Forages

The pastures were bare soil and weeds when I moved in. As the soil is very rocky, I made the decision to overseed rather than plow everything under and stir up more rocks.

The first website I visited was http://www.safergrass.org/ to get more information about low sugar forages appropriate for the horses.

I also found a seed vendor with some excellent reference material. Seedland has basic horse pasture information at http://www.horsepasture.com/ Seedland also put together some helpful charts of forage types at http://www.farmseeds.com/management/grazing-horses.html

I also read and reread the book Eco-Farm by Walters & Fenzau http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001CO8CDK?ie=UTF8&tag=careasshorhum-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B001CO8CDK

Equilite sells mixed pasture herbs that can be added in low-traffic areas. http://www.equilite.com/product-sowyourseeds.asp The mix includes Melilot, Fenugreek, Fennel, Lemon Balm, Chicory, Queen Anne’s Lace, Dandelion and Chamomile. As I already have some of these growing in the field, I’ll overseed with the missing herbs some time later this year.

A future project is researching additional herbs that I could overseed to add variety to the goats’ diet.

Until the next post, happy grazing!

Carrie