FERTILISER advice for paddocks

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HappyHooves

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I have had a soil analysis done and the recommendations from the company suggest that the land is very low in potassium, whilst high in phosphorus. Their recommended product is a 12:11:18 fertiliser with Magnesium oxide and sulphates, since there is also a deficiency in magnesium. I have looked at the profile of Suregrow, and Top Paddock which would be unsuitable for my fields. Can anyone tell me what they are using in case I can find an alternative, please?
 
I use potatoe fertiliser, it's 12;12;12 I believe so a really good balance for horse fields (doesn't send them luminous green!) and because it doesn;t have horse in the title it's very reasonable.

Pretty close to what you are after.
 
Thanks Polos Mum- tried to get this from local farmer last autumn but no luck. I wonder if it would boost the potassium enough though? I'll go back to the agro company and ask them! Where do you get the potato fertiliser from? Stockist name or agent?
 
Where did you get your sail analysis done from please? I think they will tell me my land is just a big sand pit though.....it's chalk over sand.
 
HappyHooves said:
Thanks Polos Mum- tried to get this from local farmer last autumn but no luck. I wonder if it would boost the potassium enough though? I'll go back to the agro company and ask them! Where do you get the potato fertiliser from? Stockist name or agent?
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Sorry my lovely neighbour farmer gets it with the rest of his stuff. I wonder if you could get hold of a proper local agronomist who could point you in the direction of someone who will make just what you need. Not sure how many acres you have but it might be worth it rather than trying to find a horsey product that fits (and will cost a fortune!).
 
We've only used Top Paddock once as we were unable to get our normal fertilizer & its been no good so never again . We always tend to use 20:10:10 on our fields & will continue to use it so long as it benefits our land.
 
Bobbly said:
Where did you get your sail analysis done from please? I think they will tell me my land is just a big sand pit though.....it's chalk over sand.
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Researched this and decided best value for money ( and also most things analysed) was from Progreen http://www.progreen.co.uk/soil-analysis/soil-analysis-for-paddocks/cat_103.html It cost £21.50 + VAT and I got a list of useful analytes together with interpretation of results and the comments from Lancrop who do the analysis. Progreen then talk you through what their agronomist recommends - very, very helpful.
 
dizzyneddy said:
We've only used Top Paddock once as we were unable to get our normal fertilizer & its been no good so never again . We always tend to use 20:10:10 on our fields & will continue to use it so long as it benefits our land.
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20:10:10 will of course make everything nice and green but I don't want that high nitrogen flush since we have laminitics and very good doers. A soil analysis every so often seems a worthwhile investment especially since you have no way of knowing what shortages there are both in terms of getting max grass growth and also what the grass is, or more importantly is not giving your horses.
 
HappyHooves said:
Polos mum - do you spread the potato fertiliser at about 25 kg to an acre like most other fertilisers?
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I think we underdosed it a little as like you I don't want rich green cattle grass! I'll check with lovely neighbour farmer who actually did it and see if he can remember what rate he used. I know we made a whole bag (the massive ones!) do 12 acres with a touch more on the hay field than the rest. Rather than buy 2 bags and leave half.
 
Find a good agricultural supplier and ask them - they usually have retail outlets at cattle marts. Can't Progreen offer a suggestion of a product?
 
It is possible to buy straight potash fertiliser, MOP or SOP. Did they also check the Ph of your soil when they carried out the test as PH plays an important part in the soils ability to use the nutrients within the soil.
One piece of advice I have for people thinking about soil testing their fields is make sure you take a few samples from various spots around each field as the soil profile can vary a lot in one field as you may not know that there was an old muck heap, pond, building etc in the spot you choose to test.
 
We have our soil analysis done by progreen - very interesting and helpful but compared to typical farming outlets the do the classic - put horse in the title for something and multiply the price by 10 !!

We did our 12 acres with potato fertiliser for £180 and then with 0;46;0 as we were really short of phosphorus for £200. The progreen solution was several £hundred an acre !! - I'm sure it would have been great but £380 vs £1500 odd was no question.
 
We have just done ours with Paddock Royale from Progreen. They were very helpful with our soil analysis and talked us through quantities of fertiliser etc. However we didn't use nearly the amount recommended and I'm glad that we didn't as we had plenty enough grass using about half the amount. If we'd used all of it I don't think we would have been able to see our horses for grass!!
 
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HappyHooves said:
I have had a soil analysis done and the recommendations from the company suggest that the land is very low in potassium, whilst high in phosphorus. Their recommended product is a 12:11:18 fertiliser with Magnesium oxide and sulphates, since there is also a deficiency in magnesium. I have looked at the profile of Suregrow, and Top Paddock which would be unsuitable for my fields. Can anyone tell me what they are using in case I can find an alternative, please?
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NPK = Nitrogen, Phosphorus, Potassium, so the ratio looks ok.
 
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Suelin said:
We have just done ours with Paddock Royale from Progreen. They were very helpful with our soil analysis and talked us through quantities of fertiliser etc. However we didn't use nearly the amount recommended and I'm glad that we didn't as we had plenty enough grass using about half the amount. If we'd used all of it I don't think we would have been able to see our horses for grass!!
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I tend to agree, with limiting the amount of fertiliser, if its not enough, you can add some more,
 
jess_asterix said:
We use a 20:10:10 mix and always have plenty of good grass.
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Nitrogen makes grass grow, but that is not what is required here, or for most horse paddocks.
The P and the K are for healthy grass growth.
The OP needs to balance the growth if the soil analysis is correct. By which I mean the sampling technique was good, and the analysis was accurate, and that the advice is for grazing horse paddocks.
Potato fertiliser is the usual fertiliser for general use in paddock, not too much greenery, healthy roots and disease resistance.
Any horse aware farmer should give good advice, but be aware that farmers like to see green, green grass a foot high, suitable for milk production, just what gives ponies laminitis.
Magnesium deficit would also concern me, esp as I am barefoot advocate.
 
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HappyHooves said:
I have had a soil analysis done and the recommendations from the company suggest that the land is very low in potassium, whilst high in phosphorus. Their recommended product is a 12:11:18 fertiliser with Magnesium oxide and sulphates, since there is also a deficiency in magnesium. I have looked at the profile of Suregrow, and Top Paddock which would be unsuitable for my fields. Can anyone tell me what they are using in case I can find an alternative, please?
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Sorry I wont advise which, I say the best thing to do is get someone in your area who cares for neighbouring land to help. We leave all the advice to our guy who recommends what we need when and how much and which paddocks to do.
I all else fails put a wanted add for a local farmer or land manager to take your land under his belt. We never worry from year to year what it it needs and when to do it. We have a 10000 % trust in our guy, and the results show it.
 
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We use calcified seaweed. Organic, no unpleasant side effects for neighbours etc. (just a nice smell of the seaside - ozone and, best of all, you don't need to remove your livestock). Not sure of its analysis, but we use it once every 4 years and it has improved our shallow turfed land so much. Its great advantage is that it is very slow acting, so you get no "dairy cow" rushes of grass. We get ours from a supplier in Bristol, but I'm sure its widely available.
 
Thanks one and all..................
JillA said:
Find a good agricultural supplier and ask them - they usually have retail outlets at cattle marts. Can't Progreen offer a suggestion of a product?
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Wish we had some locally - slap bang in the midst of agricultural land but huge farms with food crops, constant spraying with insecticides ( who said the countryside is a healthy place?) and they have their fertiliser delivered by the truck load so even getting it from them would mean a shovel and bag and hard work! Both the company who did the analysis and Progreen gave very helpful advice which I have now followed.


Loftyrules said:
It is possible to buy straight potash fertiliser, MOP or SOP. Did they also check the Ph of your soil when they carried out the test as PH plays an important part in the soils ability to use the nutrients within the soil.
One piece of advice I have for people thinking about soil testing their fields is make sure you take a few samples from various spots around each field as the soil profile can vary a lot in one field as you may not know that there was an old muck heap, pond, building etc in the spot you choose to test.
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The advice that came with the soil analysis bag explained clearly about taking 3 or 4 samples from different parts of the land so hopefully its OK. Yes, got pH level as well as plenty of other analytes.

Magnesium being low was a worry but hopefully the Paddock Royale ( 2 bags /acre now and again in 2 months time) will have helped to combat that. And I have also spread some Grasstrac ( I bag / acre) which will boost a whole load of minerals, including copper which was also low.

And to cap it all, the last 1/2 acre had to be done with a walk/ push along lawn spreader as the towable one I use from the ride on mower gave up the ghost! Walked for miles and quite expect a very stripey field once the rain washes it in!
 
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