It’s a long boring story, but the “internet” we thought we would have at the start of the farm just kept getting delayed. Our speeds were too slow to manage this site (without a lot of frustration!) But, all of that has finally changed over the last two weeks and now the farm actually has internet with speeds that allow an online presence (without high anxiety!) During all of that downtime, we kept a manual journal (which was actually fun and very interesting, looking back on it,) but now we are going to start logging our adventures here (and our musings.) For now, we’ll touch on the two things I focused on today, outside of my regular job.
On a farm with grazing animals, pasture management is a real thing. Unless one is lucky (and we are not!), the pasture needs to be “managed” to get at least a moderate yield (meal for your animals.) I suppose you could simply house far fewer animals than the land can handle, and ignore your pasture, but we have big aspirations for lots more animals (and we don’t believe in buying hay most of the year to handle em!)
The first thing that I did when I moved in was to get some soil samples. I did this for all of my pastures, my blueberry bed and my vegetable garden. It’s fairly simple (and mostly free) here in Virginia. I literally did this during the 1 month that I owned the property but the previous owners were still renting from me while they waited for their new home to get ready. The sheet had a ton metrics and measurements on it and I didn’t have to figure it out myself. I scheduled (and rescheduled) a meeting with my local Ag agent and we finally met today (a little over a year after the samples were taken! ha.)
There was a lot to digest, but it boiled down to needing Potassium and Phosphorous. I could spread it in my spreader and would need to repeat that every year for 3 years before doing another soil test. Bottom line – a lot of work, some $$$ and not extremely sustainable (i.e. not very practical.)
A local fellow had told me last year that he relies on his hay to fertilize his land. He purchases it from a known fellow and he cows effectively put it down on his land, after they eat it:) I like this methodology, but it’s also not practical or sustainable for me – my goal is to only need hay in January and February (maybe some into Mar), so I don’t plan on brining a lot hay in.
So, the current plan is a hybrid. I do plan to spread the P and K this Fall, at the recommended levels. But, that will be it for the next 3 years. I also plan to rotate my hay feeding during the Winter, mainly to the pastures that appear to be lacking. Finally, I’m going to spread some clover in February, per the Ag agent. Interestingly enough, I have a plenty of clover in my worst pasture, but not as much in the pastures thick with grasses. So, hope to resolve that too. The agent recommended looking for the time when the nights get below freezing, but the day warm up some. This helps the clover to work into the soil, as it expands and contracts during the day (otherwise, I may have to drill it in, instead of the easier spreading method.)
More soon on the Chicken worming…