Paddock & Grassland Maintenance
Why invest in Paddock Maintenance?
Good Pasture Management is critical and quite often gets overlooked. In this day and age people lead busier lives and have less spare time
Before long paddocks can get overgrown with weeds, docks, nettles and brambles and the job of keeping on top of them can soon spiral out of control.
Horses can eat for 16-18 hours a day so if you invest some time and money into your fields, it will pay back so much in the long term.
Grass Flail Mowing
Flail mowing your grassland prevents weeds going to seed and spreading further. In addition to this, it also reduces the chances of the grass growing too long and becoming unpalatable.
Our machinery can tackle grass that’s grown well out of control and still leave a great cut finish. Cutting the grass not only looks much tidier but it also encourages new, even growth and better pasture.
We have numerous different flail mowers to suit different size paddocks and fields. Speak to us today and see how we can help get those grassed areas under control!
Grass Harrowing
The advantages of harrowing your fields are extensive!
The strong tines of the harrow clear out moss and dead grass clogging the base of the grass sward. This stimulates new grass growth due to opening up the soil surface and letting Oxygen into the roots! Not only that but it also drags out shallow rooted weeds such as chickweed too!
Harrowing isn’t a replacement for removing horse manure from your fields but it helps to break up anything left over from poo-picking and spreads out clumps evenly.
It’s also great for levelling fields after they have been trampled during the winter months or if mole hills are present.
A well harrowed field re-vitalises the grass ley and the vigorous new growth often looks darker green in colour compared to fields that haven’t been tended to.
In addition to the benefits listed above, combining grass harrowing with overseeding helps to strengthen a grass sward or add in a herbal mix to your current pasture.
Grassland Overseeding
It is becoming more common for us to have longer, wetter winter periods of weather and this leads to our fields becoming boggy and poached, especially along fence lines and in gateways.
Once Spring arrives, we recommend that you harrow the fields and overseed at the same time. The harrow aerates the ground as it’s pulled along and creates the perfect tilth, before covering the fresh grass seed with soil that’s placed accurately with our specialist grass seeding unit. This ensures the seed gets to the right place.
Our seeding unit can be adjusted so we can completely reseed large areas of ground or just re-seed an exact grass ley.
We also source the grass seed ourselves, working with suppliers and specifically choosing a variety of your choice.
Spraying
Here at Bourne Bespoke, we are fully insured and qualified to spray weeds in fields. We offer a compact boom sprayer as well as a spot sprayer so we can cater for large patches of weeds or just patches around your stable yard or tracks. We are completely self-sufficient and even bring our own water bowser so we can spray areas without access to a water supply but also be as productive as possible during our time tending to your land.
Weeds are best dealt with when they are fully in leaf. The most common weeds found in fields include thistles, docks and nettles. Unfortunately, if they’re not dealt with correctly, they can spread rapidly and soon take over fields and stop grass from growing properly due to the invasive weed species being stronger.
We always aim to spray areas during dryer weather. It is imperative that the leaf of the weed is dry before applying chemicals so the chemical itself can be absorbed properly and do its job effectively. The weeds should then be left to die off and horses kept off the area until the weed has wilted and the chemical has done its job.
Depending upon what weeds we are spraying, there will be different time periods that horses have to be kept off the land for. All of this will be explained to you before the spraying application takes place. We will always carry out an initial site visit and explain how best to tackle the weeds and also what to look out for. Full chemical application sheets will be provided at the end of the job for your piece of mind and for your records.
Soil Sampling, Lime & Fertiliser Spreading
Bourne Bespoke can carry out soil sampling for clients. This enables not just us but also our customers to fully get an understanding into the condition of their soil. Good soil will grow good pasture!
Like everything else, if you don’t look after something then it wont look after you! This applies to one of the most valuable assets you have when it comes to livestock, the ground that you graze!
Once we have sampled the soil and had it tested, we can then advise on whether it needs lime for example to be applied to improve the soils health. If the soil is too acidic, it wont uptake the proper nutrients and then grass growth can be stunted. The problem with more acidic soil conditions is that certain weeds excel in these conditions so you end up with more weeds than grass.
Fertiliser is costly but when used in the right cases to increase the levels of grass growth, it is worth every penny. If fertiliser is applied to more acidic land with a low pH level though, because the grass cant uptake the nutrients properly, its more likely to be a waste of money and wont give the desired effect of growing more grass.
This is why we spread lime on grassland. Lime increases the soil pH to a desired level, meaning that when the fertiliser is applied, the grass will absorb it much more efficiently and effectively, making the cost of the fertiliser worthwhile and making you happier as your grassland will be vastly improved!
We can supply and apply both lime and fertiliser to your land using top of the range equipment accurately through the use of GPS. Speak to us to find out more!
Hedge Cutting
From 1st September to 1st March, we are allowed to cut hedges as the birds will have stopped nesting.
In addition to looking after your pasture, you need to keep on top of your hedges too. Overgrown hedges can encroach on valuable pasture and fields. They can stop electric fences from working properly if the overgrowth touches the fence which could mean your horse may be able to escape or push through a fence line.
Access onto main roads from your fields or stable block is dangerous if you can’t see what’s coming due to the hedge being overgrown. Neatly kept and well managed hedges cut once a year really help keep your land looking in top condition.
Fencing
Bourne Bespoke also carry out various types of agricultural fencing, be it securing field boundaries, installing new field entrances and gateways or splitting fields up into paddocks.
Speak to us today to find out more.
Digger Work
If you require help with field drainage, field ditch clearance, the excavation of a new concrete pad for a stable block or even a new yard entrance, be sure to get in touch with us.
We have lots of experience when it comes to groundworks and our team can help you fulfil your requirements.’
We can help run electrical services over to stable blocks, install new water troughs in paddocks and clear out field ditches to help keep your land more usable right through those tough winter months.