Field maintenance

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CBAnglo

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I have 4 acres which I need to sort out. They are split into 5 paddocks; 3 are about .6 acres and the other 2 are about 1.25 acres each. I have 3 horses; 2 fatties and a TB. So far we have had all 3 graze down 2 small fields which the fatties are now on (separately) and the TB is on the last small field which has grass.

Question: all fields are very poached having been overstocked for years and completely trashed. Never been harrowed or topped as far as I can tell. Some attempt made to roll them so they are mossy in a lot of places.

The grazing is not good quality; its on clay but the grass is very patchy. I think they used to fertilise every other year.

I am not keen on fertilising as I have 2 fatties and I also suspect that this caused the liver problems in the prior years. What should I do? I was thinking of reseeding them? And putting the TB into the larger field (which will be used for winter) to "top" it in June then rest it until December?

I don't have a tractor yet (recommendations for a baby one?) but eventually I need to get a harrow to do the menage; presumably I can use the same one for the fields?
 
It sounds like drainage is the main problem, it is impossible to give detailed advice, but I would consider liming to sweeten the grass. If you use a tractor regularly on clay soil it will compact the soil even more. There may be some agricultural implements which would help, I suggest you ask a farmer or contractor for help.
 
You may also need to aerate (spike) the fields - this really important for compacted fields and helps them drain and also lets the air in so you can get healthy grass (as in well balanced nutritionally rather than overtly fattening). If ever you see a sports field being looked after, it is spiked after every match.

If I was you, I would get a contractor to sort it out now and then, keep your eye out for second hand implements, so you can keep the maintenance out. Do you have a lawnmower/quad bike? There are now some implements made to be towed behind these which should be 'man' enough for 4 acres.
 
Get a local grassland contractor to sort it out for you.
I would get them to carry out a soil test done first to check out the soil to determine any deficiencies or in-balances.
Then the soil can be treated.
Remove all poos.
Next decision would be if weed killer needs to be applied. and if so your may need a couple of treatments.
Then decide on the grass seed you want and get it drilled in.
Be aware that if horses have been on it before then the field may be contaminated with worms.
 
A little depends on your budget and long term plans - there are DIY option but a decent agronomist will work wonders but be pricey - worth it in the longer term.

A DIy soil sample is £27 worth it's weight in gold to see what you are working with (ph, mineral balance etc.)

There is fertiliser and fertiliser - you don't want something to make luminious green cow grass but something balanced to help establish a thicker sward is good - potatoe fertiliser is good for this and cost effective as it doesn't have the word horse on the bag !!

You have to work out what is you key issue and work on those first (ruts, lack of grass, weeds/ moss) as doing everything all at once is tricky.

Sheep are your friend - they will paddle down ruts with their feed and spread very natural fertiliser and help with worm situation - see if you can borrow some for a few months from a local farmer.

Reseeding - if you mean power harrowing and starting again - make sure they really are bad enough to warrant that - it will be 2/3 years of careful mgmt. before you can use the field again
If you mean over seeding then - sounds sensible - still need to carefully consider when and with what to make it worth it

It will be a bit experimental so write down what you do to each field and maybe try something different on each one - to see what works for your land

mole drains are well worth it if you can find a local farmer to do it for you
 
Depends how much money you want to spend really!

If I didn't want to pay for a contractor I would beg to borrow some sheep, the more the better (make sure the fencing is good), pray for some rain and let their feet do the work.

For weeds, sport spray for the worst, regularly cut for the rest. We have a decent quad, and have a flail £1800 and harrow £200 for it. Both of which I use regularly, once a week, makes a big difference.

If you really need it rolling and spraying I would ask a farmer to do it.
 
Thank you everyone for such detailed responses. I will try to give some more facts.

My budget isnt huge; I would prefer to do what I can for now but I do see the benefit of a specialist. I was hoping to leave it a year and see how bad it is next year (she had up to 11 horses on it at one point so you can see how overstocked it was). Hoping just having my 3 will mean it is better next year.

I don't know anything about liming but I don't want anything too rich because of the fatties (one is also retired so I really have to watch him). We poo pick the fields daily but there is quite a lot of inherited poo in one of the larger fields. It will take me at least a month to clear it (on top of daily poo picking).

I did mean overseeding; not sure how to do this do any tips would be welcome.

My priority I think is to get better coverage; I am not sure how boggy the fields get as they slope gently into a ditch but they are clay. I think it does need to be spiked.

Quad sounds like a good idea; any idea what I should look out for? Also where I can get the various attachments? Definitely need a harrow for the school and hopefully can also be used for field.

Our farmer can roll the fields; he came out to have a look and said to oversees and top the largest ones. Not sure about borrowing sheep we are the only horse people in the area.
 
http://www.schsupplies.co.uk & http://www.oxdaleproducts.co.uk are two of several suppliers, logic http://www.logictoday.co.uk do fabulous stuff, but expensive new. There will be a second hand agricultural merchant near you and if you go and see them they can often find what you need, also just keep an eye on preloved/ebay. You have to wait and squirrel them out, but if you can be bother to do that there are good value bargains to be hand. Its a whole new wonderful world to investigate!!!!
 
Thanks for the links Canteron. I know nothing about machines and don't have a useful bloke so I might have to buy a new one. Will check out prices.

Presumably there is an attachment to spike the fields? I have to say being on yards for 10 years I didn't notice much field maintenance (apart from occasional fertilising/rolling). I do want to take care of my fields though so will have to read up. The number of times YOs would say "the fields come back all on their own ...!"
 
In terms of quad bikes/ATV how big of an engine should I be looking for? Are they capable of towing? Thanks
 
canteron said:
You may also need to aerate (spike) the fields - this really important for compacted fields and helps them drain and also lets the air in so you can get healthy grass (as in well balanced nutritionally rather than overtly fattening). If ever you see a sports field being looked after, it is spiked after every match.

If I was you, I would get a contractor to sort it out now and then, keep your eye out for second hand implements, so you can keep the maintenance out. Do you have a lawnmower/quad bike? There are now some implements made to be towed behind these which should be 'man' enough for 4 acres.
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Sports fields may be spiked regularly, but this is only to open the top few inches, they will still need drainage to work, this is the same for a field, if there is a ditch it can be cleaned out to remove run off water, but in traditional field drainage, pipes are laid in the field in rows and output in to the ditch.
Lime is calcium carbonate, ie chalk and it alters both the acidity of the soil [makes it less acid] and improves flocculation of clay particles, that is to say makes it less like a smoothie and more like a muesli, so improves the soil character.
The machine for spiking a sports field will be relatively light, but running over a clay field with heavy machinery may be counterproductive.
 
I have a three acre small holding and due to budget do the land maintenance myself, if you put in some long days it's not impossible to get on top of it, here are some budget examples.

Firstly we bought a hefty ride on lawn mower from auction (£400) and fitted a tow hitch (£15) this is used to top the fields, even this on its own works wonders.

I poo pick the worst patches, a garden wheeled trailer is pulled behind the mower (£70)

To make a harrow I fitted a heavy pallet (£0) with the spikes you get to keep cats off your garden fences. (£12) it's low tech but it scatters the poo and gets the worst dead grass out

I feed black sunflower seeds so the crows break up the poo for me too!

I use a good quality spring tined garden rake on moss patches (£20) it's time consuming initially but things get better

I reseed those patches, I buy the seed locally (proper seed not bog standard stuff from a garden centre) and only buy as much as I need which keeps costs down

I cut the nettles by the hedges down with shears and soak them in a dustbin of water and after a couple of weeks use this as fertiliser (sprayer £20)

I use a metal tined roll along aerator behind the mower, this won't work miracles, it's just not man enough but it does an ok job

I use a garden fork to aerate the worst patches

Most garden implements with a handle (seed spreader, tines etc) can be hooked on to the mower tow hitch, it's never going to be perfect but our land does look fine, we have plenty of good grass (although the ponies are restricted they strip graze it)

We have sheep and use those on the winter grazing only (not all the fencing on the land is suitable) they do a great job and are cheap and easy to keep but even the areas not used by the sheep look good

The mower was an investment for us but has been incredibly useful, it's never going to win a beauty contest but it's done the land the world of good. We chose a mower because they are less desirable than quads but we are lucky enough to store the mower at home which helps with security too
 
If it's clay, a mole draining may be all that's needed to sort out the drainage/compaction. Remove the water and the soil organisms (worms, moles, etc) will re-establish and help drainage but it could take 12 months.

If it were mine, I'd plough and re-seed but be aware that contractors charge extra for small jobs and also for anyone who mentions the magic word "horse".

If you've native ponies, I'd simply spray for weeds and encourage the natural weeds grasses with some fertliser. At least, you will know those species will grow as they will be there already and you won't want highly productive grasses.

Yell.com for contractors or possibly your local farm machinery ring. A lot of farmers will do a job on the side for cash when they are less busy.
 
Golly, those are tiny paddocks. I would take some/all of the dividing fences away as IME tiny paddocks poach much worse than larger areas and you don't want to be constantly dealing with bad poaching after every winter. So, a decent boundary fence and then split into smaller paddocks with electric tape, when smaller areas are needed. Then you have the option of opening up the whole four acres in the winter when the grass isn't growing and it's been eaten down.

I have a hard core area with a hay feeder on and it's wonderful in winter as they can happily munch away out of the mud.

I harrow, top and spray using a massey fergusson (I also pop the backbox on and level the sand school with that), but I suspect that one might be out of your budget, so the hefty lawnmower is a good idea. Maybe look at second hand quads, as you can get lots of paddock maintenance equipment for them.

ETA - if you are buying grass seed, get horse paddock mix that doesn't have rye grass in.
 
Thanks everyone some really good ideas. I realised that there was an uplift when the farmer made noises about access and oddly shaped fields. I really want to be as self sufficient as possible and am not afraid of hard work/investment. Some of these ideas look like things I can do right now. I definite need to spray weeds I havd just been pulling them out but the spray might be more efficient.

The fields were previously agricultural so not sure they have established grass which is another reason it is so patchy.

Off to google mole hills!
 
FC: thanks. The fields are currently post and rail with electric all the way round. I like having smaller paddocks as I can rotate them round a bit and split them up according to weight. There is hard standing of about .25 acres as well as a hard core track of about .3 acres which I use to try and keep weight off and cod also use in winter.

I will have a look at the tractor you mention but I think I only need a really tiny one?
 
When you've had your horses on the land for a whole year, you will learn how your land works with your horses. I found that one of my paddocks just cannot be used at all in the winter (it floods and has 'winter springs' in it). You'd never know how wet it gets from seeing it at other times of the year.

The tractor is a MF 35, which is very small compared to modern tractors but it has the 3 point attachment and hydraulics to run farming equipment off. We also have a log splitter for it that is fabulous.
 
Mole hills are your friend. The tunnels provide natural drainage (just like mole drains) and the surface spoil can just be raked smooth and used as a top dressing.

They are also a sign that you land is well populated with worms (also your friend) and can be a sign that the soil is healthy.
 
The mower we have is one of the sort referred to as garden tractors, these are a bit bigger and chunkier than a standard mower -once the blades are lifted (simple lever) it can be used as a general workhorse. It isn't the clever sort that can power attachments sadly but it does the job... Just a bit slowly lol
 
CarolineJ said:
That is GENIUS!!! Off to buy cat spikes at the weekend, thank you!!!
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Have fun :)

It needs to be a heavy pallet or it will bounce about and have no effect. If you can only find a light pallet add some wood round the edges and place a few breeze blocks on it
 
CBAnglo said:
I know nothing about machines and don't have a useful bloke so I might have to buy a new one...!"
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Let me know if you find a good place to buy a new bloke. Useful to know if ever I'm in the market for one.
<adds nothing useful, lowers tone, exits thread>
 
PoppyAnderson said:
Let me know if you find a good place to buy a new bloke. Useful to know if ever I'm in the market for one.
<adds nothing useful, lowers tone, exits thread>
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Ha very good! I wish it were possible; I could think of a few criteria (knowledge about engines would be fairly near the top though. Having my own place means a change of priorities!).
 
Bonkers2 said:
Sports fields may be spiked regularly, but this is only to open the top few inches, they will still need drainage to work, this is the same for a field, if there is a ditch it can be cleaned out to remove run off water, but in traditional field drainage, pipes are laid in the field in rows and output in to the ditch.
Lime is calcium carbonate, ie chalk and it alters both the acidity of the soil [makes it less acid] and improves flocculation of clay particles, that is to say makes it less like a smoothie and more like a muesli, so improves the soil character.
The machine for spiking a sports field will be relatively light, but running over a clay field with heavy machinery may be counterproductive.
Click to expand...

If the field is compacted then the water just runs off it. Spiking allows the water to sink down, thus reducing run off. The water is then encourage to drain further into the soil, helping it to break up and allow more air in encouraging stronger rooted healthy more nutritionally balanced grass. If you google you will find many articles like this! http://www.greenpaddocks.co.uk/services/soil-aerating/
 
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