Putting the Pasture to Rights

[DappleDoxieStaff]

I have three horses that I keep on a friend's acreage.
Usually, mowing with the tractor and brush hog is not a problem ... hot and aggravating, but not hard.
This year, there was a problem ... I lost my husband in January - he was the proud owner of our tractor and the operator while I tended the horses and hay hauling and such.
I got some mowing done in April, but until last week, that was all. Getting out of the house was hard, running his tractor, near impossible.
So ... I am knocking down all the now dead and ugly and gone-to-seed weeds with a 5' brush hog. I am seeing lots of good grass underneath ... but my concern is next year.
In addition to being diligent about mowing ... what else do I do to encourage/improve the pasture (Oklahoma grasses and bermuda) and repair the damage I created from not mowing.
Thank you so much!
~Anne

 

[tungularafishcamp]

Welcome to TBN Anne and I am sorry for your loss.
I am a commercial fisherman so what I know about farming you could put in a thimble. But I do know that you came to the right place and there are lotsa helpful friendly folk on here, quite a few in your neck of the woods who can give you some great advice.
Good Luck
Rick

 

[whistlepig]

I have three horses that I keep on a friend's acreage.
Usually, mowing with the tractor and brush hog is not a problem ... hot and aggravating, but not hard.
This year, there was a problem ... I lost my husband in January - he was the proud owner of our tractor and the operator while I tended the horses and hay hauling and such.
I got some mowing done in April, but until last week, that was all. Getting out of the house was hard, running his tractor, near impossible.
So ... I am knocking down all the now dead and ugly and gone-to-seed weeds with a 5' brush hog. I am seeing lots of good grass underneath ... but my concern is next year.
In addition to being diligent about mowing ... what else do I do to encourage/improve the pasture (Oklahoma grasses and bermuda) and repair the damage I created from not mowing.
Thank you so much!
~Anne

Sorry to hear about the loss of your husband. The damage from not mowing isn't going to be as bad as you think it will. If you keep the weeds knocked down next year the grass will overtake a lot of the weeds and the pasture will recover. As far as encouraging/improving your Oklahoma and Bermuda grass some fertilizer this spring would probably be the best way to start short of reseeding. I would do a soil test first to determine what fertilizer to use. A soil test costs $20.00 or so.

 

[DappleDoxieStaff]

Thanks, Rick. I appreciate it.
I know when Karol had a quandary, this was the site he came to. I am sure he has a User Name ... but turning his computer on is like running his tractor.
~Anne

 

[DappleDoxieStaff]

**some fertilizer this spring would probably be the best way to start**

This sounds like another implement/piece of equipment?
40 acres is a little much to do with the spreader in the garage.

 

[whistlepig]

If you have a co-op in your area they will fill a giant spreader with fertilizer and let you use the spreader for free or for a very small cost if you buy enough fertilizer. Forty acres of fertilizer will surely qualify you for the spreader deal. I know people that do this with five acres.

Dave

 

[smstonypoint]

If you have a co-op in your area they will fill a giant spreader with fertilizer and let you use the spreader for free or for a very small cost if you buy enough fertilizer. Forty acres of fertilizer will surely qualify you for the spreader deal. I know people that do this with five acres.

Dave

This may differ across regions, but fertilizer dealers/coops that deal with commercial farmers in my area have spreader trucks and they will spread fertilizer and/or lime for you. It's worth checking into.

The soil sampling idea is a good one. I don't know where you are located, but in some states, soil sampling services are provided by the land-grant university for a nominal fee.* Check with your local Cooperative Extension office to see if that is the case in your state.

* Edit -- Oops. I just reread your post and saw that you are in Oklahoma. Oklahoma State does provide that service. Here's their price list.


http://www.soiltesting.okstate.edu/pricelist.htm

Steve

 

[Baby Grand]

Welcome aboard, Anne. Sorry to hear of your recent loss.
I'll echo what Rick said about coming to the right place for advice.

If you have 3 horses, then I think you may have the perfect source of fertilizer. My sister has 3 horses on 4 acres in a very suburban area and pays a lot of cash to the town to have it hauled to their landfill. It breaks my heart, because I live too far away from her to trailer it to my place, where we could dearly use it.

Short term, get the commercial fertilizer and get your pasture back in shape. Long term, start thinking about how you can either get the horses living on your land or at least get their output delivered to your soil. I have noticed that there is no greener grass in this area than a fresh cut pasture that has a few sheep, cows or horses grazing on it.

Good luck and keep us posted,

Jim

 

[Ken45101]

When we bought our farm, it was pretty well overgrown with a lot of weeds. HOWEVER, underneath that was good grass. Keeping it mowed a few times a year brings out the grass.

Check with your local extension service or farm service agency for information about pasture improvement, fertilizing, etc. Seems to me that the recommendation is to do it in fall, not spring. But again, check with the experts.

Myself, I kind of enjoy mowing the pastures as long as I can keep up with it. I've done it for years with a 6' mower, but now I've gone to a 15' mower. Last year it was growing faster than I could keep up with.

Ken

 

[LRTX1]

Keeping the pasture mowed and dragging the manure will help it a lot. Like said, check with the local co-op to get a soil test and fertilizer spread if needed.

Keeping the manure piles to a minimum helps reduce weeds as animals don't like to eat around those piles.

A drag could be made out of piece of chain link fence and a couple of tires. They can be bought commercially also.


Good luck, your in the right place.