Category: Composting

Turning Old Burnt Out Hay Fields to Grazing Pastures and Gardens

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It’s been just a couple weeks short of two years since we moved our animals on to this property. 

The Barn Property Sept 2022

When we were asked to come there and use the land and barn, the fields were mostly old and burnt out, full of invasive and toxic weeds. Two years later through the use of rotational pasturing, and regenerative farming techniques these are those fields today… 

While the original goals of the Property Owners, of “Just keep the trees from growing in, and the fields from getting over taken” with hopes of getting rid of the toxic and invasive plants. Although we wanted to help showcase the work, and help make this place even more beautiful. We’ve used Goats, Pigs, Chickens, Rabbits, and now Sheep to help improve this wonderful old property. Just look at those hay fields now! A true testament to the capabilities of these wonderful birds and animals! 

Not only have we helped keep the fields from growing in, we’ve helped to eliminate many of the weeds, both toxic and invasive. Although it’s still a work in progress! Sheep need adequate pasture grasses and forage to thrive and our shearer and others, and even the wool quality of the sheep have all testified to this being the case! It’s incredible to see the transformation that’s taken place! 

We’ve even managed to turn some of this ground into gardens!

2024 Garden at The Barn Property

Using deep bedding for our animals through the winter helps provide well composted hay and manure to help naturally grow the gardens. The whole thing is laborious and yet rewarding. We work mostly by hand, employing time honoured methods and let our animals do most of the heavy lifting! It’s a labour of love, one where we always strive to be good Stewards.

Trimming a Weedy, Overgrown, Garden!

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A Weedy, Overgrown, Garden!

The following photos and video show how we used weeds to help retain moisture and prevent erosion in our vegetable garden. 

The photo above is what it looked like by the time I got to it!

This next photo shows it about half done…

Clearing an overgrown weedy garden

Here’s how I did it…

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Before and After Pigs Preparing the Garden Soil

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Garden Soil before being worked by Pigs

I never get tired of seeing the work our animals do. This Year, December 1st and 2nd our Pigs were turned into our Garden Plot. The two photos show the Before and After. As You can see, they do an amazing job of disturbing the soil just enough to spur growth. Leave them too long, and they’ll compact the earth, but leave them just the right amount of time, and they turn it up and get it prepared for the next growing season. It’s not usually left till December and perhaps should have a Cover Crop, but this year we had beautiful days and 10 + celsius, that’s into the 50s F. Well-composted manure had previously, been applied and worked in.

Garden Soil after being worked by Pigs

Also, take note of the Green Grass still growing in the pastures. As a result of our animals, Goats, Pigs, Sheep, Chickens, Rabbits, and Ducks, enjoy their rotational pastures. Rotational Pasturing can be used, not only to keep parasite-free, healthy, livestock but also to encourage growing green grass and pasture forages.