Re: Pasture Management Question

Una wrote:
Eileen Morgan <egm12@xxxxxxx> wrote:
The grass I have is fine, but I want better growth.

Ah. There is some practical management you can do to achieve that.

Grazing stimulates growth, but treading on the grass also damages it.
To encourage optimal growth, it helps to limit the amount of area in
which animals can graze, on a rotation system.

I have a dry lot with a shed and three pastures; two are about three acres each and one is smaller, maybe two acres. So I do rest and rotate, and pull everyone off when we have hot dry summer weather and when the grass stops growing in winter.

don't know if grazing the horses on it too soon after putting it down will negate the positive effects of spreading.

I would wait for a good rain to wash lime and other amendments to the
soil, so the horses don't ingest it with the grass. Otherwise, don't
worry about grazing in that respect.

That is precisely what I wanted to know! Thanks. The lime mix does not come until June, and I certainly would not graze them on a pasture with that sitting on top. If it is dry, I can actually get my two acre field watered with a heavy duty sprinkler I can use to soak in the lime. Might take a little time, but, can be done! My back yard is actually pasture grass and I've been putting them there for 1-2 hrs a day grazing.

Well composted manure looks and smells like potting soil. Does yours?
Poorly composted manure looks like grass mulch, lots of fibers visible
and plenty of intact balls.

Closer to the former than the latter--certainly not like grass mulch, but from the last stuff tossed on there is a bit of hay and some balls. We're turning it over and taking from the bottom, which is pretty well composted.

Eileen Morgan
The Mare's Nest
http://www.themaresnest.com

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