Course: SLF 150 Pasture Management

Reading & Audio Visual

Perennial Weeds
Perennial Weeds

Name | Size | Grows | Control | Note
(Annual/Perennial) BLACK MEDIC Medicago lupulina | up to 1-2 ft tall | sunny areas, poor soil | mow, pull plants by hand or use a post-emergence herbicide. |
(Biennial) MUSK THISTLE Carduus nutans | up to 6 ft | sunny areas | post-emergence herbicide, dig out by hand, mow |
(Biennial or short-lived perennial) YELLOW SALSIFY Tragopogon dubius | up to 3 ft tall | sunny areas | use post-emergence herbicide or pull by hand | Cattle and sheep will eat yellow salsify
BIND WEED Convolvulus arvensis | can climb 6 ft or more | sunny areas | chop down plants, treat with post-emergence herbicide |
CREEPING CHARLIE Glechoma hederacea | 4 inches tall | shady areas | pull plants by hand, mow or spray with a post-emergence herbicide in spring or fall. |
DANDELION Taraxacum | about 12 inches | in sun or shade | post-emergence herbicide |
DOCK Rumex | up to 4 ft tall | sun or shade | post-emergence herbicide | Livestock such as sheep, goats and cattle will eat young dock seedlings.
NETTLES Urtica dioica | up to 6 ft | moist soil, sun, shade | pull out by hand, use post-emergence herbicide | Livestock will not eat live nettles however they will eat the plants once they have been mowed and dried.
NUTSEDGE Cyperus esculentus | up to 2ft tall | moist soil in sun or shade | post-emergence herbicide containing MSMA | Swine love to eat the tubers of yellow nutsedge so some farmers use them to control severe infestations
OXALIS Oxalidaceae | up to 20 inches | sun or shade | pull by hand or post-emergence herbicide | Leaves can be eaten in small quantities
PLANTAIN Plantago major | up to 8 inches tall | sun or shade |  |
POISON IVY Toxicodendron radicans | up to 15 ft tall | sunny areas | Treat with herbicide. Some people are highly allergic to the oils the plant produces. Handle at your own risk! Better to wear gloves. | Goats and other grazers will eat poison ivy and birds will eat the seeds.
POKEWEED Phytolacca | up to 10 ft tall | sunny areas | mow, pull by hand, spot treat with herbicide | Livestock generally do not eat pokeweed. However, birds and other wildlife eat the berries.
QUACK GRASS Elytrigia repens | up to 3 ft tall | sun or shade |  | Livestock will eat new and tender shoots of quack grass that grows in early spring.
THISTLES Asteraceae | up to 6 ft tall | sunny areas | mow, dig out by hand, use post-emergence herbicide |
WHITE CLOVER Trifolium repens | 8-10 inches tall | sun or partial shade |  | Clovers are a type of legume that add Nitrogen to the soil. This one is a moderately helpful type. Also a desirable pasture forage for sheep when mixed with orchard grass
WILD VIOLET Viola papilionacea | around 6 inches tall | shady areas |  | Livestock including cattle and sheep will eat the flowers.