Baymule’s Journal

fuzzi

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I have some bodacious thistles. I hate them. Mowing does no good, they just come back. Last year I cut the blooms and seed heads off, bagged and threw away. This year I’m digging them up and spraying the roots.
I’m using a formula,

1 gallon white vinegar
1 1/2 cups salt
2 tablespoons Dawn dishwashing liquid

We’ll see how it works.

So now, what do I do with the awful things?

I only did a small part of the field yesterday, there’s plenty more out there.

View attachment 116104

View attachment 116105

View attachment 116106
This guy teaches that thistles grow where the ground is compacted:
 

Ridgetop

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Came home and told DS1 about it and we can build one with the pallets, then use our corral shelter tops as roofs. Maybe even just make it 3 sided. Easy 8 x 12 or 12 x 16 shelters using one or two corral shelter tops. Much more space inside than when we just lean the up against the fences. I will start saving more pallets.

I also thought of what to do with the feed sacks. DS1 said that for a chute we should really have solid sides since the sheep wull jove easier in it. I woke up in the middle of the night and realized that I could attach the feed sacks to pieces of lath top and bottom, then drill holes in the lath and attach them to the portable 5' panels with wire or hay ropes. Instant siding for the panels! And since I would not staple the feed sacks to any side pieces, I could just roll them up to store when we take the chute apart. :fl Hope it will work.
 

Baymule

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On compaction, I have feral hogs in the back field because the fence is down. They have rooted so bad that the ground is torn into mounds, valleys, lumps and bumps. On the rest of the place, I have fire ant mounds that raise over a foot high. Ants tunnel into the soil and loosen it up, so there’s that. I have crawfish mounds. They also tunnel into the soil, crawfish mounds aren’t as bad as feral hog damage, but they sure make their lumps, bumps, mounds, and tear up hay equipment. My land was part of a 3 generation cattle ranch and never had much input. I have bodacious weeds, 2 types of nightshade, pigweed was bad, but sheep have all but obliterated it. I battle the nightshade, pulling it up. Goat weed tries to take over. Various other weeds have a party here. The soil is a mix of sand and clay, a loam. When wet, it’s soft, when dry, baked by summer sun, it’s like concrete. The grass is good, currently over grazed. Lambs will be leaving and that will help. My long term project is to get back field fence rows cleaned up and new fence put up. Long term, because other things keep getting in my way. After enclosing the whole place, I’ll start cross fencing. Lots of work to do, and I love what I’m doing. Pastures will be planted in more forbs and rotated. I’m working on it, just wish I could make it happen faster.
 
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