Re: [compost_tea] Re: Mowing Orchard

From: Nic Pattison <nicksonstream_at_yahoo.co.nz>
Date: Thu, 25 Mar 2004 18:25:04 +1200 (NZST)

 Here in New Zealand it is common practice to graze
lambs on orchards and vineyards after harvest thru
winter. They do an excellent job of cleaning up the
grass and the urine and dung is good fert and
introduces some diversity to help the biology along.
We prefer lambs to ewes. Ewes are more inclined to
chew branches and if they get a taste for tannin strip
bark. Lambs will too if you run them too hard. I
like to bring big numbers in (30 to the acre) for
short periods. That may not be practical for you -
people are outnumberd 12:1 by sheep in this country!
Hope this helps
Nic Pattison

-- ericgoodenough <sfo_at_gwi.net> wrote:
---------------------------------
There may be good reasons to mow and orchard, but
there are good
reasons not to mow or to delay mowing, also. Her are
some reasons
not to:
1. less work/expense
2. a lush pasture is habitat for many beneficial
insects.
3. in the fall, that tall "brown" pasture could
layed-down for a
nice cushion for your fruit and then activated with a
fall
application of good fungal tea. The green grass will
be less skewed
toward the fungal food sources that, of course, an
orchard will
prefer.
4. composted wood chips are a good mulch material and
provide
excellent fungal foods over time. A soil built in
such a way may not
need as much mowing to "prevent competition".
5. Leaving the grass and "weeds" to grow tall is a
pretty good way
to harvest the help of the sun (read: carbon) for the
same reasons
people plant green manures. Orchards like "brown"
manures.

Of course, there are some who appreciate the
aesthetics of a well-
mown lawn. This may be all the reason to mow that one
needs.
However, there are some pests (roundheaded apple tree
borer and
meadow voles as examples) that love the additional
cover around the
bases of trees. So it may be a good idea to knock the
thatch down
periodically (after harvest here on our orchard.)

Actually, we are considering pasturing sheep in our
orchard because
they will provide a good form of N, will graze close
to the trees,
will eat dropped green apples with with pest larvae
and they will
provide us with entertainment, not the least of which
is well-
mineralized lamb! We will be sure to leave hedgerows
with lots of
weeds, roses and Umbellifera sp. (yarrow, wild carrot,
Queen Anne's
Lace) as beneficial insect attractants. I would love
to hear from
anyone with experience with sheep in orchards.


--- In compost_tea_at_yahoogroups.com, Robert Norsen
<bnbrew_at_y...> wrote:
> Is there a good reason to mow? Back on the farm we
left the grass
to grow and lay like a mattress. The grass at 9"
cushions my body
while I gaze skywards. It cushions the apples so when
they are at
the peak of ripe and juicy and fall I can pick them
up, unbruised.
Love that deep grass!!. Bob ( I fantasize having
that kind of
time)
>
> Jeff Lowenfels <jeff_at_g...> wrote:<<<<In a orchard
situation should
one mow the orchard before appling CT
> or after.The grass is about 9 inches high.>>>
>
>
> Jeff L
>
>
>
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Received on Thu Mar 25 2004 - 04:45:29 EST

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