I have 30 acres in Ellis county that I am converting from an ag exemption (cattle grazing) to a wildlife exemption.
There are several mature honey locusts and a multitude of 2 to 4 foot shrubs coming up. These have thorns that make mesquite thorns look like splinters!
I want to kill all the small shrubs, and I'm curious if the adult beans will reseed themselves or if they must pass through an animal to germinate.
I've tried 10% vinegar with orange oil/soap, but it only lightly burned the leaves (it was applied at midday on a hot day).
When you cut down these trees, they send out new shrubs in all directions from the roots, just like a mesquite-so I need an organic spray solution.

What condition is your soil in? Have you applied dry molasses at 10 pounds per 1000 square feet? You could try and chop them down then cover what is left with molasses and let the microbes burn it up.

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Nadine Bielling
Moderator
Gardener Exchange Forum

The Laws of Ecology:
"All things are interconnected. Everything goes somewhere. There's no such thing as a free lunch. Nature bats last." --Ernest Callenbach

The soil has not been amended due to the large acreage involved. This land has been cattle ranched for many years. The honey locust are located occasionally throughout about 20 of the acres. I probably have at least 100 different specimens to eliminate, so spreading the molasses would be difficult, but not impossible if that's the only answer. Again, have you ever seen what sprouts up when you chop a mesquite tree down? You get really vicious little sprouts all over the place and that's what happens with this tree, too. I'm going to keep my fingers crossed that someone has a quicker solution.

You might try grazing goats. They love to eat weeds, but I am not sure if goats would eat honey locust.

Yes, I have seen the way mesquite acts when you cut it down. The tree becomes an unruly bush.

To the best of my knowledge, an application of the dry molasses product at 10 lbs. per 1000 square feet is the most economical way to improve the soil.

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Nadine Bielling
Moderator
Gardener Exchange Forum

The Laws of Ecology:
"All things are interconnected. Everything goes somewhere. There's no such thing as a free lunch. Nature bats last." --Ernest Callenbach

The goats are out since they won't fit into my wildlife plan (not to mention all the desirable plants that they would eat!). Is your thinking that this tree won't survive improved soil? I certainly don't want to encourage them any more and I'm afraid that improving the soil could do that.

Well, I don't know if improving the soil will get rid of them or not. I know healthy soil will eradicate most weeds. I did learn that the honey locust does best in moist bottomlands or soils with high pH, prefers full sun, and is extremely salt tolerant. If you can afford it, I'm sure you could hire someone to come and rip them out of the ground. Otherwise, all I can suggest is either learn to live with them or chop them down and drill holes in what is left behind. Pouring molasses in the holes and over the remains will stimulate microbial activity and burn the stuff up. Good luck.

_________________
Nadine Bielling
Moderator
Gardener Exchange Forum

The Laws of Ecology:
"All things are interconnected. Everything goes somewhere. There's no such thing as a free lunch. Nature bats last." --Ernest Callenbach

Check this out:
http://www.dirtdoctor.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1048

_________________
Nadine Bielling
Moderator
Gardener Exchange Forum

The Laws of Ecology:
"All things are interconnected. Everything goes somewhere. There's no such thing as a free lunch. Nature bats last." --Ernest Callenbach

Nice tree

http://plantsdatabase.com/showpicture/12541/

From what I've read, improving the soil will improve the tree. I wonder what would happen if you sprayed the leaves with vinegar? I normally don't recommend using vinegar on anything but turf weeds, but this is a horse of a different color. It would involve using special equipment to get up there to spray.

Could you get up to a branch and girdle it to see what happens? I'd be afraid the roots would respond by sending out new shoots, but it might just start to cut back root production while the branch dies. Then girdle one branch at a time until they're all girdled and then you could girdle the tree trunk. You would have to keep after any shoots.

I wonder if any of the native deer, elk, sheep, or any other wildlife would eat the trees?

Or how about using a dozer to pull out the entire tree, roots and all? Or cut it off and use a stump grinder to take out the roots?

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David Hall
Moderator
Dirt Doctor Lawns Forum

David-
Actually my problem is with the shoots that come up after cutting down a tree. On a mature tree, it's impossible to get to the limbs to girdle them since the trunk et all is surrounded by incredible thorns. Thus, I chop the trees down with a chain saw, and then the shoots start coming up within a 10 foot radius of the tree. What I want is the best method for killing off the shoots. I've just applied a super heavy dose of dry molasses on a control group, but I expect it will take weeks or months to see what that does. I previously sprayed several shoots with vinegar which burned the leaves a bit but not much else. (The composition was 10% vinegar with a couple cups of orange oil and some soap thrown in.)
A couple of isolated small plants have died on their own, but I cannot determine what may have done that.
There's no 4 legged animals on the property that will eat this stuff-too many better things to munch on!
I'll try any organic mixture that anyone can suggest, but I've got to stop this plant somehow!!