Posted on 12/15/2014 7:45:44 AM PST by US Navy Vet
I have about 1.5 acres of land in my back yard and I need advice on what/when to plant on it so all the dirt does now wash down to the bottom. Whatever I plant/seed needs to come in thick and fast. My daughter had 2 horses back there and now the land is pretty bare.
Any/All advice will/would be appreciated!
Ping list?
Rye grass.
About as fast a grower as you will get.
The farm tiles have holes in it.
Now, here's what ya do....you grab a chair and sit in your back yard and look at it reeeeeeeal good.
Thnk about rain and where it flows. Then start thinking about not just plantings but capturing and directing the water.
Pretty soo....a lightbulb will go off.
2 horses too many for 1.5 acres and no hay bales for them. They stripped it.
If ground is OK ie the soil condition, then rye grass would be fast. If you want to condition it— clover hay is good grower/feeder also. If the horses are going to stay or come back. Sheep would have done even worse.
Other option- for real fast— sod on prepared pre-fertilizered base to take root. And expensive.
Send me a self-addressed box of at least 40 square feet and I'll be glad to send you some!
Seriously, first check the ph on it...chances are that it needs some lime if it has had horses on it for an extended period of time.
Once you get that established (and treated appropriately) go with winter wheat or rye.
Rye is hardy, it'll come up fast and thick and it's easy enough to broadcast by hand, although I'd recommend a mechanical broadcaster.
An acre and a half is much bigger than you think, once you get to working it by hand.
And don't forget the fertilizer.
That would be my guess as a stop gap. It doesn’t replenish IIRC, however.
O and I forget to mention, I have 3 Bee Hives(Italians) back there too.
My brother paved half of his land ,dirt stays put
Didn’t the horses “provide” the “fertilizer”?
Hope you don’t mind if I hijack this a bit (thanks for the thread btw....)
I have moss all over my property; its just on the surface and comes up easily. I can rake it away but it always comes back. I have spread lime on my property more than a couple times trying to take care of this. Anyone else have any ideas? I have tons of trees and am looking at having them professionally removed as I have been told the trees are zapping my soil of nutrients (HUGE oaks). This is all in prep of being able to garden on my 1.8 acres.
thanks in advance!!
Winter rye.
Then, since it is an annual, plant a warm season perennial in the spring before the rye dies.
Depends on what type you get, annual or perennial.
Perennial will come back every winter which is why a lot of highway depts. use it on the side of roads to keep them green.
Winter wheat, rygrass, fescue, oats, are all possible depending on climate and lattitude. You did not give a location, but your local extension service office can tell you what will grow at this time of year for your local.
You will need to till or drill to get best results over just scatter and hope.
OH, yeah...they did that, alright.
They also provided a lot of highly acidic urine, which, coupled with the fact that they were allowed to eat down to dirt, means the soil is most likely out of whack, "natural" fertilizer not withstanding.
Sheep and horses are the two most damaging animals on a closed range.
Horses are easy to manage, if you have the space to rotate (no horse should be maintained solely on a pasture), but they do damage the soil.
Also, I would suspect that the ground is now hardpacked, which means much of what you do will not penetrate as well as it should.
If you have access to a culti-packer or just a simple disc harrow, I'd highly recommend it be used.
But, if I understand your dilemma, you simply need to first-aid the ground to keep it from washing.
Go with the rye and then you'll get breathing room to come in later and do more.
I'm not an expert, but I've successfully managed my 43 acres for well over 20 years, with no problems.
well..........................
boo is definitely NOT pc....???
I did not know this. Thank you. You learn something every day.
Vetch is also a fast grower that takes off in early spring.
Plant lots of clover, once you've got the soil stabilized.
Just don't go walking through it with bare legs or you'll pay the price.
I had about 8 acres of clover and was not aware of my closest neighbors bee hives.
I went walking through it one day, proud as could be, and discovered my allergy to bee stings.
I now have to carry an Epi-pen.
Not the bee's fault, for sure...and I encourage more of them...but I damn sure learned my lesson on clover fields with proximity to commercial bee hives.
Never seen so many damn bees!
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