• Post Reply Bookmark Topic Watch Topic
  • New Topic
permaculture forums growies critters building homesteading energy monies kitchen purity ungarbage community wilderness fiber arts art permaculture artisans regional education skip experiences global resources cider press projects digital market permies.com pie forums private forums all forums
this forum made possible by our volunteer staff, including ...
master stewards:
  • Carla Burke
  • Nancy Reading
  • r ranson
  • Jay Angler
  • John F Dean
  • Pearl Sutton
stewards:
  • Nicole Alderman
  • paul wheaton
  • Anne Miller
master gardeners:
  • Christopher Weeks
  • Timothy Norton
gardeners:
  • thomas rubino
  • Jeremy VanGelder
  • Matt McSpadden

Pig use for planting on existing pasture

 
Posts: 25
Location: North Western North Carolina mountains
2
  • Likes 1
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
My American Guinea Hogs (AGH) had piglets, and those piglets are now 6 months old and uncontainable in my electric pig paddocks which are periodically rotated. Its my own fault and I think I know why, I believe I inadvertantly trained them to do this when they were still tiny, but thats not why Im posting.

So Im watching my flerd wander around the pasture from my back porch, its been a lovely day and a welcome break from the cold and wet, a balmy 50 odd degrees and sunny. The pasture is about 3 or 4 acres big, south facing hillside with a big lateral swale halfway up. My two Jerseys seem to lead the way closely followed by a donkey, then five Shetland sheep and then the four AGH piglet escape artists with periodic visits from opportunistic Guinea Fowl and chickens. An idyllic Old McDonald parade to be sure. And I should say that at this juncture this is a daily routine of the flerd. The AGHs have found the wet spots and focus their ploughing there. I would be tempted to say that the buggers are ploughing up perfectly good lush pasture, but a thought lightbulb went off in my head... What if I planted into the roughly ploughed up sod? What if I just followed their lead and sprinkled seeds into the wake of their destruction? Seeds of plants that enjoyed wet spots, like oats, or maybe Cattails? Or maybe clover and orchard grass seed? And now on to my question for anyone who has stayed with me because they are bored and have nothing else going on right this minute.

THE QUESTION...has anyone heard of planting into pig ploughing devastation with grains, or pasture grass seeds, or maybe root crops? And if so how did it work out?
 
rocket scientist
Posts: 6476
Location: latitude 47 N.W. montana zone 6A
3319
cat pig rocket stoves
  • Likes 1
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
Hey There Old Mcdonald;
I'm sitting here looking out my window at my pig paddocks. I'm sitting inside here doing this because it's currently 14 degrees out , dropping to zero tonight and there is 3.5' of snow where my piggys will be … if the snow melts before July.
I'm thinking wow 5o degrees in early march … watching your herd wander, must be nice ! Ha Ha until later in the summer when your humidity rises...
My experience with rooting pigs is that they are compacting almost as much as aerating.   The lazy piggys root for a while, then they lay down... stretch out … take a nice nap.
My paddocks are small so after I move the pigs out I run a rototiller thru to smooth it out and break up their beds... Replant with fast growers.
 
Andrew McDonald
Posts: 25
Location: North Western North Carolina mountains
2
  • Likes 1
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
So I took the plunge today... and released to boar and sow to wander and root where they please. Will be getting clover seed and sprinkle my own hay on the top thinking therre is plenty of viable seed in that hay that will germinate just fine as well as keeping everything moist and protected. Ill take a "before" pic and update as time passes thic coming growing season.
IMG_1648.JPG
[Thumbnail for IMG_1648.JPG]
IMG_1652.JPG
[Thumbnail for IMG_1652.JPG]
IMG_1653.JPG
[Thumbnail for IMG_1653.JPG]
 
Mo-om! You're embarassing me! Can you just read a tiny ad like a normal person?
turnkey permaculture paradise for zero monies
https://permies.com/t/267198/turnkey-permaculture-paradise-monies
reply
    Bookmark Topic Watch Topic
  • New Topic