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Mutton
Joined: 09 May 2009
Posts: 1508
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 Posted: Sat Jun 18, 11 4:41 pm Post subject: Wild flower hay meadow and feeding |
 
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We have a wild flower hay meadow. Thinnish moorland soil, NW facing slope. We've taken three hay crops off it over the last three years and not put much back in.
The sheep are there in Nov/Dec and are given supplementary feed so there is some addition of nutrients to the meadow but nothing else.
We want it to stay wild flower, as we like it that way. Had read that the wild flowers with deeper roots bring up nutrients for the grass, but maybe there are not that many nutrients down there to bring up.....
However, the amount of grass in between the wild flowers is less than we'd like.
We were thinking that a top dressing of fertilizer could encourage the grass.
We do not have a muck spreader or any other equipment.
Our tentative plan was to buy some slow release artificial fertilizer and spread it manually on the upper half of the field. If we put string across for marker lanes and weigh the right amount for the lane, we could get a reasonably even spread. (The grass in the bottom 10 to 20 feet of the field is by far the lushest, so we are picturing the nutrient running down the slope to some extent.)
Any recommendations as to types of fertilizer or comments on the plan?
Please don't say weedkiller, or plough it up and re-seed because:
1. We can't afford that
2. The top soil is too thin and rocky for ploughing
3. We want to keep most of the wild flowers - the sheep like eating them as our Soay are browsers, not grazers and we also like providing natural feed to the local linnet flock.
The hay with lots of wild flower leaves dried into it is popular with the Soay. Just want a slightly higher yield, and making the grass grow a bit longer seems the best way to do that. |
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tahir
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Mutton
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Rob R
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Mutton
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T.G
Joined: 13 Sep 2009
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Location: Somewhere you're not
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| Posted: Thu Sep 08, 11 8:34 am Post subject: |
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Don�t plough and reseed with anything other than meadow seed or you will end up with the top of the field at the bottom in a very short space of time.
Amongst other land we have 4 acres of meadow grass; we�ve had it for 10 years. In that time we have pig mucked it, cow mucked it and given it lime. It is on a gentle slope. It�s been left fallow this year and rested even though last season it was eaten off completely this year it has been full to the brim with wild flowers including some kind of orchid. When rested they do comeback surprisingly vigorously.
The grass amount only increased as a direct result of us spreading.
The paddock behind the house was also meadow it�s on a much steeper gradient. However, some bright spark (namely my father) had it ploughed and reseeded some 20 years ago to gain more grass. It worked initially, until livestock walked on it then the top of the field fast became the bottom. As soon as it rains it turns to mud regardless of the amount of grass or livestock, the only way we prevent this is by keeping livestock off it altogether in damp and wet months which in the current climate means not having it grazed at all, which leaves it pretty pointless having in that scenario.
The substructure of the soil is damaged with ploughing the roots of meadow interlock and thus when a cloven hoof is walking on them do not slip and slide the way rye grass (I guess it�s called something else now) does.
Meadow grass is best for slopes other grasses for flat pasture, flat pasture cut for grass is on a cycle of 5-4 years around here. It is all ploughed and re-seeded every 4-5 years.
We were old that any ground not treated or maintained for 7 years will drastically decrease it�s growing potential and should/would need to be reseeded. However, I assume they were talking about the local ground/pasture/meadows. I�ve NEVER seen anyone plough hillsides and reseed in the near on 30years I�ve lived out here.
We are in the heart of the Peak District, HTH, it�s all based on our actual experience I guess some environmental scientist will have other input.
If you can dry cast chicken manure it would help, I should suspect 
Forgot to add, personally I would not plough in any circumstances. If the soil is already poor the short term benefit would imo cause long-term harm, and probably harm that you wouldn�t be able to rectify in your lifetime.
I so wish the top paddock had never been ploughed.
You can make your own liquid fertilizer out of any kind of manure. Pig manure is the best manure, if you can get a wheelbarrow full and water it down well it is surprising how far that will cover. It�s a messy smelly job but the results are worth the effort. |
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Rob R
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