[Homestead] Pasture question
Clansgian at wmconnect.com
Clansgian at wmconnect.com
Wed Jun 11 21:42:27 EDT 2008
> > I'd mow it.
>
> Thanks, Bev, why? Will it help it to regrow or just the asthetics?
Bev is right. Mow it. Mowning it will give the grass an advantage and the
reemerging broadleaf weeds a disadvantage. Also goats do not crop closely
unless they have to. They will eat off weeds and grass 18" high and leave them
if there's something else to eat, it seems to be a natural defense mechanism
against soil borne parasites. If any dead weeds are standinga around, you will
notice that the goats will tend to ignore the grass around the dead or live
weeds.
We are beplaqued with giant thistle and ironweed. When we wander the
pastures, we take a ditching shovel along as a walking stick and do in any weeds we
see biding fair to rise above the grass. The goats will eat (the tops) of
golden rods, joe-pye, vervain, and a good number of other 'weeds', but they don't
prefer to eat ironweed. </HTML>
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