The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Smallholding => Techniques and skills => Topic started by: Rosemary on October 21, 2007, 04:31:21 pm
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The field my horse is on was agricultural land. Now, it hasn't had any artificial fertilizer on it for at least three years, but it's been sown with a ryegrass / clover mix at some time. It's now mostly clover. Part of it was sown with a "horse mix" last year but I can't see any noticable difference between the bit that was resown and the rest.
There's too much clover to be good for horses - especially fat, hairy Highland ponies. So how can we reduce the amount of clover and increase the grass without using artificial fertilisers to help the grass to compete? I'd prefer not to use chemical sprays but will if I have to.
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borrow and put some pig in it ?
they soon root them all out lol
might be a bit drastic for want you need
linz
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The field my horse is on was agricultural land. Now, it hasn't had any artificial fertilizer on it for at least three years, but it's been sown with a ryegrass / clover mix at some time. It's now mostly clover. Part of it was sown with a "horse mix" last year but I can't see any noticable difference between the bit that was resown and the rest.
There's too much clover to be good for horses - especially fat, hairy Highland ponies. So how can we reduce the amount of clover and increase the grass without using artificial fertilisers to help the grass to compete? I'd prefer not to use chemical sprays but will if I have to.
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Now my goal is to increase clover and to that end I've read not to fertilizer - since clover is an N fixer add'l nitrogen will cause it to fade away. Perhaps fertilizing and re-seeding to a grass that'll stand up to horses (if there is such a thing!).
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I don't want to use an artificial fertilizer, since we try to manage without chemicals. Also, fertiliser will make the grass grow lush, which is fine for cattle but not for horses, especially fat, hairy Highland ponies!
Mind you, there's nothing on the filed just now. If you look across it, there's a faint hint of greaan but that's all. Roll on spring - then I'll be worried about laminitis!
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We can get fertilizers that are organic here - not everywhere but available, so I thought that you might have that option too. However, as you say you don't want the grass to grew very lushly I would think then that the idea of roughening up the field either mechinically or the piggy route would seem a good alternative. Perhaps someone with a small tractor and harrow would be willing to go around a couple of passes then after you throw the grass seed out you could drag a bit to cover the seed. Here I either use a small section of fence or a log drilled so it will roll behind the tractor. The other option tho is to look at "frost seeding" and letting your sheep walk it in - by doing small sections at a time even your 3 little ones should help out. I use electro netting with our sheep.