Another long grass/land management/hay q

[mystiandsunny]

We've got 4 acres we're not using (ponies are fat enough moving around on the rest!). It's poor grazing that was eaten down well last summer and has had most of the winter to recover. Parts of it have recovered really well and are thigh deep long grass, whereas some of the rest is shorter. Not worth making hay off it as it is, but if we grazed the long stuff down to the same level as the rest, would it all then recover at the same rate and be worth cutting later in the summer? Or is it better to leave it as it is and let nature do its thing?

 

[lachlanandmarcus]

Trouble is the short bits will be the tasty ones so if you graze it again you will likely end up with bigger tufts n balder baldy bits

What ideally you need to do is get in with a grass topper asap and even up the growth, it will then grow strongly and evenly. But soon so it has a chance to grow lots and you have the chance to make hay (maybe end of July, Aug is predicted to get soggy apparently).

Do you know anyone with a topper?

 

[Paddy Irish]

I agree with L and m above definitely get it topped asap so that it's all growing at the same height , also this will help the sword thicken up in the shorter / bald bits , then even if you don't manage a cut this year , by next it should be great ( if you keep docks / weeds away with a good selective weed spray in the spring.). Funnily enough I normally cut hay each year but my winter field , which i use to grow hay in summer is also having a rest this year as it didn't grow much last year , as it was so dry , and what did get cut was pretty poor quality , so a years rest will do it no end of good , but like yours , I shall have to get it topped as all the different types of grass are growing to different heights..

 

[ofcourseyoucan]

if you top it now you wont get any cut of hay off it. i would leave it to grow and cut for hay july time. you wont get a full yeild but you should get some hay, and then rest for 6 to 8 weeks and the field will recover, thicken up and become more uniform. the choice is yours top now and regrow, or wait a few weeks cut for hay with a lowish yield, then regrow. either will work.