thistles...dammit!

[Alexander_0_1]

Hey guys, do any of you have a solution for thistles, cause I,ve been pulling them with my trusty leather gloves every summer, but they keep coming back, as it is now I've gotten them to stop growing under the balcony, but I kinda want them gone, or at least out of the yard.

 

[hotrodrob]

You have to dig out the entire root system....what are you doing with the ones you pull

 

[Alexander_0_1]

Burning them in a barrel. Like actually dig or can I till the damn things?

I tried using a bobcat but they just bent over, and all I ended up doing was F'ing up the top soil, so much that I had to backblade.

I forgot to mention, before I started, a summer and a half ago these things were just under 4.5" tall....some may have been 5' tall. I was going to lite the damn things on fire, but the step dad is the fire cheif , and it looks bad if the yard goes up in flames, with fire bans in effect and all.

 

[Rolex]

Spray the leaves with a 2 cycle gas mix. The gas gets sucked into the plant roots and the oil remains on the leaves to choke them.
They'll be totally dead in a week and will NOT come back once you cut them off at ground level.

 

[hotrodrob]

Rolex does have a point there....as for the roots all of it needs to be removed,tilling might even make it worse because you would be spreading them all out,

 

[Rolex]

Any time I've cut something to ground level I've put a bag of charcoal on it and let it work it's magic. It gets so hot that it will burn the stump below ground level, also killing it permanently and just a shovel of fresh dirt on top and you can regrow grass.

 

[Alexander_0_1]

Wait how does that work, do I have to light the charcoal on fire while it sitting on the root? Cause I think my cousin did something similar, but unintentionally, his dad had asked him and his brother to get the barbeque ready. They put briquettes in a gas barbeque, the flame got too big so they started hucking them out at random spots in the yard, when I got home all I seen was little black burn spots surrounding the new barbeque.

 

[Rolex]

Just carve out a little moat around the root and surround and cover it with the charcoal. Light it up and let is glow till it burns out. Any time I ever did that I made sure I was home for the day. (Good weekend chore) The following day you can break up most of the upper root with a hatchet or shovel since it will be totally burned and dry. (Big trees might need several bags over a couple of days)
Get rid of the ash and root chunks, throw some fresh dirt on top, seed and water. The rest of the root system composts in the ground.