A teeny proud moment and a land management question

[scheherazade]

Dear Collective Wisdom of HHO,

I have recently taken on a five acre field for Z, it hadn't been used in a long time and was feeling a bit sorry for itself (waist high thistles, very bumpy bits and loads of ragwort) Fast forward two months, it has been rolled, sprayed, ragwort and thistles hand pulled (20 builders sacks full) divided by electric tape and is now a field of green loveliness where Ziggy and his new bff are grazing quite happily. It was a struggle to get it to that point but feeling very very proud of how it looks now.

However there are a few cracks in the ground, some of which are quite deep (up to about 4 inches), plus a few holes. I had thought of filling them up with droppings while I poo pick the field to try and level it out, but would this be A Bad Idea for reasons I haven't considered? Both horses are regularly wormed and a recent worm sample done for both of them showed insignificant / negligible count. I intended to do this rather than risk injury if a horse tripped or put his foot down one, but wondered if there is any reason why I shouldn't do this???

Many thanks, I only have jerk pork salad on offer though (but it is delicious)

S xx

 

[lachlanandmarcus]

Dear Collective Wisdom of HHO,

I have recently taken on a five acre field for Z, it hadn't been used in a long time and was feeling a bit sorry for itself (waist high thistles, very bumpy bits and loads of ragwort) Fast forward two months, it has been rolled, sprayed, ragwort and thistles hand pulled (20 builders sacks full) divided by electric tape and is now a field of green loveliness where Ziggy and his new bff are grazing quite happily. It was a struggle to get it to that point but feeling very very proud of how it looks now.

However there are a few cracks in the ground, some of which are quite deep (up to about 4 inches), plus a few holes. I had thought of filling them up with droppings while I poo pick the field to try and level it out, but would this be A Bad Idea for reasons I haven't considered? Both horses are regularly wormed and a recent worm sample done for both of them showed insignificant / negligible count. I intended to do this rather than risk injury if a horse tripped or put his foot down one, but wondered if there is any reason why I shouldn't do this???

Many thanks, I only have jerk pork salad on offer though (but it is delicious)

S xx

I've done it with rabbit holes, you need to do it several times as it sinks a bit. Altho not ideal worm wise it isn't mixed with the grass and it has never resulted in worm issues at our place, and no broken legs ))

 

[scheherazade]

Thanks very much, tbh I was more worried about the broken legs than the possible worm issues as I was literally just going to stuff it down the cracks / holes so that everything stays as level as I can get it but just wasn't sure whether I had missed an obvious reason not to do this. As an added bonus it means I won't have to worry about muck heap removal for a bit!!!!

 

[OrangePepper]

I most certainly would not use poos to fill in the cracks. I am agreat believer in picking poos up daily and removing them off site to prevent worms and killing off grass that the poos lie on.

As regards the cracks I would get a contractor to pull a mole drill along the cracks to open them up and then go over with the rear wheel of the tractor to seal them up.

 

[Pearlsasinger]

I've done it down rabbit holes as well, although actually dog poo works better. I really can't see that it will affect your worm burden but then I'm not a 'poo-picker' preferring to let the sheep loose.

 

[JillA]

I really don't get this obsession with worms and poo picking. If your field was not grazed by horses within 6 months at least, and your horses are worm free as in have been wormed with a good wormer within three months of going on to the field - where are the worm eggs/larvae going to come from?? Poo picking is a good aid to getting to worm free horses if you have a herd who have an infestation, but if you don't, it a) takes out all the nutrients from the soil but b) keeps the grass sweet for the horses to graze. Yes, pack the cracks with poo but bear in mind the cracks will still be there when the poo has been taken into the soil. Longer term look out for some top soil to fill them with.