Muddy unicorn
Well-Known Member
Help me get my head round what the risks really are of any stray sycamore seedlings in a hay field. The field is about 5.5 acres, gently sloping, gets lots of sunshine and is quite open as we have dry stone walls so it is our best bet grass-wise for using for hay. However, there is a large sycamore on one side of the field … we moved here in the autumn when it had already shed its leaves/seeds and to be honest I never gave it a second thought as there weren’t sycamores anywhere near the grazing we’ve been on before. A few weeks ago thousands of seedlings popped up virtually overnight and I’ve been waging a war on them ever since. I’ve fenced off the worst-affected part of the field and have opened up a couple more sections of grass on the far side of the field so the horses aren’t tempted to go anywhere near where there might be seedlings. I can’t take them off it completely because the fencing on the summer fields needs repairing and that’s not starting until next week.
I’m pulling up every seedling I see and roping in friends and family but we are bound to miss the odd one. What are the actual risks of then using this field for hay? Where the grass is starting to come through, the seedlings that are left are starting to die off as they’re being out-competed so they’re only about 2-3 inches high at most and if they die completely they’ll be at ground level.
I can understand the risks of horses ingesting seedlings at the same time as grass as the plants are currently a similar size, but once the grass is tall enough to cut for hay, then surely there won’t be any seedlings in the bit that gets cut and baled? Or am I missing something?
Obviously I’m continuing to check and pull anything I see but realistically I’m going to miss the odd one especially as the grass gets longer.
I’m pulling up every seedling I see and roping in friends and family but we are bound to miss the odd one. What are the actual risks of then using this field for hay? Where the grass is starting to come through, the seedlings that are left are starting to die off as they’re being out-competed so they’re only about 2-3 inches high at most and if they die completely they’ll be at ground level.
I can understand the risks of horses ingesting seedlings at the same time as grass as the plants are currently a similar size, but once the grass is tall enough to cut for hay, then surely there won’t be any seedlings in the bit that gets cut and baled? Or am I missing something?
Obviously I’m continuing to check and pull anything I see but realistically I’m going to miss the odd one especially as the grass gets longer.