On of the most important and common crops in the world is grass. It is
an amazing plant that grows in the tundra, tropics and even in swampy
areas. The area I reside in is part of the Great Plains and was called
sea of grass by pioneers. If you ever stand by the prairie you will see
the ripples of grass moving like the sea.
All cereals we eat are from grains. The sugar cane and bamboos
are also grasses. Bamboo is remarkable as it is so strong so it can be
used for structures. However, when ranchers talk about grass or pasture
they are usually refering to a mixture of plants including herbs.
Clover is one plant that is an excellence plant to have in the pasture.
If you inherit a pasture it can often be improved. If it has been badly
managed they best way to restore may be to plow and reseed. A pasture
can be restored without such drastic measures. Even taking and moving a
hay feeder around and letting hay that has fallen and not eaten reseed
itself can inprove the pasture. I have been restoring an area around
the barn using this method and it has been improving slowly every
year. This area was abused for many years and did not have any
grass or or even plants that the previous owners horses would eat.
Since my two pygmy goats put very little pressure on the area it is
starting to improve. If you want to replant your pasture the best
thing would be to ask local ranchers or your extension agents what are
the best type of grass or grass misture for your pasture. The brome and
fesuce many plant around here may or may not work for you.
Hay
Grass grows very quickly in the spring to early summer months. If you
do not get it grazed or cut it will lye down and become rather useless.
For a pasture you have two options: crowd stocking to eat it or
making hay. Providing hay is one of the most efficient means to feed
animals for small acre farmers. Especially with goats that will waste a
lot of hay. You can also make silage but it is more labor intensive.
Hay in the the plains is cut up to three times per year and it will
depend on your area how many times you can cut.. If you want to make
Hay it is preferable to cut the grass at flowering stage or right
after. If you wait too long after that the hay becomes less desirable.
I cut my pasture which is less about 1 acre with a wheeled weed cutter.
I would not suggest trying a very much larger area. If would be
better to pay someone to come in and cut and bale unless you have a lot
of time to cut and rake. The only problem you will have with having
someone come in in do it is that they will come when they can and not
necessary when it is best time to cut your hay. They will have their
own to do first.
I then rake into windrow and go back over the next day to stir
and continue until dry. Then I take three or four rows to form a
windrow. I then pile all the hay into one hay stack. When time a is
available I load the stack onto the trailer of my lawn mover and put
into the top of my barn hay loft to keep dry. A word of caution if you
bale or put hay into a barn make sure it is dry because all grass has
bacteria on it and if the hay is wet it will start decomposing and can
reach a temperature of 180. This can create a fire in your hay. Not
something you want to have happen.and it did happen last year to a
farmer near by.
This blog is primary about my activities on my farmette. Currently I am the caretaker of 2 goats, 3 dogs, 2 cats, ducks and chickens.I have a varitey of chickens but my two favorite breeds are Welsummers and Lakenvelders. I garden using the Mittleider Method Gardening which I have a lot of success using.
This blog is primary about my activities on my farmette. Currently I am the caretaker of 2 goats, 3 dogs, 2 cats, ducks and chickens.I have a varitey of chickens but my two favorite breeds are Welsummers and Lakenvelders. I garden using the Mittleider Method Gardening which I have a lot of success using.
