I cant find an article on the web teaching how to reclaim a field?

Question

I want to bush hog my grown in field and eventualy make it a green back yard, but I want steps and hints on what do do after I bush hog it, to make it come in faster

Answer 1

What Chili Pepper said! A lot depends on where you are and what you plan to do. Ask your County Extension Agent. Brush clearing and reseeding with a good mix for grazing? If you just want less high brush or turn it to wheat/ corn/ other crop, they are the ones to ask.

Answer 2

You could get the advice from your local County Extension Agent, but really all that you need to do is mow it off as close as you can. If there is a lot of trash rake it off and over-seed it with a good mixture of lawn grass seed. Fertilize it a little and water it if necessary. then keep it mowed. You should have a good lawn before you know it.

Answer 3

Ask your local officials if you can burn the small brush piles and spread the ashes over the soil.  When mother earth clears things by fire it returns nutrients to the soul very well. Please check with your local fire department about dry earth conditions.

Answer 4

I know this will not be a popular answer, but mowing, first, is often the long way around.  I find the selected use of herbicides to be a much more effective, safe (Mowing is dangerous, also), rapid (to actually change the field) and economical method to establish a pasture/yard than mowing.

First contact your local county agent for a list of grasses and plants that will successively accomplish your goals, these are your crops (you can also talk to him/her about your goals).  Second, evaluate your site, determine the weedy species and what are the most effective weed control methods at your disposal (if it's eastern red cedar and broomsedge bluestem, fire is an extremely effective method).  Visit your CEA about preferred weed control methods for this field.  Third, determine your soil fertility needs (you can pick up information on this while visiting your county extension agent).  Fourth, plan your attack.  Fifth, implement the plan.

You still end up getting to know your CEA, but you're going at it in a rational manner and your odds for a successful (one time) conversion is much greater.  Recreational mowing (a term to describe what you said you want to do) is the expensive, and not an environmentally friendly (you'll burn up a lot of fuel, etc) method of accomplishing your stated goals.

Answer 5

here's some sites that'll more than likely help ya out   www.wonderhowto.com  www.howstuffworks.com   www.instructables.com

Answer 6

To reclaim a field you need to find out what was grown there in the past. Different plants take different nutrients from the soil so in your case you need to plant a different type of plant there that has not been grown there before so the soil can replenish what has been taken out of it in the past. my uncle was a farmer for over 45 years and he grew organic before we knew what organic was. he just rotated his crop and used natural fertilizer for all that time. this is if you want to go organic. i grew up on this farm and he had the best vegetables in the area and never used chemicals for fertilizer

Answer 7

Also known as "shifting cultivation", "swidden agriculture", or simply "jhum", slash and burn is an ancient form of agriculture practiced by between 200 and 500 million people around the world today (2006). The two key components of slash and burn agriculture are the use of fire to prepare fields for cultivation and the subsequent abandonment of those fields as productivity declines. The inevitable decline in productivity is a result of the depletion of soil nutrients and also a result of the invasion of weed and pest species. Once abandoned however, fields are allowed to return to a more natural state as native plant and tree species reclaim the field. As a result, over time soil nutrient levels can recover to predisturbance levels, although the resulting ecosystems often retain a preponderance of plant species used by humans. While recovering, abandoned fields (also known as "swiddens"), typically are used by humans as a source of fruits, nuts, fibers, medicinal plants, and game. Once ecosystem recovery is sufficiently advanced, the field may be used again for cultivation.

Answer 8

Go to Google:  type:  agriculture+reclaiming a field

Here is one of many articles that came up....(see link below)

Also, check with your state tech school...they should have a county extension office.  They practically do cart-wheels when people call needing Ag help!

http://www.wvdhsem.gov/WV_Disaster_Libra...

Answer 9

If there's lots of woody growth like young trees, remember that brush hogging merely cuts the tree down and you're still going to have a stob sticking up.  Those things like to puncture tires the next time you mow.  If woody, get an ax and chainsaw and put those big arms to work.  If you're into livestock, goats do a wonderful job of killing brush and can provide milk, meat and salable animals.  

Perrenial weeds can be controlled by mowing or applying herbicides at the right time.  Roundup is safe to use because it inhibits production of certain plant proteins and since humans, animals, birds and fish don't have any plant proteins, it doesn't do a thing to us.

Answer 10

one book in particular comes to mind... "sand county almanac"