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By Betsy Gilkerson Wieland, University of Minnesota Extension
ST. PAUL, Minn. (4/21/2008) — Spring is an important time of year for pasture care. Here is a list of things you can do in the next couple months to get your pastures looking great.
Plant seed. The best time of year to seed a pasture is fall. However, spring is an acceptable time of year if you missed the fall deadline. April 1 to May 15 is the best time in the spring to reseed your pastures. Make sure you keep horses off newly seeded pastures until the grasses are well established and you have mowed two or three times.
Take soil samples. See if your pastures need any nutrients. Once the frost is out and the soils have dried, samples can be taken. Contact your county Extension office or the University of Minnesota Soils Lab for a sample kit. The lab’s phone number is 612-625-3101 and the website is http://soiltest.cfans.umn.edu/.
Fertilize. Test your soils first, so you know how much you need. Often, only nitrogen is needed in pastures.
Spray Herbicides. Spring is a good time to spray annual weeds to prevent them from getting established. However, mowing is usually sufficient for annual weed control unless weed densities are high.
Check fences. Snow and deer can be hard on fences. Check them before you turn out the horses.
Plan your grazing system. Think back to last year whether you had enough grass or if the horses turned the pasture into a putting green or mud pit. You may need to supplement your horse with hay during certain times of the grazing season and set aside a sacrifice area when the pasture needs a rest.
Let the grass grow. Keep the horses off the grass until the ground firms up and the grass has a chance to get growing. Once the grass is about 6-8 inches tall, start easing the horses onto the pasture in 15-minute daily increaments (15 minutes the first day, 30 minutes the second day, 45 minutes the third day and so on) until the time on pasture reaches five hours a day, after which the horse can be given unlimited access.Any use of this article must include the byline or following credit line:
Betsy Gilkerson Wieland is an agriculture educator with University of Minnesota Extension.
Contact: Catherine Dehdashti, U of M Extension (612) 625-0237, ced@umn.edu
NOTE: News releases were current as of the date of issue. If you have a question on older releases, use the news release search (upper left-hand column of the News main page) or the main Extension search (upper right of this page) to locate more recent information.
