Helpful weeds/plants

Prjsmk

Well-Known Member
Dec 1, 2017
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So this year i want to take some of the field bits and bobs my cob eats through the spring/summer to try dry out/store for winter.

his favourites are hawthorn... Leaves, berries and flowers!
i took berries last year and just left them in a tub, they ended up looking a tad mouldy, wasnt sure if that was normal so binned them... Soooooo can i dry out the leaves to add to feeds? And the berries do i dry them out? Freeze them?

also loves thistle... Can i dry this out? Does it have the same effect? Ans can he eat the purple bit too?

and nettles, but i already know i can dry them out to add to feed :)

any other good paddock items i can snip and save store for winter?

Before anyone says can buy most of it... I know, but budget cuts! They are free from the field (im skint not tight)
 
I'm not sure, I know ours uses to love fresh thistles lol and hawthorns - we don't have those here. I'm sure someoneon here will know:)
 
I imagine you can dry most things if you have somewhere warm, dark and dry such as an airing cupboard, I e a bucketful of rose hips I did last autumn so am guessing hawthorn berries would work too.
If you are lucky enough to have an aga the drying world is your oyster.
I did see a really good home made dryer somewhere, I think it was on a Jamie Oliver cooking programme, that was made from an old cupboard and some recycled coke cans that might be worth a goggle.
 
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I have a dehydrator which I got from amazon for not too much money, it makes drying things for me and the horses a cinch :) pretty much anything planty can be dried and fed later. Rosehip are my guys favourites
 
Dandelions, both leaves and roots, and cleavers/stickyweed are both brilliant winter top ups and they dry very well. You already know that nettles are fantastic.

Thistle flowers are a real treat and they will also dry.

Don't forget rosehips. Not all horses like them but they are packed with vitamins, very good for hooves, and dry well. If your horse struggles with whole dried rosehips you can chop them before drying.
 
@Jane&Ziggy i always thought the sticky weed was poisnous for them, i soent days last year clearing it from his paddock! Haha :(

making a jote of all these thankyou :)
 
Havent seen rose hips in/around my field actually, will have to source some
 
So does Belle, we had a bumper harvest last year and then the farmer came along and chopped the hedgerow down to half its size.

Aw that's a shame you won't have as many. We are so lucky because they seem to thrive here and we have them running most of the length of the garden. My neighbours can share too with their shetties:D
 
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My cobs fave seems to be the hawthorn, once the flowers or berries are there hes always got his head in a tree and narely bothers with the grass and of course like to snatch gob fulls out on a hack! Fat head
 
My old girls loved hawthorn. They used to sometimes devour alarmingly large twigs of it:eek:
We don't have any here tho which is a shame. Must not be suited to an island as exposed yet where we came from was pretty wet and wild.
 
My old girls loved hawthorn. They used to sometimes devour alarmingly large twigs of it:eek:
We don't have any here tho which is a shame. Must not be suited to an island as exposed yet where we came from was pretty wet and wild.
Might be worth asking someone in the know, you might be able to plant one for them to enjoy :)

I had a bonus find last night, I am finally down to the last 1/8 acre of my main field that hasn't been grazed since I got there (having a 2nd little mouth has really sped up how much grass they get though as I put the boys on the long stuff ahead of Jess) and found that its infested with sticky weed :D at the last yard I only had 1 tiny patch and had to go out hunting for it :D
 
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My old girls loved hawthorn. They used to sometimes devour alarmingly large twigs of it:eek:
We don't have any here tho which is a shame. Must not be suited to an island as exposed yet where we came from was pretty wet and wild.

You should be able to grow it up there Trewsers, it's pretty tough, maybe you could buy one or two to plant up for them to nibble on when they are established or course.
 
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You should be able to grow it up there Trewsers, it's pretty tough, maybe you could buy one or two to plant up for them to nibble on when they are established or course.

It is tough, where we came from it grew gnarled and bent to the wind but it survived and we made good use of it as a wind break in places. I was surprised there wasn't any here. Do you think it might be something to do with soil conditions? Or soil content?
 
It is tough, where we came from it grew gnarled and bent to the wind but it survived and we made good use of it as a wind break in places. I was surprised there wasn't any here. Do you think it might be something to do with soil conditions? Or soil content?
It could maybe your costal location, @Jane&Ziggy would be the one to ask :)
 
It is tough, where we came from it grew gnarled and bent to the wind but it survived and we made good use of it as a wind break in places. I was surprised there wasn't any here. Do you think it might be something to do with soil conditions? Or soil content?
Hmm no idea to be honest, wouldn’t have thought so, I know it will grow in coastal locations and is salt tolerant though. What type of soil do you have?
 
Hmm no idea to be honest, wouldn’t have thought so, I know it will grow in coastal locations and is salt tolerant though. What type of soil do you have?

I don't really know the technical side of the soil here, it looks pretty much same as old house garden. Not particularly sandy as such. Hmm..
 
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