I have a small 4 acre field that is going downhill fast. Moss is appearing, rushes are growing everywhere and the soil is literally oxidising.
The ever helpful Damian McAllister from DLF seeds visited me last week to check my multi species reseed and we had a walk through this field to brainstorm how to tackle it.
thought I would plough in farmyard manure and some BAM and humus from NewGenAgri to get good nutrients and biology pumped in with hope to get it kickstarted with another multi species mix. But Damian suggested I direct drill a brassica after weed wiping the rushes. The brassica will grow tall, hopefully drowning out the light to keep the rushes back. A deep tap root will do wonders to get air into the soil.
Give it one pass of grazing and direct drill the multi species into to it later in the year.
Trying to work out the cost and effect benefits of both options.
I guess the rushes may just come back this year if I go straight in with multi species mix and then I can't spray it back. But paying for two direct drill contractors and seeds in one year with only one grazing out of it may cost more but could have beat long term effect.
Anyone have any thoughts to further confuse me? Haha!
Seriously I'd love to hear any thoughts on this.
Also add doesn’t bam really need a while to work in a dung heap? Planning that myself
Rushes are an interesting one. Sort of beginning to think that the only way to drown them out is by changing the environment quite drastically. Maybe leaving a field or an area in a rushy field to grow out into a big bulk and then graze at high density. Wasn’t it Neils that said rushes love a soil that’s got poor infiltration and they basically sit there keeping that soil like that. MSS are great but i would agree it’s expensive to have it sort of not take as best as possible. Brassicas are cheap and worth a try I think.
I'd be keen to give the brassica approach a go Bronagh. I think for wet heavy fields with a weed burden it's pretty risky going straight into MSS off the plough. Need a transition in that gets the conditions right first. And the brassica plan sounds a lot better than a fallow/stale seed bed. The direct drilling here has worked well. Loads of worms and new sward growing like stink.