Thursday, May 5, 2011

Lessons in pasture management

This is part of my old property that I am renting out. The tenants weren't able to mow the grass yet this year. When I bought the place years ago it was brush over my head and a real mess for ninety percent of the two acres. I worked hard to reclaim the land and bring out the lovely grass you see here and to have a pristine pasture for the horses. I mowed at the right length to control weed population, I spread manure year after year (it isn't seeded with weeds like people think, it's just the wood chips can cause to much acid in the soil so you need more organic material like grass clippings to keep the balance) and now it's beautiful and lush all over. 

The part in the picture is not fenced and was overgrown but the part that was fenced was already completely stripped of grass. This is spring and the pasture must be rotated or horses limited on the hours they graze. I see the same thing all over and pastures are destroyed because the grass is cropped by horses and not the weeds so the weeds win or you end up with dirt for a pasture. 

So, I explained this to the family living there now and hopefully they will fence in the other side of the property and rotate the horse and two miniatures they have there now. 

I realized while I was mowing the tall grass that I had worked hard every year maintaining that patch of land and it taught me about managing bigger things. My neighbor got his big no turn mower stuck in the grass and mud next door to my old place and I ended up pulling him out which made me chuckle.

Of course, I was tracked down by Griff while I was mowing the old place. Another scowl followed by did you check the oil first. My reply is no because you already did, right? Yes, and it was a quart low, another scowl. I scowled back : |

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