Pasture Improvement Project- Questions

[Deleted]

So our beautiful pasture is a bit run down and it's probably high time we got back to work on it. It's roughly 5 acres of mostly open coastal bermuda spotted with a few trees, with a back acre or so of somewhat wet, swampish woods.

I mowed as much of the pasture as I could today, which is pretty much all the open area.

The back acre, we are probably going to convert into a pig pen since it's pretty swampish and since I can't get back there with a mower the hogs will clean out all the brush(thorns brambles and blackberries) while enjoying the mud and high water level.

So now that the pasture is mowed so the weeds can't smother out the grass or go to seed.

Going to the ag extension office today to get some soil tests, but I'm pretty sure they'll come back saying the soil is fine, just needs a boost of fertilizing.

So here is the question, what is a safe fertilizer for horses and a dairy cow and calf?

We don't have(or can afford) a manure spreader or other tractor implements. So more than likely we will have to borrow or rent whatever is needed for deploying the fertilizer.

On the same note, the three back sections of the fence are electric and the brush on the outside of the fence has grown up and onto the fence, grounding it out somewhat. We have "Ground Clear" but I hesitate to use it near the animals, even though it would be outside the electric fence that the animals won't eat under. Although I'm out of ideas, the fence is too close to the woods, drop off, and neighbors property to mow around the outside, so I'm beginning to think that my only option is to nuke it with harsh chemicals an just make sure the animals can't get to it.

We do have the pasture divided into 2 sections so we can control when and where the animals are if we need to.

So my questions are:
What type of fertilizer is safe for animals?Horses, cows, dogs, chickens, geese, and eventually pigs..

How do I spread/deploy that fertilizer?

How do I control the severe weeds on the outside of the electric fence without harming the animals?

Money is an issue, we don't have very much to play with, so please keep that in mind.

Thank you everyone. ;D

[allmuxedup]

Just plain ole store bought white vinegar is the best herbicide I've ever used. Spray the folage in the morning, when the plants are still soaking in dew. The plant tries to use it in photosynthsis & gets fried.
As for fertilizer, the prescence of the livestock will fertilize the ground. Teach the chix to break the manure patties apart by sprinkling them w/ whole grains. Our chix are our primary form of pest control. I only feed them in the morning & evening. I use whole oats & barley to take them out to forage when they're young. Every time we come across a manure patty, I sprinkle it w/ seed. They learn to associate them w/ good stuff to eat. Then, they start tearing them up, looking for the treats inside. They are better manure & generate fewer flies that way. Then, in the evening, we reverse the process. I throw the seed into the coop & they go in there to eat it. If you coop your chickens.... let them out! Then, just put them in at night, for safety. We raise about 150 chix a year & it costs me ~$6/week after they get out of the brooder. We don't have as many flies as we used to either.

[Jenn]

5 acres can be fertilized by hand if you are willing to walk....just divide it up into sections. SRP is good and "natural" if you need phosphorus. It has Ca too and lots of trace minerals.

If you care about GMO's don't use white vinegar...it's made from corn. ACV is only a few dollars more...make sure it's actually made from apples...not AC flavored.

-Jenn

[Deleted]

Thanks!

Yeah, I know that the livestock naturally fertilizes the pasture, but it's had horses on it that past few years and they are the WORST on pastures. So we're actually having to revive it due to the damage done by the horses. It's been a rough few years on the pasture and the weeds are just really starting to overrun the place and if we don't take action now, it's going to have to be completely redone.

We feed the cow and the two horses whole oats and the chickens love to make the piles "dissapear" for the odd oat that passes through intact. It's hilarious when people are on the lookout for cow patties and can't find any.

I'm willing to fertilize by hand. I would rather pay and have a beautiful pasture than have a hideous pasture and then wonder why the animals are so poor and have to buy so much supplemental feed.

Where would the best/cheapest place to find this fertilizer be? I'm thinking my best bet would be to contact the local farmers and see if they use a pasture safe fertilizer and be willing to sell me some of their excess bulk.

[Jenn]

You need to get your soil tested first to see what you need. You can get it tested at your local extension office. If they recommend N or P, use MAP vs triple super phosphate.

If you want to go all out you can get your soil tested by IAL and follow their recommendations for high brix pasture.

www.aglabs.com/soilTesting.html

-Jenn