Argh. Ragwort.

[Maglin]

We have a patch along the hedge line. We've never had it before. Dh and I pulled it all up last night and packed into old feed sacks. Now what to do with it? Dh wants to leave it on the back of the muck heap but that sounds like a stupid idea. Burn it?

Yep burn the bastard stuff otherwise seeds can still spread

Burn it to death!

Burn it now because the worst thing that could happen would be that you forget about it, someone sees these feed sacks then it gets fed to animals. It's a powerful liver toxin and kills animals. They avoid it when it's alive, probably because it has a bitter taste, but they will eat it when it has dried.

We have out own land so noone else could get to the sacks.

I'll burn it tonight.

Is it worth applying weedkiller to the ragwort patch?

I've never been a fan of using weedkiller but I suppose it would be a good idea. I would tend to mow over the area then it can't grow up. Or regularly strim.

Did you notice any yellow/brown caterpillars on the ragwort? The caterpillars of the cinnabar moth eat it.

When handling ragwort I would use gloves. Some people would say that this is an unnecessary precaution but why take any chances with a powerful liver toxin.

I don't think weedkiller on the patch would help now, I'd keep an eye on it and watch for young rosettes appearing and pull them as soon as they emerge, rather than just frying any plants in the patch altogether.
I've got ragwort in my garden, and lots of cinnabar moth caterpillars on it who do a great job of keeping it under control, but I see very few of them 'in the wild' which is a shame.

Burn it, don't put it on the muck heap as you will spread it.

There is a recipe for a horse safe solution to pour in the hole after you have pulled it out that kills any remaining roots. It is vinegar based if IIRC.

Burn it.

Dts had their first PC lesson ragwort yesterday, all about ripping it out with the root, and the lifecycle being 7 years. They were put to task on a patch by the side of the field and moved the electric fences further in. funny how they can pick their sock up off the floor

Didn't see any caterpillars. It's in amongst a really overgrown patch of nettles and hedge in a far corner. We mowed the area down and fenced it off. Dh is determined to use weed killer right now.

We used to burn it

We put ours in the green garden bin. If too much we normally take it to the tip who have the big green waste skips. Would rather not light unnecessary fires.

@LadyTemperance me too, home to the bin is easiest and safest

We don't have a green bin.

Our green bin is for general waste! Brown bin is garden waste here.

Please don't put ragwort into garden waste bin. The council makes compost out of it so you are potentially spreading the ragwort 🙈 as the seeds will survive!

Only if its in seed though....

True yes

I burnt it. Will weed kill in the spring or if I find new growth.