# Weeds in pasture



## Jesse T (Dec 14, 2017)

My pasture sat vacant for about 2 years.
When we got rid of the goats before we got The mule so needless to say it got quite overgrown and full of weeds. I have three questions 
1.can I get rid of these weeds naturally 
2. Do I need to plant grass
3. Will these weeds hurt the horses


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## waresbear (Jun 18, 2011)

I had weeds similar to that and the horses wouldn't touch them. What we did was plow them under and reseed with a pasture mix. Some did come back but as I was seeing them coming I pulled them up.


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## boots (Jan 16, 2012)

Every county in the US has an extension office. They are connected to ah colleges across the country. And mostly free!

One of their services is advice on pastures. They will ask you what you envision your perfect pasture to be and help you achieve that. 

They'll teach about what weeds are actually highly nutritious. And all sorts of other things. Horse nutrition. Pest control. Making an inviting environment for dung beetles (I love them!).

I also agree with @waresbear in her comments.

Best wishes for creating your perfect pasture.


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## TeeZee (May 26, 2018)

This is cocklebur, and you need to pull or mow it. The burs will be stuck in your mules hair. I swear they were sent from the devil himself.


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## ksbowman (Oct 30, 2018)

The 2 top pictures look like Serica lespedeza the next to the bottom is Ragweed. Pasture guard will take care of both and probably most of the others. you only have to pull the horses off till it dries on the plants. As far as a natural remedy it would probably require continuously pulling each individual plant. The recommendation of contacting the county Extension agent is excellent advice and is your tax dollars at work.


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## Avna (Jul 11, 2015)

My pasture was neglected for many years. Full of forbs (non-grass plants) as well as fallen trees, brush, barbed wire. 

Things we have done so far:

1. clean up the barbed wire (obviously)
2. separate the pasture into smaller rotational sections with electric rope
3. pick up all the woody debris
4. get ourselves a good brush hog attachment for the tractor and mow it to six inches twice a year (this really helps the grass by cutting the seed heads of the weeds and encouraging the grass to 'stool' or spread out from the roots)
5. get a soil sample evaluated at our local ag extension. $20 will tell you a heck of a lot about your soil. Ours is low in everything except iron, magnesium, and manganese. It is also pretty acid, common in rainy climates
6. begin the process of felling a lot of the trees shading the grass, leaving only enough to provide shade and shelter for the horses -- the former owners let way too many saplings grow up.

Our next move is to lime to raise the pH to something grass likes better than forbs (most hay and pasture folks lime here), and fertilize with the 'big three', NPK (nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium). 
I do not believe in herbicides or pesticides except in very dire circumstances, which a pasture for a horse hobby will never be. Our pastures sustain a whole ecosystem of plants, animals, insects, and billions of invisible creatures above and below the soil. I am just trying to revitalize a mountain pasture continuously under grass for more than 200 years, without injuring the biota any more than I can help. 

If you have flat pastures and deep soil (we don't have either), @waresbear's suggestion of replanting might work very well. Wouldn't work for us. 

Good luck with your pasture! 
A lovely book to read about grass management is called "Grass, the Forgiveness of Nature".


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## boots (Jan 16, 2012)

@Avna - I can't *like* your post enough! 

It's a fact that soil is full of living things, and healthy soil is imperative for healthy forage. 

I used to say "Ranchers are nothing but grass farmers." But it seems we're really nothing but "dirt farmers" and that is a really cool thing to be.


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## Avna (Jul 11, 2015)

I lived for part of a summer on a sheep farm in Saskatchewan once. They measure farms in sections there -- a section is a quarter mile square.This farm was five sections, a small one for that part of the world. They told me, "the soil supports the grass, the grass supports the sheep, the sheep support us." Their successful low-input model is to pasture the sheep (1000 head ewe flock plus or minus lambs and rams) all year round, in the northern prairie, one of the most severe agricultural climates on earth. The only time the sheep are under a roof is for shearing. Their secret is to 'go with nature' -- observe carefully and adjust their management according to their land and seasons and climate. They didn't even own a tractor when I was there some years ago. The couple were both raised nearby on working farms, they are hard-headed hard-working country folks. It was really interesting.


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## ACinATX (Sep 12, 2018)

@Avna, that book you recommended, "Grass, the Forgiveness of Nature," does it really have a lot of practical advice? I just looked at it on Amazon, and the summary makes it seem more inspirational than practical, if that makes sense.


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## Foxhunter (Feb 5, 2012)

Best thing for getting rid of weeds in a pasture are goats!


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## rambo99 (Nov 29, 2016)

Cockle burrs can be pulled out in spring by the roots real easy. But there is only a certain time ,for about two weeks it can be done. After that they are a ****** to pull out.

I pulled out every cockle burr plant I could find this spring. Weeds prevail though it's a never ending problem, we try to keep pasture mowed regularly.

Goats are great if you can keep the stinkers behind your fence. I prefer to just keep pasture mowed down. Horse's do ok on the weed diet and some grass. Although they are losing weight now. There are weeds they won't eat.


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## Avna (Jul 11, 2015)

ACinATX said:


> @Avna, that book you recommended, "Grass, the Forgiveness of Nature," does it really have a lot of practical advice? I just looked at it on Amazon, and the summary makes it seem more inspirational than practical, if that makes sense.


I agree with you there. If you are looking for practical, besides your own ag extension I recommend The Stockman Grass Farmer magazine and website. They publish a wealth of small practical books and pamphlets.


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## ACinATX (Sep 12, 2018)

Avna said:


> I agree with you there. If you are looking for practical, besides your own ag extension I recommend The Stockman Grass Farmer magazine and website. They publish a wealth of small practical books and pamphlets.


Thanks, I'll check it out!


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## ksbowman (Oct 30, 2018)

I cannot say too strongly that unless you get the Serica, Ragweed and cockle burrs under control they WILL take over your pastures and choke out ALL good feed grasses. We fight them every year on our ranch and they can and will render a pasture useless for grazing if not controlled or eradicated.


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## Jesse T (Dec 14, 2017)

An idea I had (since I don't have a tractor) ls chickens. I have them in portable pen which i move every day and they leave a layer of manure and eat all the grass and weeds behind them.
So could I seed behind them every day ?
My pasture is small so it would only take like 2 weeks to do the whole thing


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## Avna (Jul 11, 2015)

Jesse T said:


> An idea I had (since I don't have a tractor) ls chickens. I have them in portable pen which i move every day and they leave a layer of manure and eat all the grass and weeds behind them.
> So could I seed behind them every day ?
> My pasture is small so it would only take like 2 weeks to do the whole thing


I would add rototilling to that idea. Chickens do eat everything down to the roots but not the roots themselves.


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## QtrBel (May 31, 2012)

Get your Ag Ext agent out to identify positively the plants. The top if Serica lespedeza is not a problem and is hayed in some areas for horses. 

The one with the reddish/tan spikes looks like an amaranth.


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## Bombproof (May 20, 2015)

Foxhunter said:


> Best thing for getting rid of weeds in a pasture are goats!


Foxhunter beat me to it. Goats will eat grass but they go after the broadleaf stuff first. You have to fence them onto a fairly small area, check it daily, and move them when they have eaten most of the weeds but haven't started on the grass yet. After that, fertilizing and mowing will go far toward keeping the weeds under control. Weed spray is easier and faster, but you asked for natural measures. If you can't find someone to loan you some goats, you will have to rely mostly upon mowing and fertilizing. I'm not sure exactly how you define "natural" measures; in my mind lime and fertilizer wouldn't be outside that definition. Horses mostly go for the grasses first, so in any horse pasture, keeping the weeds down is a constant battle.


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## Jesse T (Dec 14, 2017)

Bombproof

What I meant by natural measures would be is there a way to choke out weeds with grass. Because I don't have a way to spray (other than a backpack sprayer ) and I don't want to use chemicals if possible. My pasture space is interested huge, probably 2 acres or so


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## rambo99 (Nov 29, 2016)

Jesse T said:


> Bombproof
> 
> What I meant by natural measures would be is there a way to choke out weeds with grass. Because I don't have a way to spray (other than a backpack sprayer ) and I don't want to use chemicals if possible. My pasture space is interested huge, probably 2 acres or so


Keep weeds mowed down then grass will start to take over. Helps to do so before weeds go to seed.


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## QtrBel (May 31, 2012)

Depending on the plant, changing the environment also helps when mowing may not always take care of them in a timely manner. I know for me PH is paramount as we are in an area where sod farms are everywhere. If my PH isn't where I want it for the grass I want then I have others taking over. I started with bermuda (5.8 to 7 range I kept above 6.5) but because of input required allowed bahaia (5.5 to 6.5 range I let ph drop to between 6 and 6.5 - mostly 6.2) to take over then centipede (5 to 6) encroached and has now taken over parts because hubs took over pasture care and he won't lime. Has spent a fortune trying to establish the bahaia and all he needs to do is lime. That;s what happens when you have a degree and have worked in the industry for over half your life - those around you think they know more than you. 



Just because I remember this one off the top of my head I'll use cocklebur. It tells you that your soil has high levels of available phosphate and a good ph range. Clean tillage would get rid of it. It rears its head when there are bare, poorly drained areas with higher phosphorous levels (common where potatoes have been grown). Improving drainage and increasing nitrogen and potassium can help. The one two punch that comes with cocklebur is two fold. First cotyledons and seedlings are toxic but young plants will be grazed under certain conditions. If they are beyond that stage no problem until they seed. Then you have the bur with an exterior seed that falls in the immediate vicinity and an internal seed that gets carried off. 



I'd say test your soil for PH. Add your inputs accordingly (fertilizer can be a compost if you know the P level is low). Aerate and address the drainage if possible. Sometimes that is as simple as adding organic matter.


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## Bombproof (May 20, 2015)

Jesse T said:


> Bombproof
> 
> What I meant by natural measures would be is there a way to choke out weeds with grass. Because I don't have a way to spray (other than a backpack sprayer ) and I don't want to use chemicals if possible. My pasture space is interested huge, probably 2 acres or so


So your definition is similar to mine. You have gotten some good advice here. Definitely avail yourself of the extension agent resources including a soil analysis if possible. Mow first, then apply pH balancing agents (if needed) and fertilizer. Mow frequently and repeat as necessary. I used that approach on the property I owned in Oklahoma before I moved to Alaska and never needed to use weed spray. I don't have a strong moral objection to week spray but I'd rather avoid it if possible. I enjoyed putting on my headphones and mindlessly circling the pasture while listening to music so I didn't have any problem mowing frequently. Your results may vary.


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## QtrBel (May 31, 2012)

I'll add to Bombproof's reply: "then apply pH balancing agents (if needed)" Know what you want to grow and the optimum PH range for that then alter accordingly with your inputs.


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## Jesse T (Dec 14, 2017)

Update: I rotated chickens and horses,
And mowed it a couple times.
The result...


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## Avna (Jul 11, 2015)

YAY! Now that is what I love to see. 

We just fertilized our pastures today, and will lime in August. I will have to get out there with a spade to dig up the burdock seedlings real soon.


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## QtrBel (May 31, 2012)

Looks so much better. Good going.


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