Forest to pasture conversion - mulching edition

[northcaroliney]

I asked this question on another section of the forum and got some helpful responses but wanted to duplicate the poll here to make sure I am considering everything. We had 6-7 acres of forest mulched. A lot of it was sapling growth, but a fair bit was also 6-8" hardwoods and a smaller bit of 6-10" pine. The plan is to eventually get horses onto the cleared area. I am not in a huge rush to do so, but want to make sure we're taking the right steps to get there and have a smooth seed bed without risk of leg-breaking holes.

My previous thoughts were:
1) Tree shear any remaining growth we don't want; pile and burn. If I can't find one to rent, chain saw and mini-ex remaining trees we don't want.
2) Run a middle buster over it in both directions; use a mini-ex to dig out any stumps that seem problematic at this point.
3) Disc harrow.
4) Box blade / FEL to grade as needed.
5) Lime.
6) Chain harrow to incorporate lime.
7) Seed - plan is fescue and clover (Zone 7 / in NC - open to other suggestions to incorporate into the mix but must be toxic endophyte-free).

Thoughts?

 

[quicksandfarmer]

Is your soil rocky? We have rocks and I try to avoid disturbing the soil whenever possible, it just brings more rocks to the surface.

That mulch is going to tie up a lot of nitrogen while it decomposes, you'll probably have to add nitrogen to get grass to grow.

A soil test is always a good idea when trying to grow grass.

 

[northcaroliney]

Not overly so, regarding the rocks. It is mostly clay though, for what that's worth. Open to adding nitrogen and that was part of the thinking in planting a heavier clover re: available nitrogen.

 

[cmyoung2]

Soil test. Might cost a little bit in NC this time of year, but do it. Your pH is probably low, in the 4.5 range, needs to be close to 6, but test to see. Lime to correct. P will also probably be low, again soil test. The fescue/clover mix is probably best in the western half of NC.Best planting time will be in the fall, so get all the land prep done over the summer. Don't put in much clover to start with, it can crowd out the fescue. It is easy to add later. Be prepared for some (a lot) of those saplings to resprout.

 

[northcaroliney]

Thanks. Last soil pH near the house/barn was 5.5 but planning to test in the mulched areas and expect it to drop with the mulch breakdown. Planning for 2-3 tons per acre tilled in this fall. Planning to seed fescue in mid-late September and clover moreso in February-early March (with generally lighter application of clover vs. fescue). Anticipating the need for brush tox at multiple points. Probably should have done it right after the mulcher left but now don't think the stumps will really absorb it so need to wait until there are volunteers.

 

[nybirdman]

We had about seven acres cleared last year(mostly brush+small trees) with a Skid steer and forestry head.Did a great job;next cut out the remaining 6-10" trees for fire-wood;hired a mini-ex to remove the stumps;worked the soil with a neighbors 150 H.P.tractor and "large" disc harrows;planted buck-wheat the first planting(helps condition the soil).
This spring had a neighbor farmer spread with cow manure and will be planting sunflowers and sorghum on it.Our soil is very light and close to rock.Soil test showed very low in potassium.