We decided to get the pasture fenced for Breo. My hedging was enough to contain humans but not critters or dogs.
The poor pasture has been beaten up every time it recovers. All that´s left is the weediest bit - 70% docks, 20% bugloss, 10% unknown.
Oh, and we have Mount Doom II of scrap wood and mini Doom, which are rocks. We´ve been told to burn Mount Doom for San Juan on the 24th. It´s got what´s left of the wooden barn parts and 2 dead trees we were hoping to use for firewood.
So now where to put the fruit trees and edible hedging plants?
At least with fencing all around it will make it easier to keep hens safe should you decide to keep them!
ReplyDeleteThey´re on the long, long to-do list. Hopefully, they won´t just fly right over.
ReplyDeleteYou clip just one wing, plenty of YouTube's to show you how to do it.
ReplyDeleteNice job with the fencing. The first thing we did was fence our fields, which cost us a ton of money but proved worth it once the sheep and cows arrived. As for chickens, ours would not fly over a fence and their wings are not clipped. But they would fly over a high wall if they had something they could fly on to first, and from there up on to the top of the wall.
ReplyDeleteAs for docks..... I remember spending a whole summer cutting dock plants from our very infested side field. Our French neighbours thought I was mad, but I got the job done!
Hi Coco,
ReplyDeleteNaughty Breo to be performing a Harry Houdini escape act! I assume he escaped many times before the fence was installed?
I don't have fences here because so much wildlife comes and goes, but the downside is that Toothy will very occasionally go a wandering. Machinery makes a mess of the soil, but on the other hand it is good to see so much moisture in your soil at this stage of the year. Anyway, the soil is easy to repair. It is nice to see that the corner posts appear to be well braced. They did a good job.
I tend to chop and drop the pastures here. Although with all of the wildlife I only have to mow once per year when it grows faster than they can eat. The green leafy materials gets mulched in that process - using a Honda hand mower - and left on the surface for the soil life. The roots in the soil also become food for the soil life. It seems to work, but I only have a few types of dock and bugloss and they don't seem to be taking over. The bugloss seems to enjoy the orchard.
Cheers
Chris
To be fair, the wooded area with the creek is almost irrisistable to a dog, and he did like to wander around the neighborhood, so we had to be constantly vigilant. Now, I can keep digging, V can keep working, and not worry he´s gone walkabout. Now, he walks the perimeter, but I can´t tell if it´s to check for intrusions or if he´s looking for an escape route.
ReplyDeleteI scythe the pasture when it gets tall, and spot cut the bugloss when it flowers. But every time they come with heavy machinery, they do it after 3 days of rain and the whole thing becomes a muddy mess. I was amazed the grass came back as well as it did the last time. And, of course, all the weed seeds get churned up to the surface. I wonder if I should get a pasture seed mix to put down.