Cleaning up and putting right

[TlymarT_028]

Hi all,
Got a patch of land (about 70 acres) that hasn't had any stock on or anything done with for best part of 4 years. 6ft tall docks, good crop of buttercups, and a thatch that would go well on any old cottage. We cut some, grazed some bare (don't shout at me ) and still got some that hasn't been touched. Grass isn't the best and regrowth rates are nothing to write home about but there is lots of clover in it so hoping residual N isn't too bad.

I'm now looking for cheaper and beneficial ways of clearing it up and putting something back into the soil. So:
Mustard?
Fodder Raddish?
Buckwheat?

Want something fast growing (10weeks growth from next month ish).
and what to do with it? Not bothered about grazing it really but could do or plough? flail and drill into that? and what to drill into it? turnips after that or back into a grass mix? Wanting to head for regen/min till but know I need to clean the seed bed up first

Thanks!

 

[Sheep]

Is Cereals the ultimate goal for it or a forage based crop?

 

[ollie989898]

Spray it off and put in a brassica (kale etc) for the summer, get someone to put stock on it throughout if you don't have any. Clean start in the autumn,.

Soil tests first thing you do.

Putting in a spring barley crop could work but be warned there is fudge all grassweed chemistry of any merit to hold stuff back if it appears in the crop.

 

[crashbox]

Perfect opportunity to mob graze it.

Shame you're not bothered about grazing it, it's the most "regenerative" thing you can do, and gets soil biology cycling beautifully.

 

[TlymarT_028]

Is Cereals the ultimate goal for it or a forage based crop?

Forage

 

[TlymarT_028]

Perfect opportunity to mob graze it.

Shame you're not bothered about grazing it, it's the most "regenerative" thing you can do, and gets soil biology cycling beautifully.

It's not quite that I'm *not bothered* about grazing it - that was maybe the wrong turn of phrase. I am more than keen to graze off what I can of whatever I put in. However, if someone was to say "stick some mustard in, it's fast growing weed suppressant that's cheap and will benefit a bit in terms of soil chemistry but IMO I wouldn't graze it" then it wouldn't be the end of the world.

 

[ollie989898]

Fudge mustard, grow kale/hybrid and get someone in to graze it off hard in the summer using electric fencing. Then reseed in the autumn.