beefandsleep
Member
- Location
- Staffordshire
It would depend on how big an area the £5k machine could cover.
Weed Removal from pasture
- Thread starter Laura_Long
- Start date
- Location
- Limousin/Charentes toad land
Laura_Long
Member
Yes I know, Since we bought it last spring it has been cut for haylage once and then grazed on and off by sheep but mostly just rested. Their poo is doing a great job. I have no intention of not managing the field, hence why I am on here asking advice.
Laura_Long
Member
Just googled them, they are pretty cool.
mushnt grummmble
Member
Plenty dont tho. ..stocking the smallest of paddocks with enough equines to make tescos have a hardon and turning the ground into a modern day replica of the somme
Laura_Long
Member
Using chemicals - Jesus you are like a dog with a bone, my original ask for advice was without the use of chemicals, evidently I don't want to use chemicals. Why not just accept I don't want to use chemicals and go and offer your advice to someone who does. I DO NOT WANT TO USE CHEMICALS my reasons are my own.
Laura_Long
Member
Can't tar us all with the same brush
Laura_Long
Member
Religion or fact, I am allowed to choose not to use chemicals. My original ask for advice was very clear on my intention not to use chemicals so why not accept that and spend your time on another thread?? It may be a better use of your time.
mushnt grummmble
Member
I didnt
But if you really wanted me to count up every hoss paddock i can see from the roads and then give you a percentage figure of the amount of mud i will if you like
- Location
- Owaka, New Zealand
If you put £5000 into my swiss account I'll supply a goat and a lorry tyre. Chain not included.
I laugh at how "far fetched" this "amazing technology" is
when it already has existed for much longer than we have tried farming (and then don't like the look of nature trying to bring a little biodiversity back) because farms are meant to 'look better' than natural ecosystemsWeeds are nature's best clue to try having more plants than just grass in an area.
Even Abraham Lincoln was concerned about the amount of landmass as monoculture.
- Location
- Owaka, New Zealand
Because it is human nature to mock what we do not comprehend...
Laura_Long
Member
I agree, I am not looking to be totally weed free. I just need to keep a bit of control over some of them that look like they are starting a mission to take over. The reason I bought the field in the first place was to give a home to the local wildlife, its in an area that is heavily farmed and sprayed with crap and I don't want that for my field. The field does need to earn a bit of keep though even if just to pay for more trees to plant, and create areas of wildflower meadow.If you put £5000 into my swiss account I'll supply a goat and a lorry tyre. Chain not included.
I laugh at how "far fetched" this "amazing technology" is
Weeds are nature's best clue to try having more plants than just grass in an area.
Even Abraham Lincoln was concerned about the amount of landmass as monoculture.
Laura_Long
Member
I know what you mean, some mud is inevitable when it rains constantly, you should see some of the cattle fields around here, they are far worse than the horse paddocks.
- Location
- Limousin/Charentes toad land
Going a bit full circle here but there is far more likelihood a farmer with cattle with have the means to rectify the situation.
A current example. We don't have enough buildings for all our stock so are "sacrificing" a field to keep a small herd out on. However, it was destined anyway but this field will be a cereal crop in a matter of weeks
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BELOWAVERAGE
Member
Mini Ostrich, originates from South America.
- Location
- Scottish Highlands
I intend to look after my soil. Hence not using chemicals
And the corollary is that you believe those of us who use any chemicals aren't looking after our soil? It's a good job us farmers are thick skinned or we could be offended by such a remark..
See above.
OP, I'd recommend that you don't just rely on 'sheep poo' for fertiliser - the poo is what's left over after they have eaten the grass and kept some of the energy and matter for themselves and, like all animals, sheep will be a net consumer of resources from the land. With careful management of clover etc., you can manage without adding any nitrogen based fertilisers, which I think is your aim, but it will need some input or else you will just strip the land of all its goodness over time.
- Location
- Scottish Highlands
Only just seen this thread and did a quick speed read! I've a dozen Highland ponies of all ages on 25 acres, cut my own hay, and have minimal inputs except fertiliser and (ocassionally) lime.
Laura, I see where you are coming from, but why not compromise a bit? I zap ragwort and docks individually with a small hand sprayer like a rose sprayer. I gave up poo picking and now regularly harrow with chain harrows behind a small tractor. I have virtually eliminated worming which was a major expense as opening up the poo to the weather seems to kill the eggs. The horse poo is a great fertiliser and the soil fauna is very healthy. Lots of worm casts!
The one thing I have not had great success with is controlling buttercups. I tried spraying and that knocked them back for a year or two but they always come back. Regularly harrowing seems to work best. The way to control thistles used to be by cutting with a mower but I see no one has mentioned that. The thistles here grow up beside the ditches inside the fences where the ponies can't get at them so they don't do any harm and I just put up with them.
I am half Cornish, but now live in Scotland!
Laura, I see where you are coming from, but why not compromise a bit? I zap ragwort and docks individually with a small hand sprayer like a rose sprayer. I gave up poo picking and now regularly harrow with chain harrows behind a small tractor. I have virtually eliminated worming which was a major expense as opening up the poo to the weather seems to kill the eggs. The horse poo is a great fertiliser and the soil fauna is very healthy. Lots of worm casts!
The one thing I have not had great success with is controlling buttercups. I tried spraying and that knocked them back for a year or two but they always come back. Regularly harrowing seems to work best. The way to control thistles used to be by cutting with a mower but I see no one has mentioned that. The thistles here grow up beside the ditches inside the fences where the ponies can't get at them so they don't do any harm and I just put up with them.
I am half Cornish, but now live in Scotland!
mushnt grummmble
Member
But generally farmers have a sacrifice field or sheds for the cattle
Most hoss owners think they'll get good grass from mud in the spring
How are you intended to feed to ground?fym or bagged? Dont forget lime
- Location
- Ceredigion
Take no notice , professional farmers of old never used them , but the grass has to be encouraged , , reseed and feed and sign of weeds get them topped before they seed, main thing to watch is , Lime Phosphate and Potash to keep the grass healthy
Laura, the thistles which you will be unable to control by mechanical means will probably produce more chemicals in the soil than those which might be introduced from residues of MCPA which can be spot sprayed to control them.
This is because creeping thistle are 'allelopathic' in that they produce chemicals to retard the growth of other species - mainly grass and small flowering plants. Over a number of years, I have found that blanket spraying of thistles on rocky outcrops controls them and actually encourages the growth of the sort of small flowering plants you expect to find in the absence of thistles.
Creeping thistle has a vast array of underground rhizomes - and you will often notice a circle of about 12 ft. diameter with thistles growing round the circumference. After a few years, the circle from a distance will seem to have a dark perimeter - known as fairy rings. I don't have any evidence that fairies are in any way involved, even on Hampstead Heath.
This is because creeping thistle are 'allelopathic' in that they produce chemicals to retard the growth of other species - mainly grass and small flowering plants. Over a number of years, I have found that blanket spraying of thistles on rocky outcrops controls them and actually encourages the growth of the sort of small flowering plants you expect to find in the absence of thistles.
Creeping thistle has a vast array of underground rhizomes - and you will often notice a circle of about 12 ft. diameter with thistles growing round the circumference. After a few years, the circle from a distance will seem to have a dark perimeter - known as fairy rings. I don't have any evidence that fairies are in any way involved, even on Hampstead Heath.