The kit: serrated strong little knife, rubber glove, strong plastic bag
If, like me, you like your paddocks to be immaculate, this is a quick and easy way.
Any offending docks and other weeds are quickly hacked off at ground level with the short serrated knife, and placed in the bag.
Nettles can just be pulled out and left for the horses to eat, their stings go as soon as they wilt. Some horses can’t be bothered with them though!
Thistles can be hacked off carefully and picked up at the root (far fewer spiky bits) and put in the bag, which is eventually emptied on the compost heap in the chicken run, when the contents have rotted down a little.
Any ragwort needs putting in a separate bag so that it can be totally rotted away or burnt, and so there is no chance of it drying out and being eaten by an animal.
It only takes about 1/2 an hour to make a big paddock absolutely immaculate, and prevent any flowering or reseeding of undesirable ugly weeds.
What about buttercups?
Hi Lara-Jane. As far as I’m aware buttercups grow because the soil isn’t correctly balanced, you need soil analysis done and then probably an application of lime, if I remember correctly.
Buttercups are mildly poisonous to horses, so I’d pull them all out immediately, or spray them, and then sort out the soil in the paddocks.