A safer alternative to Roundup

[super55]

If this lady is set on not using any herbicide it can be done but be sure to inform her it will probably be about 4x the cost. If I was doing this pasture I would one. Plan on tilling/discing it all under to get the soil worked up. Than I would go ahead and plant a summer cover crop. Buckwheat is the first that comes to mind because it is extremely competitive and will usually out compete other vegetation and is easily killed off if mowed just prior to bloom. Oats are also very competitive.

After it is mowed just let it sit dormant. Don't do any tilling (all that will do is just re-expose dormant weed seeds again). Than in the fall when most plants are going dormant go ahead and frost seed your pasture with a fescue and wait until spring.

Unfortunately right now 1. really hard time to get pasture grasses established and 2. If you do plant in the spring it is almost impossible to get a clean pasture without the use of herbicides. To get a weed free plot without any herbicides you really need to start planning now for next years pasture.

 

[Walkin Horse]

Yes I plan to seed around Labor Day. I will disc it but I'm not sure I could get clover or buckwheat started in the summer here. I have never tried it.

I have had good luck at my place seeding in September. Last year I cut what I seeded 3 times before the frost. I seed then I turn horses loose on it for a week or two depending on the rain. Here are some pics of what I've done. The first one was all wooded 4 years ago when I moved in.

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[Trillium Farm]

The best maintained pastures I have seen are almost always the result in multi-species grazing. If she would get a few goats to graze with the horses, they would eat most of the weeds the horses won't touch. Cheap, easy weed eradication and maintenance.Of course, not everybody wants to bother with goats, but they really do a great job on broad-leafs!

There is a sequence for multispecies grazing. Cattle, horses, sheep (NO GOATS) this is due to the different height of grazing they require. Goats are browsers and will pull the roots off the grass together with the weeds. One still needs to cut, chain-harrow the pasture and rest it. This is the best way to maintain a healthy sward. The number of horses one keeps is dictated by the number of acres one has, ideally 2a per horse to allow for rotation.

 

[EddieWalker]

Another options is to put clear plastic over the lawn and let the sun kill it. Cost and labor is going to be more, but the results are usually pretty good. I've done this on a smaller scale, but found that keeping the plastic from blowing away to be too challenging to do a full acre.

Eddie

 

[smstonypoint]

Yes I plan to seed around Labor Day. I will disc it but I'm not sure I could get clover or buckwheat started in the summer here. I have never tried it.

Millet is an alternative that can be planted in early summer.

Steve

 

[super55]

You could probably get buckwheat established pretty easily. It requires warmer temps to germinate and unless you get some really hot summer temps than sun hemp could be an option. I know Hancock seed sells it. Highly competitive to overwhelm weeds, adds a ton of organic matter and adds N to the soil. Nice work on the wood pasture thats an impressive stand for first year planting. If you got soil like that you may not even need a cover crop. Personally I would still go with one though. Horses are pretty heavy animals so you might have a touch of hard pan in the soil so your going to most likely have to work it up at least a little bit.

 

[GirlWhoWantsTractor]

We've had good luck transforming a couple of acres of weeds into lawn in a minimally invasive and chemical-free way.

First off, as stated by others, plowing will expose more weed seeds. I should add, plowing will also leave bumps and rows unless you grade it afterwards. Every high bump will be a dry spot that weeds will love, and your grass will die off on it. Instead, I find it quite effective to mow very close, scalping if possible, smooth any bumpy areas, then overseed. Annual rye works very well, doesn't require being worked into the soil as long as it is initially moist, and germinates in less than a week. No watering required unless done in summer heat/dry period. We've even had good luck with fescue but this requires a couple extra steps. Apply a thin covering of peat moss after spreading the seed and you must do this just before a rainy period as it must stay moist. Early spring or fall is best. Doesn't work well in summer unless you have an extended wet period. Then we apply Milorganite. This is an organic chemical-free fertilizer that releases slowly over a period of 6 months and also adds organic matter to the soil, which means it actually improves the soil. It is quite cost effective: around $14 for 50 pounds. The peat moss also improves the soil by adding organic matter. I'm sure you know that the best way to eradicate weeds long term is to improve the soil. That's the problem with weed-killers; unless you improve the soil, your weeds will very quickly come back! Liming can also help but as I'm sure you know, is very expensive on a large scale. It's also temporary. So I never do that as I can't afford to spend a couple of thousand dollars every couple years to lime.

I used to own a landscaping company and we used to "fix" many lawns this way. In fact, the Milorganite alone, along with regular mowing, will "fix" your lawn over a period of a couple of years. I swear by it. Smoothing to remove high/low spots is also very important. And if you have hard clay soil, peat moss works wonders too.

I should take a couple before and after pics.

Just my 2 cents.

 

[kenmac]

I love Glyphosate ! It kills anything I need killed.. From Kudzu on ...

 

[TomSeller]

My property is under a conservation easement with private conservation group .

Did you sell the tights, or were they sold before you bought?

 

[Redneck in training]

After we bought our land we decided to restore (re-establish) Iowa prairie. To do so we no till planted RR soy beans and then sprayed it with round up to kill all grass and weeds. Since we wanted to place the land in CRP we decided to maintain crop for number of years to qualify. Third year of doing so we got soy seed contaminated with RoundUp resistant pig weed which basically chocked the beans that we hardly broke even. You can google RoundUp resistant weed. There are many articles on internet about the issue. Farmers Face Tough Choice On Ways To Fight New Strains Of Weeds : The Salt : NPR.
We tried to kill it by discing it twice, mowing etc. Discing "woke up" many other weed seeds laying dormant in the soil. In other words the prairie restoration is a total failure. The weeds are dense enough now that I am hoping we could burn it next spring and see what will happen. But seems to me that deer, turkeys, quails and pheasants don't mind it because they congregate on the land in higher numbers than before.