[dyedinthewool]

We moved in a year ago -only 3.5 acres.

Previous owners over grazed with horses-so paddocks were horse sick. Mostly buttercups, tufted grass  and long 'spagetti' type grass (not sure what sort  ) not too many docks, but nettles around the edges ( hedges overgrown 10' out into the paddocks).

We divided one paddock into 2 and managed to cut with ride-on until we had our motley ewe crew. So grass in those is now not too bad.  The top paddock had a thumping great static carvan parked just in front of the gate so it wasn't easy to get through and the fencing was non existing so couldn't put the girls out there. It got overgrown so thought to make hay (no equipment of our own but found a local guy who would do it) but missed the 1st window in June as we needed to move the caravan to get the machinery through - then it rained all summer - we finally cut and made hay in September.   Taken us a few weeks to cut back the Hedge  ( only managed to get halfway down the field on oneside!!, OH is going to lay it all eventually), and then to fence that bit, the rest we had to resort to electric fencing for the time being. We have had the crew out eating the after grass.

I'm aiming to take some PH soil tests from each of the paddocks, except it snowed today!! but pretty sure it's acid, azaela's grow beautiful here, so liming I think should help both sweetening the soil and discouraging the buttercups so helping the grass.

What I really want to know is: If we use granulated lime when should we do it? How soon can the sheep go out on it after it's been limed.

[Fleecewife]

Sorry I can't help with the liming but I wanted to comment on your hedges. As they are they will be a wonderful resource for wildlife, especially birds.  Obviously you can't leave them like that forever as they are taking up a lot of space, but if you get your OH to do just a section - maybe a quarter of the whole lot - each year then you will have hedge at a variety of stages and sizes, which will still be great for the birds.  My OH managed to give himself tennis elbow laying hedges, using the old fashioned bill-hook method.  The next section will have to be done with an electric saw making the diagonal cuts. It looks horrendous at first, doesn't it, but it soon grows back thick and rejuvenated and suddenly there's light.

[dyedinthewool]

Hi Fleecewife,

It will take us -that is OH a couple of years to get round all the hedges. It will then be time to start again.  He doesn't like the 'flail' cut hedges you see around the lanes that have been massacred by the cutter - boughs ripped and jagged - he goes mad.

We/he !! is currently building a new kitchen with new lounge above onto the 'old' house which will be renovated by us as time allows.  We will have some beautiful views of the Welsh countryside from the new lounge.

The hedges are banks (with trees on the top now) - no bottom in them, sheep could just walk through... so by laying them it should make a better wind break and more cover for the wild life, we shall leave some as trees and plant in some whips in any large holes.  We are putting in new posts and sheep fencing.  OH is also normally a 'slasher' 'bilhook' man but with the size of branches in the hedges he has had to rely on a chainsaw for a lot of it.

Hopefully someone on the forum can advise me on the Liming issue 

[landroverroy]

Ref liming - you can do it any time when you can get on the land. You can graze it as soon as it's washed off the leaves as it isn't poisonous. If it's been grazed continually by horses it is probably EXTREMELY acidic and you'd best put the lime on in  two lots or it will tie up the trace elements in the soil. So put on @ one and a half tonnes/acre first, then get it tested again next year to see if it needs some more. While you're at it, leave a little (@ 1 cwt) pile  of lime at the side of the field which the sheep will walk thro' and this will keep their feet right. You never get foot infections in sheep while you've got some lime about.

[Fleecewife]

You are so lucky having old hedges to renovate, hedgebanks at that - I know it must seem a bit of a slog, but hedges are such a plus point.  When I was growing up, the Government gave grants to rip out old hedgerows.  I can remember me as a schoolgirl ranting at our neighbour for doing that, but his view was just that he was getting paid for it. He laughed when I said about the soil being blown away, but that's just what did happen in Norfolk - huge dust storms.
Here, we had no hedges when we arrived so we have planted them ourselves.  We had to wait for them to grow - slowly, everything here in our high bit of Scotland grows very slowly - before we could start laying them, but already the sheep had browsed out the lower bits like yours.  Most are now double fenced.  We try to keep some big and bushy for the birds which like to nest at height and in good cover - it also protects against the sparrow hawk, although she has to feed her young I know. The laid stretches are now totally stock proof, but not fox proof unfortunately.
Sounds like you have a handy OH !!  Mine is building me a giant wool shed, but it's taking forever, especially in this cold weather, when everything is stuck fast to the ground. In the meantime my house is full of wool waiting to be dealt with once the palace is built.
Good luck with all the work you have to do - it never stops but I'm sure you love it as much as we do.

Good tip about the lime for sheeps feet, landroverroy.

[waterhouse]

Our advice from the Royal Vet College was to leave 48 hours after liming before returning the horses.  We left it a few days longer because there was still a lot showing on the ground but apart from them getting lime into their coats there seems to be no problem.

We also had an impressive buttercup crop and we knew that there had been nothing done to the grass in a couple of decades.  We took soil samples across our fields and sent them off for analysis.  The results showed a pH of 5.54 against a target of 6.5 with a recommendation of 9.6 tonnes of lime per hectare to be added, not more than 4 tonnes/hectare at a time.

We did the first instalment about a month ago (it took 3 months to get the contractor and 30 mins to spread 9 tonnes)

[dyedinthewool]

Thanks everyone for your imput

I have now collected soil samples from several areas in the paddocks, thanks to our Mr Mole who has churned up hills despite the frozen ground so will be able to see just how acidic the soil is and lime accordingly.

Thanks for the info on sheeps feet - learning something new everyday

Dyedinthewool