Unfortunately I have a bumper crop of thistle starting. Currently about 12" tall but seemingly growing fast. Wondering if anyone has any 'tricks' to get rid of it? I'm currently planning to spray it with 2, 4-D Weedar & boom sprayer, but if there are other methods, I'd love to hear them. Thanks...

24D, get busy

Get on it now before it's 24" tall.. We try to shred ours first & then wait a week or two before spraying..

thanks...

If it has already got a purple flower on top you are wasting time spraying this year. 24d will kill it but flower will still put off seeds this late. I have been fighting them for 3 yrs now and have about won! I sprayed about a month ago. And just last week I found the one's that I missed and pulled by hand because they had flower on top. Put them in a feed sack, actually 3 sacks full and burned them. It's gong to be a several year battle you just got to keep at it. I found it's cheaper to get the Amine 24d shipped off of ebay that to by locally.
Good luck.

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Thistle help ya out...

If your neighbors don't fight them, you will fight them forever. In a good wind the seeds will fly for a long way. In some states in certain areas you can be fined for not killing them.

We used to walk the pastures and used a cotton hoe on them, then bagged and burned. The only thing my grandpa hated worst was cockle burrs.

I HATE Bull thistle and usually start mowing pasture about Mid February and will look for the plants that are just emerging. Easy to kill at that stage by spot spraying...but takes a lot of time. I've had to do that several times this year (spot spray) as you'' invariably miss some.

But for now...I've got them out of most of my pastures and the grass is pretty well established.

The Ibex like to eat the flowers before they mature. There are always a few that mature and give off seeds but not many.

I can control them in my pastures that are in the interior of our property, but my neighbors on one side have completely un-managed pasture land that is full of thistle (and bitter-weed and ironweed, dewberry, Macartney Rose, etc). Of course the thistle seeds float over on the wind. So it's a never ending battle. Not unlike the Feral Hog problem here.

Thanks all. I've prepared myself for an annual wrestling match with the invaders.....

I have been at it for several. It is absolutely never ending.

At least get something good out of them before you kill the rest

http://www.eattheweeds.com/thistle-touch-me-not-but-add-butter-2/

Pulled a lot of sunflowers, thistles, and horse mint by hand as a kid. Spraying is easier on the back.

I’ve never tried them but some say they’re good.