Posted 2010-11-15 8:53 AM (#127079 - in reply to #127074) Subject: RE: Pasture Care
Elite Veteran
Posts: 824
Location: Kansas
Contact your local extension office; they can tell you what's needed for your area and your grasses. I keep hoping I'll get rich enough to fertilize at my house, but mostly I'm depending on horse manure to gradually do the job for me.
Posted 2010-11-15 12:58 PM (#127092 - in reply to #127074) Subject: RE: Pasture Care
Expert
Posts: 1723
Location: michigan
It depends on alot of things. How many horses were on the grass? Was it run down before fall? Can you spread horse manure? Is the grass a primary feed source? Fertilizing won't necessarily increase the protein in the grass(Not all grass has a high protein content) but might make the grasses grow better thus making more protein available for the horses. Alfalfa is high in protein but during the growing season the protein content will fall as the plant matures. Other grasses are quite low in protein so it depends on the grasses in the fields.If you want you can get soil testing done and then fertilize accordingly. If the grass is mostly just supplemental then it might not be worth the expense. If you have some beef or dairy farms near by you might get them to dump a few loads on your fields now. Like I said...depends on alot of factors.
Posted 2010-11-28 11:38 AM (#127522 - in reply to #127074) Subject: RE: Pasture Care
Veteran
Posts: 186
Have you sprayed for weeds? If you do it is a must to take in a soil sample, as the weed killers mess with nitrogen levels. I think every county in the country has a DNR or Soil Conservation place, ask your local feed store people for the number.
Posted 2010-12-01 10:33 AM (#127680 - in reply to #127074) Subject: RE: Pasture Care
Regular
Posts: 88
Thanks for all your responses. I have decided to overseed a portion that seems to be mostly weeds(per cooperative ext.) early in the spring and then fertilize with a high nitrogen fertillizer 4 to 6 weeks later.
Posted 2010-12-03 6:32 PM (#127748 - in reply to #127074) Subject: RE: Pasture Care
Veteran
Posts: 186
I know it is a long way off but Keep us posted on how "over seeding" works. I use a weed killer product called Milestone, environmentaly friendly but very expensive, so I am courios to explore other options.