posted 12 years ago
Hi Shaun,
Just to add my two cents, I'd go with animals myself. In the argument of sheep over goats, I think it depends on what exactly is growing there; goats are browsers and prefer woody stems, whereas sheep are grazers, and so if your weeds are largely grasses, sheep might be more appropriate. I would give some serious thought to pigs if you have the option, as they would disturb the soil more than other livestock, in preparation for chickens, who would pick through any seeds exposed by the pigs' rooting, tackling the problem of the seed bank.
Of paramount concern to you (unless you are in a position to buy any or all of these, in which case I'd say "go for it," because if all you did was get meat on the hoof, it would be healthier than anything you'd buy at the store, and much cheaper even compared to the lowest-grade, and your land would be cleared and fertilized) would be which animals you could rent for the purpose from your neighbours.
Of course, to paraphrase Sepp Holzer, if you are unable to get animals for the purpose, than you must do their work yourself.
If this is the case, I think that if you were to sow a polyculture pasture seed mix as you mow (I don't know if it would be better just before you mow, so the blades further disperse the seed and cover them in clippings, or just after, I've never done it that way before), using plants that can take regular mowing, or even thrive under those conditions, you should be able to change the weeds polyculture to a pasture one. With just a little attention, you should be able to introduce a soil-building community that you could mow regularly OR use to pasture animals, and either way you'd be making more soil.
If you had only chickens, say, I'd mow an area and fence it in, and then let the chickens at it. I would suspect that of all the animal jobs to be done, theirs of cleaning the soil of excess seed would be the one you can't do with machines or by hand.
Good luck, and please let us know how it goes.
-CK
A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects.
-Robert A. Heinlein