Aerating And Seeding For Better Hay
Because I have five horses and three miniature donkeys, it’s crucial that I have a steady and reliable supply of hay. When I moved to my farm in Bedford, three separate areas were designated as hay fields and they were planted with a desirable hay field mixture of timothy, orchardgrass, Kentucky bluegrass, ryegrass, and clovers. Hay production was going quite well until a couple of years ago when certain unwanted noxious weeds began to take hold. One weed, in particular, grows spiny thorns that no mammal would want to ingest. We are now in the process of hopefully eradicating those weeds. Soil samples have been taken to see what organic fertilizers, if any, should be used next spring. We were also advised by our friends at Compostwerks that now would be an excellent time to aerate and seed the hay fields and run-in paddock. Aeration is important, as it loosens compacted soil, increases oxygen into the soil, and allows for better water penetration. And applying desirable seed may help to choke out those noxious weeds.
1 This is one of the three hay fields at the farm where we are having a problem with noxious weeds. Noxious weeds have been affecting high quality hay production.
2 The hay was cut and baled early in the summer, but no one was happy with it. The hay fields were recently mowed in preparation for aeration and seeding.
3 This machine is an aerator.
4 As the aerator runs over the field, these finger-like tines push into the soil, digging out plugs of dirt.
5 Before starting the aeration process, Dominick filled the water tank, which weighs the apparatus down, making it work more efficiently.
6 Dominick started the job by driving across the first field from north to south.
7 Autumn is an excellent time to aerate and seed.
8 Dominick stopped the tractor to show how the tines collect soil plugs.
9 The soil plugs - Aeration loosens compacted soil by poking holes into the field.
10 This process increases oxygen to the hay roots and provides better air circulation.
11 It also allows water to penetrate and carry nutrients into the soil.
12 After traveling north to south, Dominick then aerated from east to west.
13 Going in all directions, ensures a thorough penetration of soil.
14 When Dominick was finished aerating the hay fields, he needed to mow the run-in paddock before it, too, could be aerated.
15 So, he removed the aerator and hooked up the mower.
16 After the mowing was complete, he reattached the aerator and passed it over the run-in.
17 As with the other fields, he criss-crossed in all directions.
18 With the aeration complete, it was time to seed. For the hay fields, we chose a mixture having a high percentage timothy and orchardgrass because they make for a better hay product.
19 For the paddock, in addition to orchardgrass and timothy, the percentage of ryegrass and Kentucky bluegrass was increased because that is better for summer grazing.
20 To seed the edges of the hay fields, paddock, and around trees, Phurba filled the hand-pushed broadcast spreader.
21 For the large areas, Dominick attached the large broadcast seeder-spreader to the John Deere.
22 And off he went.
23 I certainly hope that all this effort will help the hay.
Martha Pins
Martha Tweets
Another interesting and informative Blog. Thanks Martha!
Gloria G!!
Posted by: Gloria | September 6th, 2012 at 12:25 am
As a "city" girl from Iowa but with lots of relatives that were farmers, I heard about farm ing growing up. Thanks for putting all the pieces together and teaching us how to grow hay.
Posted by: Kandy Maharas | September 6th, 2012 at 7:51 am
I hope your efforts pay off and you rid your hay fields and run in paddock of those pesky weeds Martha.
Posted by: Cindy F | September 6th, 2012 at 8:07 am
Compaction....that John Deer does not help.....is it really necessary to use such a big heavy machine on three fields? More organic matter in the soil would mean more fungi, worm, etc activity which accomplishes the same thing as "plugs". Do any of your animals graze these fields a couple of times a year? It would help..... especially if they only had access to small parts of the field at a given time. Forcing them to eat all the vegetation there not just "the good stuff".
Posted by: Susan | September 6th, 2012 at 8:24 am
I am totally a city boy.
Posted by: Holiday Baker Man | September 6th, 2012 at 9:04 am
Hi Martha, Thank you so much again for presenting another fantastic blog today about improving the hay fields at your farm! I had no idea that those noxious weeds with spiny thorns were growing in those fields and that they would have been dangerous for your horses and donkeys to eat! I recall the timothy hay growing in my home town, Ellensburg but never heard of those noxious weeds! The Compostwerks website sire was great to learn even more about this improvement at your farm! How great to see these fascinating photos of Dominick using the aerator and driving all over the fields in many directions to improve the fields! Every step is very important and then the seeds are added and the field watered! Phurba did a great job helping with the seeds, also! Love your John Deere machine! How fun it would be to drive one of those! Can't wait to see how well the hay fields turn out! The more I see and learn about your great farm sure makes me wish I had such a wonderful farm with great helpers, too! Sure hope you have another great day! Jan
Posted by: Jan Erickson | September 6th, 2012 at 9:41 am
Hay, Martha,
Thanks for the post, I'll have to call the service to aerate our yard. We had construction on the back of the house last year, so we had trucks & bobcats using our side yard as a driveway. Talk about being packed down!
You take such good care of your animals, Martha. It makes me sad when I see livestock in a muddy pasture with only a couple bales of hay to munch on.
Now, it's time to watch the grass grow!
Sharon
Posted by: Sharon | September 6th, 2012 at 9:43 am
Martha, thanks for sharing this blog.
Posted by: KLBrown | September 6th, 2012 at 9:56 am
Weeds! Not my favorite subject and I can only imagine your concern over the thorny ones taking over your hay fields. We HAD a lawn service that I thought was applying fertilizer and not just bug killer but they weren't. Unfortunately, I waited too long to ask them about it before the weeds started taking over. I've controlled some of them by pulling them out by the roots but the back yard is becoming an eyesore. That makes me sick because our lawn has always looked great. Good luck with all efforts in your hay fields. Trish
Posted by: Trish | September 6th, 2012 at 11:54 am
Martha, I haven't heard anything else regarding the "save-the-date" for October. Has there been any updates that I may have missed?
Trish, I know you are always in the know have you heard anything?
Thanks,
KLBrown
Posted by: KLBrown | September 6th, 2012 at 3:01 pm
Hi Martha, Maybe some of your gardeners can answer a question for me concerning weeds. My garden was overtaken by bermuda grass. As it travels under ground and sprouts up everywhere, its horrible to pull and even in the area where I had to resort to spraying chemicals, it killed my flowers, browned the bermuda grass but it continued to grow. Any ideas would be appreciated as I tried every weed killer and it continues to grow (brown but it grows) Thanks, Ana
Posted by: Ana Lee | September 6th, 2012 at 3:56 pm
Thanks for the post, Martha.
looking forward to more Autumn gardening posts.
Posted by: Manuela | September 6th, 2012 at 9:16 pm
hey Martha thanks so much for the tips on hay, by the way what type of horses do you have? I do riding and showing, I don't know if you do but I think you would be very good at designing and organizing a barn! I also like the sound of your mini donkey.
Posted by: Charlotte | October 13th, 2012 at 1:23 pm