Remineralisation
I didn't notice much positive effect the last time I did this, but the intervening years built up my optimism and willingness to ignore my previous experience to the point that I was again almost enthusiastic about spending thousands of dollars trying to remineralise my paddocks.
First was the soil test, which said the land is deficient in calcium and magnesium as well as a bunch of other things you're supposed to address once you've got the calcium and magnesium right. The prescription was for nine tonnes of lime and three tonnes of dolomite over my 25 or so acres of pasture. It only took five days of phone calls and paying six times the bulk rate for the dolomite and five times for the lime to get it here! I'm counting that as a win.
The really challenging part is finding someone with the right equipment willing to do this sort of work on small properties like mine. The only people who own big spreaders are real farmers who have better things to do in spring than trundle their tractors and loaders and spreaders down the highway to my place. I don't think I'll be able to prevail upon the very nice people who took pity on me to do it again, but that's a problem for another year.
Lime
Dolomite in 1 tonne bags
Loading the spreaders
Spreading!
The second brown horse belongs to a client of mine. The Appaloosa is out of sight.
Gratutious alpaca (Sherry) and llama (Grevillia). The yellow flowers are some of the weeds I hope this exercise will help get rid of. The animals like to eat that kind, so it isn't a total loss, but it dries up to nothing in the summer and leaves the land bare and subject to erosion.
Carrying the dolomite on big forks
It wouldn't come out readily when we opened the bags and required much shaking and stirring with a stick from the top.
I felt quite good about my investment when it was all in one place in impressive quantities, and also during all the activity of the spreading, but now that it's just a light dusting of white powder it's hard to be excited about it. Fortunately we're getting a bit of rain to start working it into the soil!
First was the soil test, which said the land is deficient in calcium and magnesium as well as a bunch of other things you're supposed to address once you've got the calcium and magnesium right. The prescription was for nine tonnes of lime and three tonnes of dolomite over my 25 or so acres of pasture. It only took five days of phone calls and paying six times the bulk rate for the dolomite and five times for the lime to get it here! I'm counting that as a win.
The really challenging part is finding someone with the right equipment willing to do this sort of work on small properties like mine. The only people who own big spreaders are real farmers who have better things to do in spring than trundle their tractors and loaders and spreaders down the highway to my place. I don't think I'll be able to prevail upon the very nice people who took pity on me to do it again, but that's a problem for another year.
Lime
Dolomite in 1 tonne bags
Loading the spreaders
Spreading!
The second brown horse belongs to a client of mine. The Appaloosa is out of sight.
Gratutious alpaca (Sherry) and llama (Grevillia). The yellow flowers are some of the weeds I hope this exercise will help get rid of. The animals like to eat that kind, so it isn't a total loss, but it dries up to nothing in the summer and leaves the land bare and subject to erosion.
Carrying the dolomite on big forks
It wouldn't come out readily when we opened the bags and required much shaking and stirring with a stick from the top.
I felt quite good about my investment when it was all in one place in impressive quantities, and also during all the activity of the spreading, but now that it's just a light dusting of white powder it's hard to be excited about it. Fortunately we're getting a bit of rain to start working it into the soil!