pennsylvania sedge, silver maples and ...sheep

[finnsfinnsheep]

Long time no post, happy lambing season to those who participate.

(Zone 5b, upstate NY) I have been walking my pastures and preparing for some frost seeding these past few days. Now since moving here in 2021, we did a lot of tree clearing of primarily silver maples to make grazing pasture for the animals. Last season I had a pasture become overtaken by what appears to be Pennsylvania sedge (not the typical broomsedge that is a problem for many). It was very pretty looking and I was sorely disappointed last spring when I let the critters out and no one would eat it! Admittedly, I did not end up mowing it down since the pasture is on an incredibly steep hill and has lots of fallen branches/logs/etc. I have seen many advise to apply lime to pastures with sedges (though mostly talking about broomsedge which I do not have), would this also be the case for this kind of sedge ? I have also been told sheep will eat very young sedge so could I put them out on pasture now and see if they eat everything down before seeding ? I do also have a weed-whacker now so I could go through and cut it all down to the ground.......?

The pasture also has a ton of young silver maples that have begun to establish and they are impossible to dig out or pull out. My goats would eat the leaves happily however I no longer have any goats and just sheep now. I could go through and cut everything down to the ground and just manage it throughout the year?

On a positive note the newest area of pasture cleared last Sept I managed to throw some seed down before anything else could establish and I see lots of nice pasture coming in already !! Hillside pasture posted below, as well as a lamb tax

 

[Baymule]

I had to look up Pennsylvania sedge. It is deer resistant. Anything deer won’t eat, sheep won’t either. I have broom sedge. My sheep will eat it while young, but that doesn’t last long. I googled how to get rid of it, basically glyphosate or pull it up.

 

[finnsfinnsheep]

I had to look up Pennsylvania sedge. It is deer resistant. Anything deer won’t eat, sheep won’t either. I have broom sedge. My sheep will eat it while young, but that doesn’t last long. I googled how to get rid of it, basically glyphosate or pull it up.

of course it can't be anything easy..... Thankfully my neighbor is doing a lot of work on our properties and he is going to be pretty much tearing everything up and re-grading the hillside anyways. So once it's bare dirt I'll just do some heavy spring seeding, intensive management and cross my fingers

 

[Baymule]

I’m raising a bodacious crop of thistles. Spent a couple of days digging them up, spraying the roots with horticultural vinegar. Then got side tracked slaughtering and processing meat chickens. Thistles are beginning to bloom, I gotta get back on it!

 

[finnsfinnsheep]

I’m raising a bodacious crop of thistles. Spent a couple of days digging them up, spraying the roots with horticultural vinegar. Then got side tracked slaughtering and processing meat chickens. Thistles are beginning to bloom, I gotta get back on it!

From more reading I've done, the sedge really dislikes healthy soils and will often die off /not thrive in amended soils that have been well fertilized. So I might dig up as much as I can before it's bulldozed and plant it in my small backyard since it seems to hold up to being trampled.... It really is pretty but I just wish it was edible!!!! It looks like ocean waves when it's all grown in.

 

[Baymule]

From more reading I've done, the sedge really dislikes healthy soils and will often die off /not thrive in amended soils that have been well fertilized. So I might dig up as much as I can before it's bulldozed and plant it in my small backyard since it seems to hold up to being trampled.... It really is pretty but I just wish it was edible!!!! It looks like ocean waves when it's all grown in.

I wouldn’t replant it anywhere. It will make seed and blow back into your field.