Here on the central coast of CA, tarweed and
fiddleneck are not the same weed at all. We have both. We've been
battling thistles and such for ages, and I don't think we'll ever get them all,
because the seeds can remain viable for years and years and keep
sprouting. But maybe, if we keep after them over and over we will
eventually gain some control. My husband has mowed them with a
tractor-mounted rotary mower and he has now come to the conclusion that mowing
just spreads the seeds and encourages the root system.
From what I have read, tarweed and
fiddleneck are the same weed. This is the third year I have battled it.
Last year we sprayed it with Weedmaster, but sprayed in May. (We live in
northern Idaho) This had
no effect on the darn weed. For the rest of the summer, I mowed the
pasture with my riding lawnmowerL .
Supposedly this should have helped my problem. It didn?t - It just made
the weeds shorter when they flowered and harder to cut since they were so
short? and I cut short! After doing some research, this year I sprayed
the pasture the second week of April when the weed was about an inch
high. This helped the most. I still did not get it all, but it is
better than last year. I know it was the Weedmaster that killed it since
I saw it yellow and die after spraying. I have a feeling that that part
of my problem in not getting it all was because it was a little windy the day
I sprayed. I even considered spraying a second time a couple weeks later
to kill the weeds that were late in sprouting, but did not have a sprayer and
did not know if it would hurt the pasture. The other annoying thing was
that it didn?t kill those stupid little white daisy weeds, whatever they are
called, . because I sprayed it so early. I know I will spray again early next
April, but does anyone know if it would hurt to spray again a few weeks later?
I?m going to get those stupid weeds if it kills me.
