Grassland advice needed

[GAM]

Good Morning All,
I need some advice on getting one particular five acre meadow field back to having healthy looking grass again..
To me its a blank canvas, its just been mowed, there is a good sward, yet a huge amount of buttercups..
I just need to know in what order do I do things!
1, Soil Test
2, Lime ( know doubt)
3, Spray weeds mainly buttercups, and some tall weed that has a single stem coming up, I will add photo later.
4, Chain harrow
5, Overseed
All advice greatly appreciated..

 

[Hill Ground]

Soil test first.

Buttercups are a sign of low nitrogen content as a rule. How has the grass been managed up until now? Regular mowing, any fert or fym? Any grazing?

 

[GAM]

Soil test first.

Buttercups are a sign of low nitrogen content as a rule. How has the grass been managed up until now? Regular mowing, any fert or fym? Any grazing?

We have only taken one cut of hay off it for a few years, we have spread horse manure on it, its then left a while and grazed with sheep over winter, never down to low.. no fert..

 

[Cocomac]

If it was my field I’d do more or less what you’ve said there in that order. You’ll need to know what the soil needs before planting any new grass and once it’s in you’ll need to feed it. I would harrow before overseeding as well to pull out any dead grass and thatch. Once it’s done you’ll need to get the management right so the new grass isn’t pushed out by the established grass. I’ve found grazing is the best way to do that.

 

[Dry Rot]

To control buttercups, I am told they need to be sprayed before they come into flower. Horses seem to encourage buttercups because their hooves compact the top soil. Then aim to keep the grass below 100mm for sheep. That's assuming you want to cheaply improve what's there. If it gets above 100mm, either put more sheep on, or fence it off for hay, or top it back to 100mm.

I got that advice direct from a college lecturer. I followed the advice and it worked. My problem now is getting a grazing tenant to do the same. His sheep have just been moved off long grass because they've eaten off all the short grass leaving long stalks going to seed. The long grass is unpalatable and making seed heads, I was told, exhausts it so it doesn't produce leaf, which is what stock likes to eat and is more productive. That grass will be producing more feed from side shoots/tillers rather than seed heads.

 

[theMenace]

6. Roll after overseeding

Been a particularly bad year for buttercups this year...