So, I have 2 pastures, I am in SC, the first picture is a 5~ acre pasture full of bradford pears about this size.
The next 2 also a 5~ acre is full of dog fennel, the more spaced out is most of the pasture but the dense fennel is in a 1/6 fenced off portion.
I just want to know how to clean these up, I am doing research on what makes healthy soil and grasses and types of things to do. But, there is a lot of info out there.
What I think for the dense fennel is chop it all down, till it, and plant clover, but I have seen don't till in places, don't plant clover, or do plant clover. So, help is needed and appreciated. Any advice is welcome thanks!
by Death-Hat
10 Comments
https://youtube.com/@carboncowboys?si=W0d8IQemAaE-nEvi
Can you do a controlled burn and clear it that way?
Goats…in temporary pens….
NEVERMIND!!! Just read it is toxic to livestock
Brush hog and rotate animals on it. Winter is a great time to make improvements prior to spring growth. I also with the idea of fires. Maybe easier to do small fire piles rather than the whole field ablaze, but that would probably work best. Sow fresh seed prior to spring.
Enjoy the work. It will be worth your effort
Goats or bush hog or fire will all do the job
I would mow short, till and replant
Controlled burn could work. Do you have a tractor? I would use a disc harrow to loosen dirt and smooth your pasture a bit. If there’s poultry farms in your area, chicken manure are great for your grass. Also go to tractor and supply store and get some herbicide that contains 2,4D to kill most broad leaf plants and weeds, spray your pasture in spring
TLDR; Burn it on an aggressive fire rotation during the summer.
Reach out to your state forestry services for assistance and offer to use your place for a learn and burn in your area. Many southern compact states have programs for such a thing and can lend resources.
I will say you can reach out to NRCS, but they will most likely suggest burn, spray with herbicides, then burn again and I dont really like recommending the use of broad spectrum herbicides.
My personal recommendation is mow it down hard, let it die and your small diameter fuels grow back (1-2 year minimum), then burn it during the summer, that’ll strengthen your grasses. Plant it and put livestock on it to graze. Then move your livestock around and burn it on a 2-3 year rotation.
Contact your state/county representatives like the USDA and/or NRCS.
Mine recommended mow/burn, wait for things to grow a bit, spray, wait a few weeks, then drill your seeds. Do not till.
I’m working on a federal conservation grant and these are the recommendations from most trusted resources.
🐐