A benefit of silvopasture like you're doing is if you have nitrogen fixing trees like speckled alder or mesquite or honey locust. Not only do they fix nitrogen in their roots, but they produce protein-rich pods that are edible for livestock (well, mesquite and honey locust do, not alder). When animals turn those pods into manure, that's free rich fertilizer whose nitrogen literally came from the atmosphere and has now been fixed into the soil.
Something I learned about clover is that it's best if it doesn't cover more than 5% of your pasture - this is because it is a goitregenic feed when eaten. Clover also needs an inoculant (if the bacteria doesn't exist in the soil) in order to nodulate (fix nitrogen through nodules). In this way, surrounding plants benefit too. I grew lucerne without an inoculant and there were no nodules. The only benefit there was that I slashed the lucerne to add organic matter to the soil.
read my mind buddy. im in the midst of seeding and throwing manure over our 6 acre pasture. its an old alfalfa stand with tons of bare spot so clover is the go to. i'll be doing it rather old school, not quite just throwing by hand but a push seeder or a lawnmower pull behind if i can find one cheap enough. i wish i had my old manure pile at our last place, it would really come in handy right now!
We have really good pasture for our sheep thankfully, but we have long winters so it is so important for us to have good hay. I have an old abandoned garden that I plan to commit to hay harvesting. I've got Timothy and birdsfoot trefoil seeds to plant on it when the snow melts and I'll hopefully have a good hay for breeding season that doesn't have a lot of phytoestrogens.
Have you thought about trying to establish a native prairie with a mix of clovers, big and little bluestem, Indian grass, eastern gamagrass, and various other natives grassland plants?
Hmm, never heard of it. I don't know where you are at. But there's usually a grass for everyone. If you're in the US, I recommend checking Natures Seed. If not, bale grazing is always an option. Focus on fertility and the grass will take care of itself.
What kind of grass came up for you? Sorry if you said in the video. My sheep won’t graze any of the volunteer grass I’ve had except for crabgrass, which is an annual and some fescue, which is a cool season grass. Trying to find some warm season perennials that they’ll actually eat!!
I don't exactly know. I'd imagine some kind of fescue variety. There certainly is some volunteer grasses, that locals call switch grass, which loves wet areas of the pasture, that is tough, and they hate it.
Those throwing shade on your pine silvopasture must not be familiar with pine savannahs! They’re where buffalo roamed all over the South even down to Florida. A pine savannah requires a control burn every year or two to thrive.
Thanks. I like Natures Seed. Watch this video if you're interested, I talk about Nature's Seed in there and why it makes sense to do it in a specific way. ua-cam.com/video/9GVrgV4Bvd8/v-deo.html
What zone are you in that you plant the perenial rye grass? I'm in the upstate South carolina and thought about putting perennial rye grass under the trees but people were saying it doesn't do well?
Thanks for sharing your knowledge and experience. I am trying to clear underbrush and thin out the forest around our place. I'm using some American Guinea Hogs and they are great at helping that but after moving the paddock the ground is left barren. These pigs will often use hay over winter as a food source so what I'm wondering (and maybe you don't know the answer to this) is whether I can buy hay from local folks, throw it in the paddock and the hay will both seed and be a food source through the winter. Any thoughts? What about hay that's been sprayed with herbicides?
Hello! I can't say for sure but in theory that sounds like it would work. Feeding hay should give you some seeds for fresh growth when spring rolls around, and the hogs won't eat all of the hay (or every last seed) so the seeds will have some cover to help them get started in the spring. I say go for it! I'd err on not getting hay that's been sprayed but if that's your only option I totally get it. It's a whole good, better, best thing. Best is local hay without being sprayed and it goes down from there but I have to think that the good you're doing by rotationally grazing pigs offsets any bad that's being done by laying down herbicide-hay on the ground.
@@homesteadingwithPJ Thanks for replying. I learned a little more about the herbicides that are sprayed and they are designed to kill off anything that isn't in the grass family. While I dislike nasty chemicals, I think in this case it's going to work with me rather than against me.
So this will def work. We are in the process of building pasture using hay fed on the ground. Some of the seed will go thru the gut and into the poop and will spread nicely and the leftover straw and other parts fertilizes the soil and provides a cover for new grass and protects the soil from eroding.
I watched a video on herbicide residue last week - his Goat manure went onto the growing area, poly tunnel and pots, plants grew big & bushy then all withered away. Natural Hay is the way to go - without ANY herbicide history. @@duncansh81
It's misleading to say that you didn't you machinery to plant seeds. Forestry mulching is a high impact way to prep soil for over seeding and/or letting natives pop up. I have mostly fescue pastures. What sort of no-machinery approach should I use to depress most of the fescue, allow natives to come up, and allow for the best success in overseeding?
A benefit of silvopasture like you're doing is if you have nitrogen fixing trees like speckled alder or mesquite or honey locust. Not only do they fix nitrogen in their roots, but they produce protein-rich pods that are edible for livestock (well, mesquite and honey locust do, not alder). When animals turn those pods into manure, that's free rich fertilizer whose nitrogen literally came from the atmosphere and has now been fixed into the soil.
Something I learned about clover is that it's best if it doesn't cover more than 5% of your pasture - this is because it is a goitregenic feed when eaten. Clover also needs an inoculant (if the bacteria doesn't exist in the soil) in order to nodulate (fix nitrogen through nodules). In this way, surrounding plants benefit too. I grew lucerne without an inoculant and there were no nodules. The only benefit there was that I slashed the lucerne to add organic matter to the soil.
The silvo pasture is picturesque
It's my favorite part of our little farm! Glad you like it too!
The soil scientist you mentioned was Dr. Christine Jones, a really enjoyable speaker also up on UA-cam
The grass under the trees looks amazing!
read my mind buddy. im in the midst of seeding and throwing manure over our 6 acre pasture. its an old alfalfa stand with tons of bare spot so clover is the go to. i'll be doing it rather old school, not quite just throwing by hand but a push seeder or a lawnmower pull behind if i can find one cheap enough. i wish i had my old manure pile at our last place, it would really come in handy right now!
Ahh, the dreams of having ample piles of manure!
An alternative is also oxen
We have really good pasture for our sheep thankfully, but we have long winters so it is so important for us to have good hay. I have an old abandoned garden that I plan to commit to hay harvesting. I've got Timothy and birdsfoot trefoil seeds to plant on it when the snow melts and I'll hopefully have a good hay for breeding season that doesn't have a lot of phytoestrogens.
New subscriber here. Enjoyed your video. Very educational. Thank you !
What a beautiful silvopasture!
Great video! Hoping for a larger property one day so I can have some pasture (my chickens would disseminate any grass that touches the yard).
Yeah that’s me, I hate annuals. Gimme the perennials
Good video
Have you thought about trying to establish a native prairie with a mix of clovers, big and little bluestem, Indian grass, eastern gamagrass, and various other natives grassland plants?
I mean, that's close to what I am doing now. Maybe not that exact blend, but I am prioritizing natives in my overseed strategy.
The top competitor of grasses here is cheatgrass. Not native but it's what grows, and won't let much else grow. Ideas?
Hmm, never heard of it. I don't know where you are at. But there's usually a grass for everyone.
If you're in the US, I recommend checking Natures Seed. If not, bale grazing is always an option. Focus on fertility and the grass will take care of itself.
Also, watch this video if you haven't already.
ua-cam.com/video/9GVrgV4Bvd8/v-deo.html
What kind of grass came up for you?
Sorry if you said in the video.
My sheep won’t graze any of the volunteer grass I’ve had except for crabgrass, which is an annual and some fescue, which is a cool season grass.
Trying to find some warm season perennials that they’ll actually eat!!
I don't exactly know. I'd imagine some kind of fescue variety.
There certainly is some volunteer grasses, that locals call switch grass, which loves wet areas of the pasture, that is tough, and they hate it.
My sheep will eat anything when gently pushed as in rotational grazing
@@anngully9988congrats! You must have really nice pastures then. Bc sheep definitely won’t eat things that aren’t palatable.
Ok all them seeds you mentioned. Where can I get these seeds without the chemical? Please show me
Those throwing shade on your pine silvopasture must not be familiar with pine savannahs! They’re where buffalo roamed all over the South even down to Florida. A pine savannah requires a control burn every year or two to thrive.
Did the forestry Mulcher clear under the trees, or did the sheep do that?
The mulcher.
Sheep won't eat the wood, but the'll eat everything else they can reach.
How do you get rid of cud weed?
Where do you get your seed? Great video
Thanks.
I like Natures Seed. Watch this video if you're interested, I talk about Nature's Seed in there and why it makes sense to do it in a specific way.
ua-cam.com/video/9GVrgV4Bvd8/v-deo.html
What zone are you in that you plant the perenial rye grass? I'm in the upstate South carolina and thought about putting perennial rye grass under the trees but people were saying it doesn't do well?
I'm near Chapel Hill NC, which says 7A-8A.
It's a shady grass, so it only did well for me under trees. But in the fall it is AMAZING!
Can sheep still graze on area once you seed? Id have trouble moving them entirely from area.
Ideally, you'd want them off 10 days later, and at least the next 60 days. But that's not realistic for everyone.
Thanks for sharing your knowledge and experience. I am trying to clear underbrush and thin out the forest around our place. I'm using some American Guinea Hogs and they are great at helping that but after moving the paddock the ground is left barren. These pigs will often use hay over winter as a food source so what I'm wondering (and maybe you don't know the answer to this) is whether I can buy hay from local folks, throw it in the paddock and the hay will both seed and be a food source through the winter. Any thoughts? What about hay that's been sprayed with herbicides?
Hello! I can't say for sure but in theory that sounds like it would work. Feeding hay should give you some seeds for fresh growth when spring rolls around, and the hogs won't eat all of the hay (or every last seed) so the seeds will have some cover to help them get started in the spring. I say go for it!
I'd err on not getting hay that's been sprayed but if that's your only option I totally get it. It's a whole good, better, best thing. Best is local hay without being sprayed and it goes down from there but I have to think that the good you're doing by rotationally grazing pigs offsets any bad that's being done by laying down herbicide-hay on the ground.
@@homesteadingwithPJ Thanks for replying. I learned a little more about the herbicides that are sprayed and they are designed to kill off anything that isn't in the grass family. While I dislike nasty chemicals, I think in this case it's going to work with me rather than against me.
So this will def work. We are in the process of building pasture using hay fed on the ground. Some of the seed will go thru the gut and into the poop and will spread nicely and the leftover straw and other parts fertilizes the soil and provides a cover for new grass and protects the soil from eroding.
@@nicholemackiewicz8967 Exactly!
I watched a video on herbicide residue last week - his Goat manure went onto the growing area, poly tunnel and pots, plants grew big & bushy then all withered away. Natural Hay is the way to go - without ANY herbicide history. @@duncansh81
Cud weed is ruining my pasture how can I kill it
It's misleading to say that you didn't you machinery to plant seeds. Forestry mulching is a high impact way to prep soil for over seeding and/or letting natives pop up. I have mostly fescue pastures. What sort of no-machinery approach should I use to depress most of the fescue, allow natives to come up, and allow for the best success in overseeding?
What is silvopasture?
Pasture underneath trees.
Comparison of grain row crops and pasture is like Comparison of marbles and cars. Its nonsense.