Pasture productivity - small acerage, sandy soil

[Boomer]

I have recently relocated to Aiken SC and bought a 10 acre farm. Unfortunately because the way it is laid out, I only have around 6.5 acres of grass and I have 4 horses.

I’m considering soil testing + appropriate lime/fertilizer. The soil here is sandy (awesome for riding) but I question how well the grass will grow. The pasture is bahia / coastal bermuda.

If I lime/fertilize, how much more productive will it make this small amount of pasture? Or will I probably have to hay year 'round anyway? I’m sure it will help some, but trying to decide if it’s worth the investment or just save the $ and buy hay instead…

Where I lived before, the grass grew like air so I haven’t had this problem!

Thanks!

[HPFarmette]

I have about 4 acres and 2 horses. I count on feeding hay all year. I treat the pasture as just recreation for them, though I mow it. Probably with some level of division/rotation it could be done.

[WannabeDQ]

Contact your local Clemson Extension agent. They will come out and soil test (I think it was $6). You get back an analysis of your soil and recommendations on lime, fertilizer, etc. The guy who came out to test my soil was very knowledgeable.

[buck22]

I board my horses on sandy soil, 2 horses on 2 ac which I rotate somewhat. Sandy soil doesn’t retain moisture well, so unless it rains frequently growth dries up very quickly. I find my grass quickly gets overgrazed, which leaves the roots little to no shade. Sandy soil also lends itself to more root damage easier, since the plants pull from the ground very easily with hoof-traffic. The good news is no matter how hard it rains the footing is always decent in short order.

I’ve boarded here for several years and I have found that resting, mulch-mowing, and frequent additions of organics like compost, light sprinking of waste hay, and peat-moss (which I bed on) goes a long way to creating a top-soil and hopefully one day, a thatch.

I plan on feeding hay year round, though last year was a particularly good year for rain and temps and the grass finally grew thick enough that I had a couple 24-hour periods I didn’t throw any hay at all, the horses simply had enough green grass and were totally uninterested.

[Alagirl]

I don’t think you will have grass to cut for hay, but ample room to rotate pastures, depending on how you can lay it out, 4 or 5.

Mow often. Horses are picky grazers, they won’t eat where they poop, giving the impression that there is grass when there really is only toilet.

Add organic matter whenever possible. The soil will always be sandy, but organic matter helps the grass.

Establish a sacrifice paddock. As somebody stated, sandy soil is susebtible to damage in bad weather.

[candyappy]

If your pasture has a good stand of grass now you should be able to at least cut down on hay use during the grazing season. We were up North and had very sandy soil. We let the grass get pretty long before turning the animals out on it and then I did limit the time they were on it. I was able to feed just once a day. Rainfall was the biggest factor because if it gets dry the grass just dried up, even if it was still pretty thick and long.

I am now back to clay soil, mud and abundant grass. Don’t know what I would prefer, but I hate mud…

[Boomer]

[QUOTE=candyappy;8091750]
I am now back to clay soil, mud and abundant grass. Don’t know what I would prefer, but I hate mud…[/QUOTE]

Candyappy - I know what you mean about mud! I lived in Mississippi before and there is mud… a lot of mud!

Thanks for the replies everyone. I figured I would need to open up my hay budget a lot! The grass is really short - it was that way when I bought it in Feb. I’m trying to eek more pasture out of the property but a lot of it is wooded and the buildings are spread out, so it is really limiting.

Will composting manure then spreading it help? Right now I’ve got a trash company bin for it, because I have no spreader.

Horse keeping here is really different than where I was!

[buck22]

Yes, I compost all of my manure and organic stable wastes. I pick my paddocks daily, keeps flies to a minimum and its a daily fence line check - but I only have 2 on 2 acres, its 15 minutes on a bad day.

I wind up with about 6 large piles (each about the size of a bedded Clydesdale). I spread one pile per paddock by hand twice a year and the rest I bring home to my gardens and share with friends.

It is hard work but the idea of turning waste into a valuable soil enrichment is so satisfying to me that its worth it.