Help! What Herbicide to use on a 5 acre vacant lot?

Hi all,

Looking for some help / advice on what herbicide to apply to our 5 acre vacant lot.

We recently purchase a 5 acre plot to develop but are some way off breaking ground (council etc).

Due to all the rain it's starting to get a little overgrown.

It's covered in what I believe to be rye grass with broadleaf weeds popping up everywhere including some nasty looking thistles.

My question is what herbicide should I be applying to get the weeds under control?

I've been told to use Glyphosphate 360 but won't that kill everything?

Would a selective broadleaf herbicide like MCPA + Dicamba be better?

Any advise truly appreciated.

J

Yes, Glyphospate is non-selective and works on the Nitrogen in plants, so anything that is green, will die.

Is the area fenced? if so how good are the fences? Goats would clean it up but they are escapees too, unless tethered in which case you'd need to check them constantly. Other animals would be Ok too, but some are more selective than goats who aren't fussy eaters.

Plus, they can stock your freezer once they've cleared the grass/weeds/etc.

Thanks Allnamesrgone,

Would love some goats but alas, it's a vacant lot, so I wouldn't be around to look after any animals.

Plus I'd like to control growth quickly. Some of the thistles have grown a meter in what must be 4-6 weeks.

Herbicide is the right way forward in the short term. Maybe some goats longer term!

J

get it slashed? bit more environmentally friendly, you want some cover to prevent erosion until you build. I’ve not seen a vacant lot completely sprayed. Not sure I’d be happy if my neighbour did it.

If it was me and weeds were out of control with no alternative, I would use a broadleaf herbicide such as MCPA. Even though I'm not a fan of herbicides,especially if food is to be grown there, if you use something that gets rid of the weeds but not the grass, you still have soil cover