pasture seeding

[outsideman1]

i have reseeded my pasture two or three times and i end up with weeds . i have three horses on 4 acres of pasture but i cant get my grass to do good . i stay in eastern nc and have sandy land . can anyone help with what type of grass seed i need to use . i kinow i probably need to wait until fall but i am just trying to get everything ready, thanks

[JanO]

Call your county extension office. They can best advise you and might also be able to tell you what the real problem is. See if they can, or will, test your soil. It's possible that your doing everything right, but mother nature isn't cooperating.

Good luck

[big rockpile]

You have too many Horses on it.You will never have Grass.

big rockpile

[rambler]

I live in MN, so really no help on what seed you need, or the conditions you face.... But, perhaps this general stuff will apply somewhat:

Pasture is hard to start. It takes a full year to establish it. Here you can plant in early spring or mid-fall, when there is good rainfall.

Pasture comes up poorly, & weeds outgrow it. You need to spray for weeds (difficult if you have mixed grass/legume) or mow it with a sickle ot brush hog a time or 2. Be sure to mow it before it is too tall, but don't clip it too short. You want to control the weeds, knock them down before thet start setting seed for sure.

If you put horses on the pasture the first 6 moths after you seed it, they will eat out the tender seedlings & kill them. Pasture stuff needs to set up shop, establish itself, get a good root system and build up some root reserves. Your horses are likely killing it, & only leaving the weeds to grow.

Fertilizer is important. You need the right ph for pasture. Where I live the ground is kinda high in ph so not an issue, but many regions have a low ph & you can put on all the fert you want, won't help until you get the ph right with lime. Simple soil test for $20 or so will tell you what you need. Lime takes 6 moths to really go to work, so test now, apply lime soon if needed.

So, soil test, lime & fert to what you need, plant the right seeds at the right time (probably at start of a spring or fall rainy season), keep the horses OFF of it for 6-12 moths, and mow it to control the weeds.

Pastures come in _real_ weak looking for those first 6 moths or so, esp if you have it dry. Will look real sick. After 12 moths, it will really take off if you did it right & mother nature was smiling on you. Will have a good lush pasture then.

I suspect you have fertility/ph issues, and/or you put the horses on a rather small pasture way, way too early. On sandy soil, bet you need to wait a year to let it establish itself. Any neighbors bale hay, let them cut & bale it the first year, split the hay. Let it grow & mature so it develops some stamina.

--->Paul

I don't think you're ever going to get a good stand in your pasture so long as you have three horses on four acres of thin grass.

Move the animals off for six months, mow regularly to encourage the grass while discouraging the weeds, fertilize if necessary, and let Nature take its course.

Here's the URL for the North Carolina Cooperative Extension Service: http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/

Do a search on "pasture" and you'll find a lot of info.

But bottom line I think is that you've got too many horses for your available pasture. Move them off, grow the pasture out well, and you'll do much better. Eventually though they'll eat it all down again and you'll be back where you started.

.....Alan.

[outsideman1]

ALAN i have been looking for that site but couldnt find it , thanks to you and everyone else , i have another acre i can fence in and i think i will see if that helps , thanks again. allen