Making A Pasture

Baymule

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The picture on the previous page shows the pasture behind the horse barn, planted in early spring, choked with weeds. The Sheep enjoyed them immensely.

We went to Odessa over Labor Day weekend to see DD and family. While we were gone, Robert hooked the bush hog to our tractor and started mowing the pasture. A nut came off a rod that links to the steering and the rod broke. Another neighbor brought a tractor and not only finished the mowing, but then they reset a corner post. When we got home, I ran out back to go see!

The guys were in the back corner. Our weedy pasture looked like a park! Beautiful. I kept saying WOW! They mowed and cleaned up the back part under the pines too. We have great neighbors!

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Mini Horses

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You DO HAVE good neighbors. Part of that is because YOU are a good neighbor! Of course, not everyone has an area where all residents are interested in either farming or participating.

Some of mine are willing to participate if asked but, others don't want to be bothered or included. :idunno

Loaning a box blade is the RIGHT amount!! LOL
 

Baymule

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Because of all the rain we’ve had, the Bermuda grass in pasture 2 has come back out with more graze. I put the sheep, Sentry and Sheba in it for the day. Ringo went straight to his back scratching tree. LOL LOL What they don’t eat, they’ll trample into the soil, adding more humus.

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I need the Sheep to graze down the Bermuda because the clovers and fescue are starting to come up.

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Mini Horses

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Actually, the bermuda is protecting those young starts right now -- and providing some "mulch" effect for the moisture. If you get cold there --- :lol: --- the bermuda will go dormant. I believe the protection you have now is good, unlike where the bermuda has gotten thick and you can't see the soil!

You ARE getting some graze there! Keep at it. Plus, some fertilization today.
 

Baymule

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For the last two years, we have been feeding the horses round bale on the pipeline. It’s the WORST soil on this place, and on a plot of pure white beach sand, that’s saying something. So the dead rotted waste hay and horse manure have done wonders for the soil. There is a gully that bisects the so called pasture. Standing in the gully facing towards the front of our property, the giant Bermuda I sowed is coming up and making a good showing. We hayed this half first and it sure improved the soil.

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Standing at the back of our property, this half was last and still had a lot of hay that hadn’t totally rotted in. The Bermuda is coming up now and I’m hoping the extra humus will keep the sand from heating up in August and cooking the grass roots.

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A close up of the new grass coming up. Of course the horses are locked out and they don’t think too much of that idea.

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Before I sowed grass seed, I ran the tractor and disc up and down the pipeline, breaking up the soil. Because it all runs downhill, I then ran the disc from side to side, making small furrows to hopefully keep it all from washing down to the gully. There is a fence on one side of the pipeline and forest on the other. There was a lot of going forward, running into the trees, picking up the disc, backing to the fence, dropping the disc, going forward into the trees, rinse, repeat. It worked, it’s holding soil and not all washing downhill.

The horses walked a rut down to the gully and we have to fill it in. We have gotten 8 1/2” of rain over the last week and a half, so the rut has washed. But we’ll get it filled, there’s plenty of horse manure in the barn. LOL The rain has made the grass really take off.
We have been here 7 years. I’ve thrown a lot of grass seed at the pipeline, hoping something would take. I think this time it’s going to work.
 
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