Farm Life - herbal grass sowing

by Roger Hill

We drilled a herbal ley (grass) for the first time recently. I say we, but it was done by a contractor with far superior machinery to our ‘dinky toys’.

How things have changed in my lifetime. Every new crop was preceded by ploughing the land, working up a fine soil structure and broadcast on top with a spreader (actually my dad used a hand fiddle walking miles in a day). Then it would be harrowed in and rolled to keep the moisture in the earth. Today it is usually one pass and the job is done efficiently and quickly.

What is a herbal ley you may ask. It consists of an array of deep rooted species including perennial ryegrass, meadow fescue, timothy, white clover, chicory, yarrow, plantain and sheep’s burnet.

Ours is specifically for sheep and it will be interesting to see if they like it. I’m quite confident. We are at that stage of the year when plans are put into operation to feed the livestock through the winter. Already silage, hay and corn has been harvested and put into storage.

Soon we shall be planning ahead for next year’s crop planting. Farming doesn’t stop! ‘Til next time, Roger #TuppertheTractor (tupperthetractor.com)