Daydream thread continues.....

alfie_1

i have a day to myself tomorow :j:j

i am hoping mabel will be telepathic and allow me to have a lie in...:o if she gets out she gets out ...:D she only sits/lays outside the gate anyway... if its raining she wont come out ...i hope.... ALL FOR A BL**DY LIE IN !!!!

trailers being picked up tomorow...i think ?

have a good day everyone anyway.

Davesnave

alfie_1 wrote: »

i must admit we have always had eu-naturale fields but last early spring we had 11 acres sprayed for weeds and the hay was amazing. still smells as fresh now. it seems a bit late to spray it now ? we were told it had to be before real growth started. when weeds were JUST starting [they always seem to have a head start on the grass]
.

I'd say you're probably not too late to spray, thanks to the crummy weather. Normally, it should be done late April/Early May.

Whether you want to do it is another matter. The farmer is probably intending to use a selective spray like Grazon or Polo to knock out the broadleaves, whilst leaving the grasses unaffected. Of course that means knocking out all the wild flowers too. But then creeping buttercups are wild flowers, as indeed are thistles & docks!

As you know, I've tried to meet nature half way by knapsack spraying selectively, hitting only ragwort, dock, and thistles, plus very small areas of creeping buttercup. It is labour intensive and boring, but it's cheaper than having an ATV mounted sprayer doing the lot in under an hour.

I wish Pete would dung-spread the fields. Of course we have the sheep, but it's usually chemical fertilizer that goes down. I console myself by remembering that the primary job the fields do is feed animals and that our hay probably contains some old grasses. Certainly, it's a winner with cattle, which prefer it in Pete's taste tests! :rotfl:

COOLTRIKERCHICK

morning all:j:j

these flipping bank holiday weekends allways throw me, don't know what day it is..

I think mr Farmer, is just after some freebie hay, I personally think hay/straw will be up in price again this year..can't blame him for asking, BUT he might take it, if he's done it one year, he can do it every year..But on saying that, you can not blame him for asking, as animal feed prices are going through the roof...

Right better toddle off to work

rhiwfield

Davesnave wrote: »

Whether you want to do it is another matter. The farmer is probably intending to use a selective spray like Grazon or Polo to knock out the broadleaves, whilst leaving the grasses unaffected. Of course that means knocking out all the wild flowers too. But then creeping buttercups are wild flowers, as indeed are thistles & docks!

I think I've posted this link before but Ellenbergs Indicator Values will give you a detailed view of the wild plants to be found in different soil conditions.

Because so much of UK farmland is improved and nutrient rich, the plants found are those which best make use of these conditions, including the more vigorous grasses and weeds such as docks and nettles.

Spraying the unwanted weeds will control them but they are favourites to recolonise as the soil favours them.

OTOH lower nutrient soil conditions often support the stunning wildflower meadows that are so scarce nowadays. They were less productive for hay than the modern intensively cultivated grasses and so the traditional hay meadow, with annual cut, aftermath grazing and light manure dressing is a thing of the past with just a small percentage remaining

lostinrates

We are only just about to spray.

Re soil association, we were really keen, our neighbours are organic and we'd like to be, but really, I want to get on top of the weeds first. It's easier to be organic if you have the right equipment. E.g. If you are trying to feed greedier livestock than horses off grass you need to make sure you cut the grass more than once a year so the clover can thrive, and high topping for weed control is pretty useful where you don't want the crop.

Itismehonest

Can't blame the farmer for trying.
Until you are in a position to use it yourself you could always let the grass, rozee.
In this case the farmer wants to use it for hay/silage making. He may not want to pay for the pleasure, though. Others may prefer to stock it. While you aren't using it yourself it might make you a few bob or get you a joint or 2 of meat by way of trade. You have the final say on what, if anything, is allowed to be spread or sprayed.

A weed is only a flower growing in the wrong place, as they say.

Our ideas of what should grow somewhere aren't usually Nature's idea.
Some people think that just leaving cultivated land will mean it turns back into a forest or wild flower meadow. After decades possibly but before then it will be a mess of every type of weed that is found in the area. In fact, it's likely to become a complete jungle of nettles, docks, thistles, brambles etc. as they are stronger than the plants wanted. The weeds win.
We only have to look at gardens & fields that haven't been regularly tended to see how it works.
Not a pretty sight.

rhiwfield

Spot on Itsme. Wildflower meadows arise through management, without cutting or grazing rank growth starts, then eventually that is succeeeded by scrub and woodland with a woodland understory of plants.

alfie_1

morning all..:D

we let my "postie" and "old uncle arthur" cut our bottom fields cos UA is as old as his tractor and does it well. they give us what hay we want and take the rest . which is good for them in feed costs. but in return i only have to pick up the phone and postie will shift/transport/move anything for me . bit like having a "jack of all trades" for free. also getting free young chickens and bantams from them this year. [ LIR...if you need/want any i can get some, will find out breeds] so its a win win for us.

SUNS OUT AGAIN ...........:D

i got my lie in :j

thinking of you LIR

Davesnave

Funny one this morning.

The new people in the barn rental down the lane asked DW if they could be allowed onto a piece of our land to shoot, as in target practice. Apparently, the man's been invalided out of the army and wants to teach his lad (about 6) to shoot, so I'm presuming air gun, not AK47!

I don't like to be sniffy, but the idea doesn't appeal, as we only have the orchard that's a safe distance from everywhere else and isn't already home to sheep or growing hay (he said he needs 30') Trouble is, I wanted to put the sheep back into the orchard, or else I'll have to mow it again.

I think it's going to be a "no." What do you think?

Itismehonest

Davesnave wrote: »

Funny one this morning.

The new people in the barn rental down the lane asked DW if they could be allowed onto a piece of our land to shoot, as in target practice. Apparently, the man's been invalided out of the army and wants to teach his lad (about 6) to shoot, so I'm presuming air gun, not AK47!

I don't like to be sniffy, but the idea doesn't appeal, as we only have the orchard that's a safe distance from everywhere else and isn't already home to sheep or growing hay (he said he needs 30') Trouble is, I wanted to put the sheep back into the orchard, or else I'll have to mow it again.

I think it's going to be a "no." What do you think?

Ooooooh no. Your land & your responsibility for anything that happens on it.
If they wanted to shoot they should have bought or rented somewhere suitable themselves.

"It is also against the law, in England and Wales, to fire an air rifle within 50 feet of the centre of a highway (which consists of or comprises a carriageway)if in consequence a user of the highway is injured, interrupted or endangered. These offences could be committed, for example, when someone is shooting in their garden close to a public highway and the pellets ricochet onto the highway."

There are gun clubs around & some farmers allow shooting on their land but I'd be very loathe to start letting under 14s loose with any form of firearm on my land - particularly if I didn't know the family really well.