...load it on the stumps it'll kill them but you don't want the goats eating the salt so you'll have to put a temporary block around it.

Vinegar...drill holes into the stumps and pour in vinegar...lots of it.  It'll kill the stump but it will also change the soil and make it very difficult for anything to grow in that spot for quite a while.


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## CountryFried (Jun 7, 2011)

elevan said:
			
		

> I have 2 possible suggestions for the azalea stumps.
> 
> Salt...lots of it...load it on the stumps it'll kill them but you don't want the goats eating the salt so you'll have to put a temporary block around it.
> 
> Vinegar...drill holes into the stumps and pour in vinegar...lots of it.  It'll kill the stump but it will also change the soil and make it very difficult for anything to grow in that spot for quite a while.


Will vinegar hurt the goats?  I may be getting two Alpines next week, so I won't have as long as I thought to kill them off.  I'm just concerned that when they grow back (and they will, oh my, previous owners had piles of azaleas all over the yard, we have gotten rid of most of them, and much to my chagrin, the darn things are busily growing back!) the goats will eat the young shoots before I see them.


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## elevan (Jun 7, 2011)

CountryFried said:
			
		

> elevan said:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Nah, the vinegar won't bother the goats at all.  Some people add apple cider vinegar to their goats water.


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## freemotion (Jun 7, 2011)

When we had some of our land cleared to make a pasture, there were some nice trees I wanted to save to offer shade in the pasture, so there were stumps that could not be taken out by the big equipment because they were too close to the trees I was keeping.  So I made a large compost pile on each one.  It took about a year for the smaller ones to die and rot (2-4", maybe?), and two years for the bigger ones (some were 8-10" or more in diameter).  To speed it up and not damage the ability of that area to grow stuff in the future, you can drill as many holes as you can manage into the stump and fill them with the highest nitrogen fertilizer you can get (hard to find, used in explosives) and then build the compost pile around them with a bit of fencing and a couple of t-posts.  The minimum size for the compost pile is about 3' in diameter by at least 3' high, but bigger is better for speedy stump rotting.

Then you have lovely compost to spread in the area.   I was able to push most of the stumps out with my foot.  The tougher ones I simply covered up again with more compostable materials (stall cleanings!)

This may not be appropriate if the bushes are right along the foundation of a building, though.


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## CountryFried (Jun 8, 2011)

freemotion said:
			
		

> This may not be appropriate if the bushes are right along the foundation of a building, though.


They are   The foundation of my house, to be exact, ugh.  Our yard has/had piles of azaleas, it seriously looks like God sneezed azaleas all over it!  We've pulled one pile of them (when I say pile, I mean it was about 40 feet long and 20 feet wide), and I *thought* I got all of the roots (son and I used our truck and tie downs around the stumps to pull them) but the darn things are coming up again.

Tried google's advice, and all I can find is people who can't grow azaleas, sheesh, I WISH I had that problem, because I absolutely hate them.

Fortunately, the ones in the fence are only two bushes, one on either side of the a/c, with a single stump each.  I'll try the vinegar after my son cuts them down tomorrow!


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## elevan (Jun 8, 2011)

I've used both methods before (not on azaleas though) and had good results.  They both affect the ability to grow things in that spot in the future.  Though I've found after about 5 years some things will grow in the spot you used vinegar.  Vinegar sometimes requires several applications, the most I've ever had to do though is every other day for 3 treatments.  The heat of the summer sun helps the process greatly too so it's better to do on sunny days as opposed to cloudy, overcast days.  Best of luck to you!


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## CountryFried (Jun 8, 2011)

I don't mind if things don't grow there again, as it's right up against my house, and under two huge Bradford pears, so the vinegar suits me just fine.  Thanks VERY much for the suggestion, I will start applying it today.  It is in a very shaded spot, but hopefully it will work anyway.


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