East Texas pasture help!

[WLKRTXRNGR]

Just bought 80 acres near Crockett TX with about 30 acres of partially fenced pasture (the rest is timber). The pastures have not been tended to in several years. They appear to be mostly thigh high weeds, thorns and wild flower. I would hope to one day have horses and some cattle on my place (no rush). Just hoping for suggestions on how to start bringing the pasture back as I have ZERO experience and wouldn't even pretend to know what I'm doing or where to start! Soil appears sandy... Any suggestions, I'll buy the beers when I see you!?!?! I'm trying to post a pic but it appears this forum has the most complicated process I've ever seen for adding pics! :bang:

Thanks, any help appreciated!

Mike

10 Yrs Air Force
10 Yrs CV Surgery
1 Week Farming!

 

[LauraleesFarm]

I would bush hog as much as possible.

For the timber, I would get a consultation on harvesting it, if there is any good mature timber.

I would buy a professional grade chainsaw and a 4 x 4 tractor and what I couldn't mow with the bush hog, I would cut/pile (the nonharvestable scrub type brushy stuff).

Just cutting down the weeds will give the grass more leadway to take over.

 

[WLKRTXRNGR]

Thanks for the tip - we will mow the pastures and see what happens! We are going to leave the timber alone for now and concentrate on getting the 30 acres safe / healthy for some livestock. I really appreciate the advice...

Thanks,

 

[littletom]

Bush hog it or burn it this winter. Just remember when bush hogging you have no idea whats under that mess. Go slow it could get very expensive. On a farm I bought most of it went from pasture to crop. The stuff just keeps coming up mostly t post and very old plow coulters. About a truck load of post and 8 or 10 plow parts. Been very lucky to have not tore any thing up yet!

 

[Rajela]

Spray those weeds!!!!!

 

[js1234]

Just bought 80 acres near Crockett TX with about 30 acres of partially fenced pasture (the rest is timber). The pastures have not been tended to in several years. They appear to be mostly thigh high weeds, thorns and wild flower. I would hope to one day have horses and some cattle on my place (no rush). Just hoping for suggestions on how to start bringing the pasture back as I have ZERO experience and wouldn't even pretend to know what I'm doing or where to start! Soil appears sandy... Any suggestions, I'll buy the beers when I see you!?!?! I'm trying to post a pic but it appears this forum has the most complicated process I've ever seen for adding pics! :bang:

Thanks, any help appreciated!

Mike

10 Yrs Air Force
10 Yrs CV Surgery
1 Week Farming!

i wouldn't know the first thing about improving an East Texas pasture but i did read your tag line. good for you taking on this new adventure. stay positive, take chances, ask questions, have fun and you'll be fine.

 

[foragemanager]

If you don't bale it up for goats, chop or spray those weeds for sure! Buy goats or lease it out to a local goat man. Goats love the junkist/ trashist weedy field you can find. For what ever reason their rumens work with that type of feed. They will get sick on Alfalfa.
~andy

 

[TexasBred]

If you don't bale it up for goats, chop or spray those weeds for sure! Buy goats or lease it out to a local goat man. Goats love the junkist/ trashist weedy field you can find. For what ever reason their rumens work with that type of feed. They will get sick on Alfalfa.
~andy

Horse shyt !!!

 

[WLKRTXRNGR]

Thanks - appreciate all the tips and well wishes... Not sure I have the fencing required for goats! I will definitely be careful, I may hire out the first mowing with a warning that I don't know whats out there!

 

[Engler]

What about burning it off? I know nothing about TX pastures, but does it get to the point where you can SAFELY light it up to get all the dead grass/ weeds gone?

In my part of the world this keeps a lot of the smaller trees out of it and hits the reset button getting everything back to zero on size. My grass can take this and I believe that it's good for it every couple years to get the thatch out of there. Added bonus is it makes it easier to find a lot of the trash out in the field.

 

[houstoncutter]

Mow it off, I assume you tractor has a front end loader on it. Drop that bucket down almost skimmining the ground, it will provide you some warning. Ive leased a lot of bad pastures in the past and this is how we started cleaning em up. I wouldn't do it at present though its to hot and dry. All those weeds and tall grass are providing a nice hat for that ground. If you can burn later, that would be great, but has its own headaches as well. Someone mentioned goats, they would be a good choice as well, but as you said you would have to fence for them. Personally any pasture that I was going to buy and fence would be goat fenced just to help keep the hogs out.

 

[greybeard]

Nope, don't burn now-- $500 fine if you are caught in my county right now since we are under burn ban---as well as 87 other Texas counties.
As of Aug 10 2015:

http://youreasttexas.com/weather/texas-burn-ban-map

 

[WLKRTXRNGR]

Definitely not burning! Burn ban in place. I had the Extension Agent come out and give me some advice. He said I have a lot of coastal bermuda mixed in and being choked out by weeds. He said to mow it all down as short as possible now. Wait till early spring and spray for weeds. He was encouraging and thought there was a lot of grass there that I wasn't seeing! Also some bahia. The negative he saw were the persimmon trees (sp?) that have come up in the pasture. They are about the diameter of a half dollar at the base. He said they have to go and not to mow em down because that would just make it worse.

 

[highgrit]

You can mow the persimmon, just spray the base good with a diesel herbicide mixture. Did the county agent say anything about soil samples and lime. Adding lime will help with weed control.

 

[WLKRTXRNGR]

I asked and he said "it might be a good idea to have soil tested in the spring"....

 

[novatech]

I asked and he said "it might be a good idea to have soil tested in the spring"....

Soil sample now as it will take a while for the lime P and K to have a effect.