question about planting something

[lonelyfarmgirl]

our lot where the water tanks are gets very muddy in the rain and whent he snow thaws. It has been the water lot for about 10 years, and my husband wants to let it rest for a while. He wonders what would be the right thing to plant there, because it will be a water lot again in a year probably. something very durable, not neccessarily palatable, that doesnt matter.
what should we use?

[agmantoo]

I would smooth the area and I would create drainage away from the wettest spots. Near the waterers I would place something that would compact, whatever is available in your area to create a small mound. Based on what is available I may even do some soil and cement mixing to create soil concrete. Then I would get a roll of the best landscaping fabric available, not the junk from the box stores. It will be the woven material that nurseries use when they place plants in pots and display them on top of the soil. After I placed the landscaping fabric in place I would then get stone and place that on top of the landscaping fabric. Mix some sand in among the stone to get the stone "bedded" in place. After this was done I would sow fescue where I live. I would then keep the animals off the area until the grass had developed a good root system.

[lonelyfarmgirl]

well, we had already done sort of what you said with gravel around the tanks, but it wears out over time. the immediate space around the tanks isn't really the issue, Its the whole lot, Its 2 seperate sections of maybe a few hundred feet square each. we usually lock up the herd at night, and its the entire lot that is like this. We are zone 4, so I dont know if fescue would be the right choice. any zone 4 people that have an idea?

[agmantoo]

OK, what you need IMO is a feedlot mound. You can read about them here
http://gpvec.unl.edu/mud/Enviro-Feed...SU%2010525.pdf

[lonelyfarmgirl]

I am confused about how exactly that will solve the problem. The water lot is solid dirt, with gravel under the top layer around the water tanks. cows crap there, and thier feet tear up the dirt. we do have several smaller mounds about the water lot, that are there due to a round bale holder being there years before. the top of the mounds are just as muddy as the surface dirt.
what we need is to rest that water lot for a year and plant something there. what I am asking is what would be a good choice to plant. we dont know as much about pasture plants as we should. thanks

[agmantoo]

What I am stating is that anything you plant will revert to what you are currently experiencing once it is put into use again.

[copperhead46]

I'd sow it in fescue, it likes cool and damp. The kind that grows in clumps would do best for your situation, IMO. You can do that now, and have grass growing there in a couple of weeks.
P.J.

[genebo]

Here in Virginia, our State Forestry organization keeps the matting for putting under new roads in the wilderness, to prevent erosion. They sell it very cheaply.

Our State Soil & Water Conservation organization tells us to put this down 20' square around our waterers, then cover with large stone, 6's or 4's. The idea is to make the area too uncomfortable for the cows to linger and loaf around the water.

I've had it around my waterer for 4 years now. I added a little stone last year to replace that which had gotten kicked away. There has been no dampness there and it works just like they told me. The cattle hardly ever even drop manure there. I've never had to clean any up. There's no grass growing through the rocks.

It looks like this could be a permanent solution for me. I have no idea how well it will work as far north as you are, but you could probably find out by calling your local USDA office where they administer the EQIP program.

Genebo
Paradise Farm

[lonelyfarmgirl]

I realize that planting anything is not a permanant solution. but to do nothing doesnt solve the problem either. I will look into the sod thing.