Category: Monitoring

10/10/26

This fall, there are more bare patches than usual on our pasture. Some of them are covered with algae. Apparently, the surface of these patches has hardened to the point that no seeds can germinate there. These patches may form on old molehills or in areas where the grass cover isn’t dense enough. Rain falling directly onto the ground can „break up“ small soil aggregates, allowing the fine particles to penetrate the soil pores. Furthermore, algae and other microorganisms find favorable growing conditions on exposed soil surfaces when the animals graze the grass down low and fertilize the area with their droppings. In addition, there has been plenty of sunshine this year, which has dried out and hardened these areas covered only by a crust.

In other areas, the grass has died, but the ground is still covered. In September, I pulled up the grass in a few spots (it came out very easily) and found the larvae of the garden foliage beetle near the roots.

In May, the beetles had swarmed over our pasture and were also found in large numbers in the animals’ water troughs. At that time, I had already tried to identify the beetle using the internet and concluded it was the garden foliage beetle. Given the large number of beetles, I had already feared damage to the grass. Now, in October, the larvae appear to have migrated to deeper layers of soil. Fortunately, the damaged areas aren’t as extensive as the sheer number of beetles would have suggested.

We are currently considering the best way to fill in the gaps in the pasture. In the spring, we could break up the crusts with a weed harrow and level the molehills at the same time. This would certainly also break up the dead grass cover, providing better conditions for the seeds to germinate.

Liming the soil could help reduce algae growth relative to that of grasses, since algae have a competitive advantage over grasses in an acidic environment. We had already begun liming because our soil sample (just one sample) showed a pH of 4.6. This value is significantly below the recommended levels. Liming is also intended to improve the soil’s crumb structure, and grasses can absorb nutrients more effectively at a higher pH level.

With regard to the beetles, it is recommended to avoid overgrazing the areas, especially in May and June. When the grass grows taller, the female beetles have a harder time laying their eggs.

In general, we try to promote soil life by adding organic matter. This should improve soil structure over the long term, make the soil looser, and provide better growing conditions for our pasture plants.

For this reason, we began producing what is known as Johnson-Su compost last year, which is particularly rich in microorganisms. We had actually planned to spread a filtrate made from this compost over the entire pasture this year. Unfortunately, we didn't have enough time to do so.

So two weeks ago, I decided on the spot to use a wheelbarrow and shovel to spread the contents of our first Johnson-Su compost bin, focusing mainly on the bare spots in the pasture.

29/9/26

The flowers in the tree circles—which I wrote about sowing in my post from May 13—have taken root well. However, it’s difficult to determine which method was most successful. For one thing, there was a gap of over a month between sowing in the first and the last tree circle. As a result, most of the flowers in the first two tree circles had already finished blooming. Furthermore, it became apparent that the presence of certain plants (particularly noticeable with tansy, but also with the field thistle) suppressed the establishment of other flowers. Overall, the flower mix certainly increased biodiversity, but it wasn’t really representative of the types of flowers that are meant to enrich a pasture. Especially now as fall approaches, the cosmos have taken over—these are ornamental plants in our region and originate from the New World. They’re still lovely to look at, though.

Most of the flowers can be seen in the smallest tree circle I worked on right at the end of May. Here, the soil was dug up to a depth of two spades along the edge before the flower mix was sown. In the center, I also raked the tilled area to remove a large portion of the existing vegetation.

In one tree circle, I had dug up one section to a depth of two and another to a depth of one spade. Even though a direct comparison is possible here, there’s hardly any difference to be seen. In the section dug up to a depth of one spade, there’s a bit more grass and sorrel.

one spade deep on the left—two spades deep on the right

It seems that in the areas where I simply turned over the sod, thistles and other „weeds“ tend to grow a bit more frequently right among the planted flowers. Next year, I’ll be able to observe in which area the annual flowers are best able to self-seed and whether they can hold their own, at least to some extent, against the „weeds“ typical of that location.

Thistles, stinging nettles, and mugwort are spreading among the planted crops

When sowing the seeds, in some of the tilled areas I lightly raked the seeds into the soil and then scattered a few more on top, while in others I simply scattered the seeds and covered them with a little soil. I can't tell the difference between the two methods.

12/2/26

While the world outside is covered in snow, we are trying to set up a monitoring system. We want to be able to better track what is changing as a result of grazing based on holistic management principles. Unfortunately, in recent years we haven't paid attention to making sure the photos we took are comparable.

In October 2020, we found our farm and took a few pictures even before buying it.
The large field had been lying fallow for some time and was becoming overgrown.

In 2021, we had a farmer mow the field once. After that, we mowed the grass one to two times a year with our newly purchased flail mower. In addition, grazing of our land started in July 2021, initially with three sheep. Meanwhile, we have 27 animals in the herd (21 sheep and 6 goats) and, separately, three rams that are taking their final journey this weekend.

With some goodwill, one can see that the grass cover has become slightly denser from 2022 to 2025. When enlarging the image from 2025, the coverage of the ground with clover between the grasses is visible.

2020	2022	2025