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 freezing and deadly plants
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txbikergirl

3197 Posts


Posted - Nov 22 2015 :  5:09:23 PM  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
we got our first frost of the year last night. we have been walking our pastures and pruning and weeding and cutting for the past two years in an attempt to get the pastures lush and also clear out the bad stuff.

we walked the pastures again today, as since it was the first frost we didn't want to find a dead cow in the pasture after we let them out for the day. we didn't find anything in our active pasture, but the pasture just west of it (creatively called the "west pasture") had a little patch of johnsongrass. and thats one of the plants that can be deadly after a frost.

this is the one instance in which we will use a roundup type product without hesitation. lover boy is attacking it with a vengeance.

we are also reviewing the good info mike posted last month about post freeze deadly plant reactions. i'll repost those links here later for other newbies.

if we hadn't taken our cow class several years ago and learned about this stuff, or not been active on this board to see mike's posts, we could be one of those newbies that accidentally kills their cow. so just thought other newbies might want to bone up on the issues in order to ensure they don't have an awful incident they knew nothing about.

i realize this is a completely geographic issue and every local will be different. we are doing the best we can as newbies but also relying on our local good ole boys to tell us what is really an issue around here as they have been battling it for decades.

Firefly Hollow Farm , our little farmstead. Farmgirl living in the green piney woods of East Texas on 23 acres with a few jerseys, too many chickens, a pair of pugs and my Texan hubby (aka "lover boy")

maryjane

7072 Posts


Posted - Nov 23 2015 :  05:48:42 AM  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
I mean, who knew? It just isn't something that is first and foremost on your mind when you start out. Poisonous yes, but not poisonous after a frost. Good to keep this discussion in the fore as we learn more. I've had a couple of scares with cows and fruit trees but I have limited pasture to worry about it. (Finally, a bright side to "limited pasture.")

MaryJane Butters, author of Milk Cow Kitchen ~ striving for the stoicism of a cow standing in the rain ~
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