Need some help with tired grazing please!

TheB

Hello -

Very glad I've found a farming forum! I'm not a farmer but my parents are/were. We've recently come back to Ireland from the UK and are mid-purchase on a house down the country with a few acres to keep the horses on..

I've always kept my horses on DIY livery with my own field etc this is the first time I'll be keeping them at home (and not with the parentals).. I know what I'm doing day to day with an acre of reasonable grazing as regards to keeping it "healthy".. but as for topping etc I'm a bit lost.. Yard Owners would organise fertilising, topping , spraying etc.. so is this the right place to be asking about all this ?

My immediate query is about over grazed and weedy fields.. The house we are buying has 4 acres of grazing.. there are horses on it atm. It is mostly over grazed but looks good quality soil so am hoping when spring comes and with a rest it will recover easily.. if it doesn't what can I do about fertilising ? I don't want it too rich but to give it a bit of a "boost" say ?

Also - looks as if many docks & some ragwort been allowed to spread (as usual in the loo area the horses use).. We've always just pulled Ragwort by hand but what can I do about the docks ? Spray ? With what ? And is it safe for the horses ? (previous spraying experiences meant the horses off the grazing for a fortnight - no problem with this as will spray in sections so horses have somewhere to go out..) and when should this be done ?

Would anyone be able to help out with a kind of plan to help the grass improve ?

Thanks in advance

TheB

The_Conductor

You're certainly in the right place.

Re: docks and ragworth- docks are harmless to a horse but I would do my damndest to get rid of the ragworth, especially before it seeds. Topical brushing with something systemic, rather than a spraying, would probably be better.

Re: topping/fertiliser etc, I'll leave that to someone who is more familiar with these matters- there are plenty of practising farmers here.

S.

fits

I'm no expert, but I'd keep on pulling the ragwort and disposing of it off site. Theres a tool now made especially for pulling ragwort if its bad. I'd spot treat the dock leaves.

It might be a good idea to get sheep or cattle in to graze the land as a:they're less fussy than horses and they'll eat the grass down and b: they'll fertilise it. Obviously you wont want to put cattle in if the soil is wet. Anyway that approach may not be practical.

Oldtree

One easy method to imnprove tired grazing is to allow it to go to seed next year and then to allow the seed to ripen. When fully ripe the seed will drop off. when there is just bare stalks, cut and bale the grass. This is a very effective and cheap method of reseeding grass. after the grass has sprouted and is about 2-3 inches let some very light animals graze for a while. Get them off before they poach the soil and damage the new grass.

Dock can produce as much as 60,000 seeds per year, and those seeds can persist for up to 20 years in the soil. If you are going to remove them organically or by hand do it at the end of July after the plant has put all its energy into seed production. any earlier and the plant will produce a second set of seeds. Cut off at the base and destroy. eventually the plant will die off naturally.

Dig up by the root and destroy the ragworth.

TheB

smccarrick wrote: »

You're certainly in the right place.

Great .. thought I might be laughed out of here as not a "proper" farmer

Topical brushing with something systemic, rather than a spraying, would probably be better.

Systemic ? what is that ? sorry - am totally clueless about this - could you reccomend a product ? I prefer the idea of spot brushing/spraying than overall spraying..

fits wrote: »

I'm no expert, but I'd keep on pulling the ragwort and disposing of it off site. Theres a tool now made especially for pulling ragwort if its bad. I'd spot treat the dock leaves.

The Ragfork! it's great - friends swear by it.. we've always just donned our marigolds and pulled but this apparently makes it all much much easier .. funky blue & yellow thingammy.. I must get one!

It might be a good idea to get sheep or cattle in to graze the land as a:they're less fussy than horses and they'll eat the grass down and b: they'll fertilise it.

Have dairy farmer next door - maybe borrow a few cows ? Sheep would maybe be better though no ? Less damage ? :dunno:

Oldtree wrote: »

One easy method to imnprove tired grazing is to allow it to go to seed next year and then to allow the seed to ripen. When fully ripe the seed will drop off. when there is just bare stalks, cut and bale the grass. This is a very effective and cheap method of reseeding grass. after the grass has sprouted and is about 2-3 inches let some very light animals graze for a while. Get them off before they poach the soil and damage the new grass.

That sounds a good idea.. only problem I'm not sure I'd be able to keep the horses off it for too long as not got loads of grazing.. about 4.5acres.. could I just leave it to go to seed etc in one section then use that to graze after a couple on months ?

Dock can produce as much as 60,000 seeds per year, and those seeds can persist for up to 20 years in the soil.

:eek: they are definitely going - they'll take over!!

If you are going to remove them organically or by hand do it at the end of July after the plant has put all its energy into seed production. any earlier and the plant will produce a second set of seeds. Cut off at the base and destroy. eventually the plant will die off naturally.

Just cut by hand ?

Thanks for the info all..

Bx

Tableman

Have dairy farmer next door - maybe borrow a few cows ? Sheep would maybe be better though no ? Less damage ? :dunno:

Sheep would take care of the ragwort. They can eat it without it being harmful to them.

I'm no expert, but I'd keep on pulling the ragwort and disposing of it off site

This is a important point, If pulling it, ensure that it is disposed of off site and not left in the ditch or something as you will just make the problem worse.

ravima

Could you run a temporary electric fence to divide the area in two. then arrange for a local contractor to kill off the grass in one section and reseed with proper quallity seed - consult agri merchant or teagasc for this. When the new grass is ready to be worked, then repeat the job in the other section. That way you will have lovely new grass growing and neighbours will at least think that you know something and are improving the place.