Dear
Jeff,
I have a small miniature horse farm (about 7 acres) in Dracut,
Massachusetts. The hay fields have been neglected for years,
and the weeds are mixed in with a weak timothy stand.
I would like to bring the fields back to full production
without using a weed killer. Could you suggest a strategy
for choking the weeds and getting the field to a pure stand
of timothy or a mixture good for horses?
Thank you for the help.
Philip Ferreira
Dear Philip,
Thanks for the email and the hay question.
It’s hard for me to tell from this distance what condition
the fields are in and the absolute best plan of attack. More
than likely if the fields are real bad, they’ll need
to be tilled, prepped, and replanted. If they aren’t
too terrible, you might be able to reseed them with the use
of a no-till drill or pasture renovator. I know we used to
be able to rent those tools from a dealer (the county Extension
office used to keep a list of folks who rented them).
If they need to be replanted, you might consider doing them
in a rotation rather than all at once. That way, you can use
part of the fields all the time. It may be that you can do
a combination of ‘replant’ and ‘renovate’.
Check with your county agent for a seeding recommendation
and exact use for your soil.
I know this isn’t a direct answer to your question,
but hopefully it is useful.
Jeff
Have some questions to Ask Jeff? E-mail
him directly at jeff.moyer@rodaleinst.org.
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