The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Growing => Vegetables => Topic started by: Anke on October 28, 2014, 05:33:55 pm
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Anyone growing maize for their animals (goats in my case)? What variety? Also what would be best to under-sow it with - alfalfa, buckwheat or red clover?
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I would depend where in the country you are.
I don't grow it for stock but I have successfully grown sweetcorn for ourselves BUT it is hit or miss with regards to the pollination.
By undersowing it with a legume i.e. clover, you would get the nitrogen which would help in its growth.
I fear that there are easier and more reliable crops to try and grow for goat feed rather than maize. You would need quite a bit of maize I think.
Qu - could you feed goats rye??
Rye is very quick growing and would smother out the majority of weeds.
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I am growing maize successfully in the p/tunnel for us humans and the stalks go to the goats. However I wanted to try and grow a few more for them (doesn't matter if they don't set cobs, as goats love the greenery) and I don't have enough space in the tunnel. Have a couple of spare beds outside (Scot Borders), so was trying to combine a low-growing green manure with a top crop...
I have grown Hungarian rye grass in the past as a green manure and it was difficult to dig it in/get rid after growing. The alfalfa or clover would stay in a for a couple of years at least.
Maybe I try some normal grains.... I am just thinking about the possibilities...
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I suppose the first thing to know is whether anyone local to you grows fodder maize successfully. And what problems they encounter. Around here (mid wales) there's a fair few that do - using the modern approach of seeding it under biodegradable film to get an earlier germination.. but that takes the right sort of kit to do if planning on drilling several acres. I've considered it in passig 'cos I;ve got about 20 acres flat enough to that with but I;m really unsure about the economics.. with the need to kill off all the current meadow mix, fertilize, a contractor to drill and cover etc.. then the statistics of disease and weather and then either some rotational crop to follow on or reinstating the meadows with a fresh seeding.
I also grow sweetcorn and this year averaged 2 good cobs per plant and a hundred plants. But that's a world away from doing it in bulk