Pasture Renovation and Protection
To renovate and protect your pasture it is absolutely essential that you think about the soil biology. The easiest way to begin that thought process is to dig a few holes and count the numbers of earthworms. At the same time break open each sod and examine the root depth of the pasture, 2 simple measurements which tell you a lot about what is happening in your soil.
If the average root depth is less than 75mm and you have less than 5 – 8 worms per spadeful then you can be sure that you will lose your pasture very quickly in a dry spell or drought. And during wet periods the soil won’t drain either! Address the soil biology with the right program and you can look forward to your pasture hanging on far longer in tough conditions and you will have a more nutritious pasture that will produce noticeably better results from your stock.
So how do you achieve better soil biology? It would take many more words than we have available in this article to give a detailed description, however we can offer a few clues.
Briefly, you need to be sure your soil calcium levels are optimised for the biology to function effectively and efficiently, and that is where lime comes in. MicroLime sprayable rapid action lime is many times more efficient and effective than Ag-Lime, due to its tiny particle size. Then you need to apply Nitrosol Oceanic, a biological liquid suspension fertiliser, made from good old organic blood and bone, sourced from fish processing operations.
Begin this process and within 12 months you will see a huge increase in the root depth of your pasture, an earthworm count that will amaze you and subsequently better results from your stock. Use this process over two to three years and you can expect to see root depths of up to 300mm and earthworm numbers around 25 – 30 per spadeful.
Now stand back and see how your pasture looks in a dry spell.