How to transform an overgrown meadow?

meganwf · #1 07/31/08, 10:00 AM

When we bought our property 8 years ago it had a mowed section of lawn you could reach by two different bridges. We let it go, then had it mowed, then let it go, tried to reclaim some, planted some fruit trees... long story short it is really a mess now and I'd like to turn some if not all of it back into something more useful like pasture for sheep or goats or just sunflowers and pumpkins with room to raise some meat chickens. We only have a small electric push mower. The meadow is almost an acre.

I'd like to raise two freezer pigs out there next spring and am looking into sheep as well. I have some sections of electric portable netting, three young kids and I am learning how to spin. Most of this will be up to me.

I'm guessing our options are something like this: get upper bridge fixed and buy or hire a tractor/brush hog to clear out some space or get some animals to do the work but I'd love to know if I am overlooking some other obvious (easy?) solutions. I don't need a quick fix but a good plan. Any thoughts? Thanks all!

Here are some pictures:
http://flickr.com/photos/frasers/set...7606465655948/

Topaz Farm · #2 07/31/08, 10:27 AM

Go rent yourself a walk behind brush cutter for a weekend. It might take more than one weekend. Or if you have the $$$ and think that you will use it enough go buy one. We bought an outback billy goat, and it is worth every penny we paid for it.

I would love to have a blackberry bush here.

crafty2002 · #3 07/31/08, 10:47 AM

Put the fence up and lets the goats clean it. They will eat everything in site.
Pigs will do it to. They will root up everything and make good soil in the process.
just my 2 cents
Dennis

Scrounger · #4 07/31/08, 10:57 AM

If it were me, I'd get a small tractor and brush hog it down. Do it again in the spring and see if you can find a neighbor (or buy a cheap one) to rake it up for you. This will get rid of all the "underbrush" and make for a better pasture.
I had 3 acres of WILD prairie that I needed to turn into pasture. My wife thought I was crazy out mowing it twice a summer. I got a neighbor to rake/ bale it for me and have been baling it ever since. If you mow it early enough, it will get the weeds before they go to seed - and still make good hay.
Even if you don't bale (or even rake...), it will make for nicer pasture in short order. The sheep will have better food because of it.
Pigs will root everything up, but it will take longer for you to develop good pasture after they are done.

crafty2002 · #5 07/31/08, 11:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Scrounger

If it were me, I'd get a small tractor and brush hog it down. Do it again in the spring and see if you can find a neighbor (or buy a cheap one) to rake it up for you. This will get rid of all the "underbrush" and make for a better pasture.
I had 3 acres of WILD prairie that I needed to turn into pasture. My wife thought I was crazy out mowing it twice a summer. I got a neighbor to rake/ bale it for me and have been baling it ever since. If you mow it early enough, it will get the weeds before they go to seed - and still make good hay.
Even if you don't bale (or even rake...), it will make for nicer pasture in short order. The sheep will have better food because of it.
Pigs will root everything up, but it will take longer for you to develop good pasture after they are done.

If you let the goats and the pigs at it now, next spring all she'll need to do is disc it well and sew the seeds. What more can you ask for.

big rockpile · #6 07/31/08, 11:07 AM

Looks just right for Goats to me.

big rockpile

kjmatson · #7 07/31/08, 01:26 PM

Yeah I agree, run goats and sheep back there to take care of it. In the process you get free fertilizer

Maura · #8 07/31/08, 01:54 PM

Buy the fencing, you'll need it anyway. Put in four meat lambs. This will give you Aug, Sept, Oct, and Nov to grow them. Rotate them by cutting off 1/3 of the acre for them, and when they stop eating and start complaining, move the fence over another 1/3, then the rest. You don't have to maintain them in 1/3 acre sections, once they are done with the first third, you just open the area up to include more. Could even be five feet every couple of days.

They will not eat everything down. For one thing, many of the grasses and weeds have gone to seed, and they will not eat these. After one month, go out with a scythe and cut down everything the sheep aren't eating. Repeat the following month. Have them butchered before you need to feed hay. Do not grain them. Next year, buy a couple of sheep that have spinning fleece. If you buy early enough, they may be bred, which is fine. Also buy a couple of meat lambs. Now you've got four sheep on one acre. Rotate them on your pasture and pay attention to what they refuse eat. Cut those weeds down when they are in flower, but before they go to seed. Remember that there are things they eat until they go to seed, like grasses. Sheep and goats prefer forbes to grass, so don't discount the weeds. Grazers, like cows and horses prefer grass. For this reason, you could put a small donkey or cow with the sheep.

meganwf · #9 07/31/08, 07:36 PM

Lots of great ideas folks. My husband likes the brush cutter idea so that he can still keep lots of blackberries. I'll inquire further about electric netting and pigs on the pig forum and about brush cutters under whatever heading that might come under -- I'm sure it is one I usually don't look at! I'd like to just put some hogs and goats to work on it but that might be more responsibility than I can handle with a young family. Thanks again.

65284 · #10 07/31/08, 07:39 PM

If you still have fruit trees and turn in goats, you won't have fruit trees very long. I guarantee any fruit trees there will be the very first thing eaten and killed.

**Tiempo** · #11 07/31/08, 08:25 PM

I'm almost done taking down over an acre of shoulder high growth with a weed wacker.

I don't recommend it

Scrounger · #12 07/31/08, 08:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by crafty2002

If you let the goats and the pigs at it now, next spring all she'll need to do is disc it well and sew the seeds. What more can you ask for.

Chances are, if you mow it now and one more time in the fall, you won't NEED to disc it OR plant it in the spring. It also won't be as tore up from the pigs.

meganwf · #13 07/31/08, 09:02 PM

I don't have a way to disc or mow very well so I think we will look into clearing some brush either by borrowing goats or renting a brush hog to make room for pigs. Run pigs in that area and then when they are done seed it for pasture -- I'm hoping for sheep. Actually I'm really just doing all this to justify a farm dog. Crazy or what?

I'll keep you posted on our progress!