New grass meadow HELP!

[bobk]

White clover is a bloody weed and I don't like it much. Red clover is fine by me, grow it as a straight and it is fine for a couple of years. In mixtures with grass, you have a very hungry crop you are trying to feed with a wussy legume.

I disagree Ollie , Red clover is like Kim Kardaisian , looks after itself . and f**k everyone else

 

[Will2May]

That's a,very sensible post . Your topper seems to do the same job as my Kubota Ride on
Personally I would not include clover in a horse mix , people seem afraid to get on grass to early . By the time they think its fit the weeds have done the damage

No clover in the mix, it just turns up, especially in ex arable land but adds natural diversity and fertility.

Equine grass mixtures are suitable for horse, pony and general paddocks

Paddock grass seed mixtures are designed to improve the health and wellbeing of the paddocks, providing excellent, hardwearing pastures

www.whittalseeds.co.uk

Use a local seed supplier's horse mix, and regularly overseed in gateways and feeding areas. Horses out all year so plenty to do this spring.

 

[Derrick Hughes]

Did I make it sound like I don't want grass or something? I'm getting a bit confused by some replies here. Why is it so laughable to plant something other than pure grass? The field is intended to be mostly grass with a bit of biodiversity thrown in. That's all.

I also thought I implied I don't mind killing off the wildflowers if it gets rid of the spurry. If horses could eat spurry I wouldn't be worrying about it but they can't.

Also I have said I have no intention of putting horses on this year. It'll be winter 2021 at the earliest. I know what horses do to fields.

I just need to know how to get rid of the spurry!

So far it seems like I need to mow it soon and/or get some sheep on it. Possibly keep mowing it? And possibly lime the field. That's fine, although it might make my molybdenum problem worse.

Mowing before the damn stuff seeds itself makes sense at least.

Quite simple then . Get it topped , see how it gets on . If weeds come back in 6 weeks top again, they wont come back after that . If it's looking thin by the end of August then drill or harrow some more seed in

 

[bobk]

No clover in the mix, it just turns up, especially in ex arable land but adds natural diversity and fertility.

Equine grass mixtures are suitable for horse, pony and general paddocks

Paddock grass seed mixtures are designed to improve the health and wellbeing of the paddocks, providing excellent, hardwearing pastures

www.whittalseeds.co.uk

Use a local seed supplier's horse mix, and regularly overseed in gateways and feeding areas. Horses out all year so plenty to do this spring.

What hay mix do you use Will , I'm having big problems finding one that works

 

[CluelessAndCrofting]

Quite simple then . Get it topped , see how it gets on . If weeds come back in 6 weeks top again, they wont come back after that . If it's looking thin by the end of August then drill or harrow some more seed in

Thank you. That makes sense. I had a bit of a pull at the grass that has grown and it snapped rather than pulled up by the roots so probably good to go with a mower... ? Just got to find one I can use/hire.

 

[deleted user 837354]

No clover in the mix, it just turns up, especially in ex arable land but adds natural diversity and fertility.

Equine grass mixtures are suitable for horse, pony and general paddocks

Paddock grass seed mixtures are designed to improve the health and wellbeing of the paddocks, providing excellent, hardwearing pastures

www.whittalseeds.co.uk

Use a local seed supplier's horse mix, and regularly overseed in gateways and feeding areas. Horses out all year so plenty to do this spring.

Those mixtures are what I would have put together. Bit of late diploid prg maybe, bit of creeping red fescue, bit of timothy, bit of smooth-stalked meadowgrass. Keep seed rate up and drill both ways if necessary.

What has gone wrong here is a low seed rate mixtture has gone into dirty ground and the weeds have come up first.

Can always put the exotic stuff in at a later date, yarrow, plantain or trefoil etc once a sward is established.

 

[Will2May]

Those mixtures are what I would have put together. Bit of late diploid prg maybe, bit of creeping red fescue, bit of timothy, bit of smooth-stalked meadowgrass. Keep seed rate up and drill both ways if necessary.

What has gone wrong here is a low seed rate mixtture has gone into dirty ground and the weeds have come up first.

Can always put the exotic stuff in at a later date, yarrow, plantain or trefoil etc once a sward is established.

Don't bother with the plantain horses don't like it, at least ours don't. ?

 

[Great In Grass]

In this case it means ladys bedstraw, salad burnet and dandelions I think.

In case noone noticed there is quite a bit of grass in there too. I'm not expecting the horses to just eat wildflowers. But it's easier to take the pee than offer constructive advice I guess.

I really don't think I've done anything wrong or a bodge job or anything that deserves the pee taken to be honest. It seems to me that I've got a bit unlucky with what's been lurking in the soil and I'm quite upset about it.

Thank you to those who have offered some advice about what to do. Perfectly ok if I need to plough in and start again. I'm keeping horses, you get used to burning money.

If you re-seed I suggest a dedicated horse/pony paddock mixture with added herbs to give some colour and sow wildflowers around the fence line where it could be less fertile.

Many Wildflower petals are edible for both man and beast.

Oh, if laminitis is a concern a specialist mixture to help negate this is available.

 

[CluelessAndCrofting]

It is a dedicated horse/pony pasture mix that has gone in.... and no ryegrass to make it more lami-safe.

 

[Will2May]

What hay mix do you use Will , I'm having big problems finding one that works

Buy it all in from one guy who has supplied us for years. 4000 small bales which is a fair work out this time of year. Soft old meddow mix without too much fertiliser is what the girls in the yard ask for.

 

[Will2May]

What hay mix do you use Will , I'm having big problems finding one that works

Buy it all in from one guy who has supplied us for years. 4000 small bales which is a fair work out this time of year. Soft old meddow mix without too much fertiliser is what the girls in the yard ask for.

 

[Derrick Hughes]

What hay mix do you use Will , I'm having big problems finding one that works

What mix are you using?
Main thing with horses is stay away from high Sugar ryegrass, I use a fair bit of Timothy as well

 

[Derrick Hughes]

Thank you. That makes sense. I had a bit of a pull at the grass that has grown and it snapped rather than pulled up by the roots so probably good to go with a mower... ? Just got to find one I can use/hire.

I know they will all laugh at me but hire a ride on or get someone who does big gardens. It realy dont take long and it's not as heavy and rough as a tractor and topper

 

[bobk]

What mix are you using?
Main thing with horses is stay away from high Sugar ryegrass, I use a fair bit of Timothy as well

Oddly I've a Hurrels mix in at the mo , jeez it looks strong
Had some off a member here that turned out to be a silage mix .

 

[Derrick Hughes]

Oddly I've a Hurrels mix in at the mo , jeez it looks strong
Had some off a member here that turned out to be a silage mix .

Avoid Tetraploeds for hay and include Timothy.
But depends what hay you want , soft hay or hard hay.

 

[bobk]

Avoid Tetraploeds for hay and include Timothy.
But depends what hay you want , soft hay or hard hay.

I thought that was their job

 

[Derrick Hughes]

I thought that was their job

High quality upright diploid grasses
Diploid grasses have a lower moisture content making it ideal for Hay
Highly palatable - with the inclusion of Timothy

But depends if you want course hay or fine

 

[deleted user 837354]

The complexities with these sorts of things are why I tended to avoid equine or amenity jobs as they end up taking up an inordinate amount of time and half the time the owners haven't got a scoobies what they want or how to do it.

Did a couple of excellent lawns mind. Saved the owners a fortune over buying in turf.

 

[Derrick Hughes]

The complexities with these sorts of things are why I tended to avoid equine or amenity jobs as they end up taking up an inordinate amount of time and half the time the owners haven't got a scoobies what they want or how to do it.

Did a couple of excellent lawns mind. Saved the owners a fortune over buying in turf.

If the horse could speak it would all be fine ?

 

[bobk]

High quality upright diploid grasses
Diploid grasses have a lower moisture content making it ideal for Hay
Highly palatable - with the inclusion of Timothy

But depends if you want course hay or fine

I've got diploids and timothy in now , what for fine hay ?