I am planning to reseed some of my Horse Pasture next spring. I have an Imperial Whitetail Clover food plot 100 yards from there. The deer come out of the river bottom and head for the Crabapple trees and gardens in town and they stop in my food plot first and then they will cross over this 2 acre pasture. I lease some old railroad property that isn't the best soil in the world but does grow grasses. It is a dry gravelly area. I am going to seed a Horse pasture mix that includes Crested Wheat grass, Brome Grass, Timothy Grass and Alfalfa. When I send in my soil sample do I need to name all of the different seeds or just tell them it's a pasture mix? Also what can i plant with the grasses that the Horses can eat safely without bloating? Any ideas you farmers out there?

ElkArcheryDude

archeryelkdude; You can list the individual grasses if you want much they should need similar fertilization. The big question for lime and fertilizer will be the percentage of alfalfa that's in the mixture.

Bird's foot trefoil could be added to the mixture as a low bloat potential legume.

Dan O.

We have all kinds of Limestone rock around here so our soil is naturally above the PH of 7. My food plot soil test PH was around 7.5 to 7.7. I just don't know what the old railroad bed is going to be. They used to empty out the fireboxes of the old steam locomotives on the ground. I will be curious to see what the PH level there is. Lots of "clinkers" and coal slack on the ground too. I might have to add some Lime there. Hopefully we will get some rain this year. We are 5 inches behind normal for the year "again". This is year #5 that we are at 75% of normal or less of precipitation. I don't know how my clover even grew at all.

You probably won't need lime there either. Ashes are usually on the basic side. In fact, I empty my wood ash from our fireplace on our garden and food plots. (wood ashes have been used to make soap ages ago because of its lye content.) My son has horses and the two grasses he does not feed or plant for forage is Fescue and clover. Fescue carries a fungus that can kill a horse. (He still doesn't trust the new fungus free variety). The clover he tells me causes the horses to sweat heavily like when he goes on trail rides. I guess the age of the material on the old railroad bed could have caused the PH to drop. You will know when you have it tested.

Russ

Do a soil sampe for Alfalfa... We suggest that you have the soil tested for any PCB's or other lingering toxins, especially if livestock will be using the forage. Sometimes in the past they were transported by rail and may have leaked into the rail bed... A local university should be able to assist...

lunchbucket; it may not of just be leakage, the railways sprayed the rail beds to keep down weeds. The creoste soaked railway ties are another hazard altogether.

Dan O.

Right, I forgot about the Cresote.. Big one... We had the PCB thing here in the 70's and man, talk about problems. Cresote is readily absorbed by most plants and the passed on in the plant to the animal. Good one Dan.O... Weren't PCB's used in creasote in the 60's and early 70'S? Spillage is another issue... Contact your local University and do the sample.