I Hate Green Briars!

[Bruce]

Growing weeds on purpose! Will wonders never cease.

 

[Mini Horses]

Mine grow because I haven't had time to work with it. Now, the goats love most of them but, some are not GOOD for them and while they shouldn't eat -- sometimes do sick goat.

I selectively cut out the noxious for them, the rest I leave. At this time I am "fortunate" to have way more rain and grass and weeds than I need --- or that they can even eat!! So much that in some cases I can't even cut it down. There are areas will be "banked" for winter graze.

It's a thin line between excess and overgrown beyond well being. You turn into unusable. I can't go there. But, I agree with planting variety in pastures, not just usual grass. I find the feed lot deer grasses -- bagged for that -- work fantastically in my goat pastures!

 

[greybeard]

Mine grow because I haven't had time to work with it. Now, the goats love most of them but, some are not GOOD for them and while they shouldn't eat -- sometimes do sick goat.

I selectively cut out the noxious for them, the rest I leave. At this time I am "fortunate" to have way more rain and grass and weeds than I need --- or that they can even eat!! So much that in some cases I can't even cut it down. There are areas will be "banked" for winter graze.

It's a thin line between excess and overgrown beyond well being. You turn into unusable. I can't go there. But, I agree with planting variety in pastures, not just usual grass. I find the feed lot deer grasses -- bagged for that -- work fantastically in my goat pastures!

Lots to think about in all that.
Consider this..what do you think will happen if something occurs to prevent you from managing your pastures at all for a growing season or 2?

We've all seen it dozens and dozens of times, driving thru the countryside. "Oh, that place used to have such nice productive pastures, now it's all run down and completely overgrown....what happened?"


'Time' & nature......coupled with unfortunate health related incidents are usually 'what happened'..along with poor long term planning. The seeds, weeds, vines, briers, and brush are down there..just waiting for something to 'happen'.

If we wish to leave it better than we found it for the long term, plan accordingly; otherwise, the next resident will have to do exactly what we did all over again, but hopefully, they do it better and permanently.

There is a tendency to believe "Oh, that's not going to happen here..not to me", but history, far past and much more recent tells a different story.

 

[BreanneRN]

Mine grow because I haven't had time to work with it. Now, the goats love most of them but, some are not GOOD for them and while they shouldn't eat -- sometimes do sick goat.

I selectively cut out the noxious for them, the rest I leave. At this time I am "fortunate" to have way more rain and grass and weeds than I need --- or that they can even eat!! So much that in some cases I can't even cut it down. There are areas will be "banked" for winter graze.

It's a thin line between excess and overgrown beyond well being. You turn into unusable. I can't go there. But, I agree with planting variety in pastures, not just usual grass. I find the feed lot deer grasses -- bagged for that -- work fantastically in my goat pastures!

There are many weeds that I do my best to eliminate, some even though they will eat them. I selectively cull bad weeds out and help good ones to grow. Storksbeak is very high in protein, purslane is very high in Omega 3's. Most of the weeds I grow are very nutritious, easy to grow, annuals that the sheep love. They seed prolificly if allowed, are way more drought tolerant than most grass species, They are able to handle the very sandy soil I have here. And the sheep love them! It is their pasture and I grow it for them, so whether it sounds silly or not, I am glad to grow weeds! I also don't really care what the neighbors or passers by think... I'm not in to the Smith/Jones thing! I live in a semi-arrid region with only about a 4 month period of rain... In the hot season, 5 to 6 months can go by with no rainfall at all, making it very hard to keep any summer grasses alive. And nothing says "summer" to me like a sunflower growing in a patch of crownvetch!

 

[Baymule]

@BreanneRN you have figured out what works for your climate and it is weeds. Tough, hardy, survivors and good feed for your sheep. I let lambs quarters and giant ragweed grow in a few places in the garden. Went out this morning and lopped them down and tossed to the sheep. Like throwing candy to kids! LOL

 

[Donna R. Raybon]

Some breeds of sheep are good at eating browse and some are not.

 

[MiniSilkys]

Isn't it crazy how you learn in class that goats will eat from top to bottom and sheep along the bottom and then you read about how all these people that have sheep seeing them try to reach things that are supposed to be left by them. Also that sheep are grazers and goats are browsers and then see that they both are! How about those experts? Half of our 45-/+ acres are covered with brambles (blackberry vines and rosebushes) and kudzoo. The kudzoo tries to spread further and further from the creek every year. One day we will get it cleared again. My herd grows little by little.

 

[Baymule]

Isn't it crazy how you learn in class that goats will eat from top to bottom and sheep along the bottom and then you read about how all these people that have sheep seeing them try to reach things that are supposed to be left by them. Also that sheep are grazers and goats are browsers and then see that they both are! How about those experts? Half of our 45-/+ acres are covered with brambles (blackberry vines and rosebushes) and kudzoo. The kudzoo tries to spread further and further from the creek every year. One day we will get it cleared again. My herd grows little by little.

A friend of mine inherited his parents house and property. It had grown up, was brushy, lots of vines, etc. He bought goats. He put up cow panels for temporary "pastures" and let the goats eat the "pasture" down to the ground, then moved the cowpanels over. He bushhogged what was left. In a short time he had a cleared off place. As he moved the cowpanels, he planted a mix of grass seeds on what the goats had cleared.

There is no kudzu here, but as I understand it, goats and sheep love the stuff.

 

[greybeard]

Kudzu...the plant that ate the South.

 

[MiniSilkys]

We have lots of coyote too.