Joined: 02 Nov 2004 Posts: 34535 Location: Hereford
Posted: Sun Jan 13, 08 10:35 pm Post subject: The Somme.
I'm moving my pigs from their current quagmire as soon as I can get some new fencing up, and the land they've been on is thick mud and very wet. I'd like to grow something on it to restore some structure, some drainage and possibly a food crop for them next year.
Any suggestions of what to plant, and where I'd get the seed from? It's perhaps a quarter of an acre.
dougal
Joined: 15 Jan 2005 Posts: 7184 Location: South Kent
field beans
i know beans are the devils seed but piggies like them and the improve the soil
LynneA
Joined: 25 Oct 2006 Posts: 4893 Location: London N21
Posted: Sun Jan 13, 08 11:18 pm Post subject:
Want some of my JA's?
In Fat of the Land, John Seymour wrote about planting a section of field with Jerusalem Artichokes, then running the pigs in there the following winter.
I suggested this to Justme once, but I don't think he reached the stage of letting the pigs loose on the JA patch. Maybe the two of you could have a go.
Maybe bring them indoors after, harvest the methane and see how much power you can get out of them as well
Nick
Joined: 02 Nov 2004 Posts: 34535 Location: Hereford
Posted: Sun Jan 13, 08 11:19 pm Post subject:
I tried them last year. Sodding rabbits, or similar had the whole crop.
Won't the pigs have improved it anyway or is it that you want a crop?
I am interested in the answers as I am feeding my horses on a small separate area this year which is dreadful now but the rest of the field looks better as a result. Just wondering how long the small area is going to take to recover.
Nick
Joined: 02 Nov 2004 Posts: 34535 Location: Hereford
Posted: Sun Jan 13, 08 11:29 pm Post subject:
I don't want a crop, but it is terribly boggy and if and when it dries out, it's going to be like concrete, so I figured some plant life would break it up a bit, give them something to root about in and probably do something to clean it up (I suspect the pig muck will have altered the natural state quite a bit...)
So something thats got a good root system but which will do well in churned up but pretty rich ground...
Gut feeling would be sunflowers, beans, beets and sweetcorn. They're all pretty unfussy, and I'm sure the pigs would love 'em if they're allowed back in. They've all got roots that'll cope with that and stop it caking over; sunflowers seem especially good at binding and aerating soil.
Joined: 25 Oct 2006 Posts: 4893 Location: London N21
Posted: Sun Jan 13, 08 11:40 pm Post subject:
Maybe alfalfa, which has a deep root run, can be grown as a perennial, and harvested for fodder?
Nick
Joined: 02 Nov 2004 Posts: 34535 Location: Hereford
Posted: Sun Jan 13, 08 11:43 pm Post subject:
This bit of land has had pigs on it every year, for 7/9 months at a time, for 4 years. When left, it stays sterile. And now they've been on it for a year, and with the heavy rain, it's very dead. It needs some seed, else it'll regrow thistles in the next 18 months. I don't want a harvest, I'll put the pigs back on it. Maybe they'll get a harvest, but not me.
Unfortunately alfalfa, or lucerne as it's also known, won't tollerate waterlogging, so perhaps not so good for a paddled site...
Nick
Joined: 02 Nov 2004 Posts: 34535 Location: Hereford
Posted: Sun Jan 13, 08 11:46 pm Post subject:
It's at the top of a slight incline, so it should drain, eventually. They've essentially worn it down so there's a bit of a lip (where the fence is) which stops standing water running off.
Water doesn't want to be draining that way though, it needs to be draining down, or you'll end up with all the good nutrients heading down hill. Maize likes a lot of muck, but you won't want to put that in until April or May, so I'm guessing you want something early to try smothering the rubbish?
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