Drained peat?

rodders

Well-Known Member
Had a field that half of it is on peat, used to be really wet until I drained it and reseeded last year, grass came really well on the peat side of it and grew quickly but this year it’s really struggling and allot of weeds coming through it, the upper half which is on clay is doing very well apart from some buttercup, I think the peat is draining so quick that it’s just washing the nutrients right out. Is there anyway to stop this? Or am I going to have to partially block the drains? 😮
 
Had a field that half of it is on peat, used to be really wet until I drained it and reseeded last year, grass came really well on the peat side of it and grew quickly but this year it’s really struggling and allot of weeds coming through it, the upper half which is on clay is doing very well apart from some buttercup, I think the peat is draining so quick that it’s just washing the nutrients right out. Is there anyway to stop this? Or am I going to have to partially block the drains? 😮
Reseeded peat ground is always really hungry because it is porous and loses nutrients faster than clay soil. Feed it and it will reward you with a good crop. Did you soil sample?

Also be careful with lime. Peat needs very little.

Our peat ground is quite productive. It has to be managed well though. On upland even if your indexes aren't perfect you'll still grow some grass but on the peat soil you'll have to be having those indexes spot on every year for to have it growing anything and keeping the weeds out. What we find is that it takes slurry very well and gives a good return from it. Top it up with nitrogen from can or urea and it will grow lots.
 
Reseeded peat ground is always really hungry because it is porous and loses nutrients faster than clay soil. Feed it and it will reward you with a good crop. Did you soil sample?

Also be careful with lime. Peat needs very little.

Our peat ground is quite productive. It has to be managed well though. On upland even if your indexes aren't perfect you'll still grow some grass but on the peat soil you'll have to be having those indexes spot on every year for to have it growing anything and keeping the weeds out. What we find is that it takes slurry very well and gives a good return from it. Top it up with nitrogen from can or urea and it will grow lots.
Is there any test to measure the amount of nitrogen to put on the same way there is for P, K and Lime
 
Is there any test to measure the amount of nitrogen to put on the same way there is for P, K and Lime
You'll put nitrogen on based on what you are growing. We'd normally put on 60 to 70 units on top of slurry for meadows. With grazing we'd be putting on a bag of can to the acre 2 or 3 times a year. Peat ground has to be managed well for grazing for a few years after reseeding because it will poach very easily until it forms a drier skin on top
 
Had a field that half of it is on peat, used to be really wet until I drained it and reseeded last year, grass came really well on the peat side of it and grew quickly but this year it’s really struggling and allot of weeds coming through it, the upper half which is on clay is doing very well apart from some buttercup, I think the peat is draining so quick that it’s just washing the nutrients right out. Is there anyway to stop this? Or am I going to have to partially block the drains? 😮
Pretty much as Mucky said above, with mineral soils, you put most of the P out around this time of year to push growth and give it time to bind to the soil before winter, K should go on late in the year if going in bulk so it won't cause problems with tetany and high K silages.
On peaty soils, you have to feed it as you go, a little and often, because of its poor ability to build up reserves to feed the plant.

Saying that, a neighbour would put out a nice bit of FYM on his peaty ground because he says it is easier kept available for the plant and not washed out as easy.
 
On peaty soils, you have to feed it as you go, a little and often, because of its poor ability to build up reserves to feed the plant.
That's it exactly. Peat ground can look yellow and leached at this time of year - especially when growth has been so poor.
We have old peat pasture here that was not seeded in 35 years and it is some of the driest and most productive ground around. My parents grew acres of vegetables and strawberries for selling locally on it in the mid 70's and early 80's and it was very productive ground.
 
I've some peaty ground here and I've consistently found 18:6:12 to be by far the best fertiliser to use on it. CAN never gives a proper return I've found on that kind of land. Fym is fantastic stuff on that land.
 
Back
Top