Grass seed and fertiliser?

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SpruceRI

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I have a small paddock of about 1/3 acre that I'd like to re-seed and fertilise.

The top end is currently a bit of a bog with no grass, and the bottom end has grass and weeds.

I've used it as a diet paddock for years so it's always worn down to nothing, but I'd like to give it a break and get the grass growing on it again.

I know you're supposed to have the soil analysed but I'm not going to. It's such a small area, I'll have to fertilise it by hand, and chuck the grass seed on by hand and roll it with my car when the ground dries out, towing a small roller.

The ground is generally clay.

Can anyone suggest some basic fertiliser I can chuck on? Plus some hard wearing wet-ground liking grasses.

After fertilisation, how long will it be before I can put the horses back on it?

Thanks
 
I have land like yours mostly clay and mud, but last year we got a farmer to harrow the land then roll we then waitted a wk or two, then we put seed down for the grass (we have big patches of no grass) then when the grass had grown we put fertiliser down from a company call GEM 01254356635, waitted a week or two (lots of rain) Sounds a lot of work but in no time at all your have lush grazzing....
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Fertilise with 20-10-10 but not too much and wait till the grass is growing before you do it. Try to get the grass seed harrowed after you have put it on as this will spread it out. If it is clay then avoid rolling it with your car as you will end up putting deep ruts in it. Can you do it with a quad or small tractor as these will be a lot lighter and have wider tyres

Mark
 
Thanks very much Gucci - I'll try GEM for the fertiliser product and see what they suggest

And

Thanks Markc,

I've got a tractor mower but it struggles to get across the land even when dry because it is so bumpy. My 4x4 has wide wheels and rolled the paddocks beautifully last year, albeit it took hours. Now I have a little roller to be filled with water, I think it might be quicker.

I don't think the tractor mower will have the guts to pull the roller though, as the mower is on its' last legs.

I'll have to borrow a harrow to tow behind the car.

So I should roll it first? Then seed it? Wait until the seed is coming through and then fertilise it??

Thanks

p.s Markc, what does 20-10-10 mean?
 
20 - 10 - 10 is the fertiliser make up percentages (nitrogen, phosphorus and summat else) - if you tell your local agricultural supplier you want 20 - 10 - 10 they will give you exactly that - although we were told to get a different one to encourage rot spread and gain a better sward so poss best tospek to your local agricultural supplier and see what they advise - they will know the type of soil if they are very local to you
 
If you want to re-seed then get a soil test first otherwise you are throwing good money after bad.

Also take the opportunity of putting some drainage in before you re-seed.

If there where weeds in the grass use total kill and leave for 8 weeks.

After re-seeding don't put horses on for 2 years to give the new grass a chance to establish it self.
 
Well that's obviously best case scenario.

How/where/how much does it cost to get a soil test done??

Don't use the ground for 2yrs? - Couldn't possibly keep them off it for that long - it's rented grazing.

Can't afford to put drainage in - it's rented grazing. I might get chucked out tomorrow.

It's bad enough having to pay to rent for what's little more than a swamp for 6 months of the year and having to roll, reseed, weed and fertilise by hand without coughing up for improvement of the land and not using it for 2 years
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If it was mine then yes!
 
As you are looking for a quick fix on rented land and it isn't a huge space, I would have thought that some 20:10:10 fertiliser and grass seed distributed by hand would do the trick. You can get them at any agricultural merchant. Do be aware that the birds will eat a fair bit of the seed, so be generous or try to keep them off for a few days.

Rolling isn't ideal - it can just compact the soil even more, worsening the drainage situation. How about investing a couple of hours hard labour with a shovel, digging out the worst of the lumps and using them to fill the ruts, before reseeding. Just think how many calories you are burning as you do it!

Keep the horses off the reseeded land until there is a fairly solidly green covering, not just occasional green stalks. The grass needs to have a firm enough hold in the ground that the horses won't pull it out by the roots as they graze. When it gets to about 2-3 inches high, either let the horses nibble it down quickly or run a mower over it - this encourages denser growth. Keep them off for another week for the denser growth to get going, then enjoy.

The weeds can be tackled by hand - every time you poo-pick, pull up some thistles/docks/etc as well. They will eventually succumb - the crucial thing is to prevent them from flowering and setting seed.
 
Thanks everyone

Think I'll go for the hard labour bit NoCollection! I've got a bit of 'WinterTum' to burn off
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Will see whether a merchant will sell me a small amount of the fertiliser and grass seed and go from there.
 
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