Meadow Project
9-1-2023- We were contacted about turning an old horse pasture, which had been overgrown for several years, into an attractive field. The meadow is about 2 acres overall and was a mixture of grasses and weeds up to 7' high and insanely thick. It had not been mowed for at least two years and woody stalks were beginning to develop. We began by brush hogging to tame it. In addition to a rake and a shovel, we found a few cinder blocks and some old hoses which the brush hog ate without concern.
This had it looking a lot better right off the bat. It was hot and dry and rather than spraying, we waited about a week for some of the cut grass to brown up. In just a few days, the massive haircut killed off most of the weeds thanks to the dry weather and high heat.
9-7-2023. Knowing that rain was in the forecast we hooked up the tiller and headed over right before a relaible forecast of rain. The thatch made tilling a chore but after a good double till, enough soil had been exposed to broadcast a simple cover crop mixture of grains and clover. Thankfully, the rain came and after just four days, germination looked promising.
9-17-2023. Within a week or so, the cover crop turned into a green blanket over the field. As fall progresses the cover crop will continue to grow, shading out any remaining weeds and staying lush green all winter. Although he is leaning towards a sunflower field, the homeowner is not sure exactly what he wants to do to the field yet for spring, but now he has plenty options. Its hard to beilve this field was an overgrown mess of weeds three weeks ago.
10-21-2023. The cover crop is really taking off. Its well enough established that it will stay green and flourish all winter.
5-17-2024. The rye cover crop really shot up in spring and gew to chest height quickly. As it reached maturity we broadcast buckwheat and sunflowers into the standing rye and then crimped the rye over top of the seeds. You can easily see the before and after difference from crimping. The new crop will germinate through the standing rye and the standing rye will helo with soil temperature, moisture retention, and weed control.
