How grass root systems work.

Have you ever wondered whats happening under the soil when grazing your paddocks?

The paddock starts with long lush grass, underneath the ground the roots are strong and long just like the grass above.

When it’s time to graze the horses through, they eat down the long grass and then we move them to a new paddock for the grass to grow back.

But what happens under the ground?

We watch whats above, but do we really know what goes on down below?

The horses graze the grass/leaf of the plant & The plant starts regrowing.

However, when the horses graze they remove the leaf of the grass & the plants struggle to photosynthesise properly.

The grass will then use stored carbohydrates from the roots and crown.

Note: the crown of a grass plant is the crucial, condensed base located at or just below the soil surface. It acts as the "brain" and heart of the plant, connecting the root system below to the shoots above. ➡️ we can dive into that deeper another day! Super interesting 🙌🏼

Back to where we were before,

The roots… Roots may temporarily stop growing or even shrink while energy is redirected upward.

Eventually, new leaves start to appear. Usually you can see some good leaves starting to shoot up as you look across the field.

Photosynthesis increases, Energy production improves (the plant puts the sugar into growing the plant) & roots start to grow, rebuilding the roots.

This is usually when a lot of people tend to re graze, high sugar content cause it hasn’t been put to work into growing the plant yet. The leafs above the ground are starting to get long but the roots have only just started their recovery process. Grazing again at this stage weakens the plant further & the roots die off even further.

Depending on the season, Ideally 5-6 weeks, the grass will be fully grown. About 15-20cm. It will be higher fibre & less sugar content. Perfect for fully happy bellies & sensible sane horses.

As for the plant,

It’s root reserves are healthy and ready to feed another regrowth of the plant, the plant is Thickening up & Producing extra shoots (tillers), making it ready for another grazing.

As you graze down the grass, try to imagine the roots dye off to give nutrients to the plant in order to stay alive as it grows. Continually grazing down the same area without proper recovery time is how your grass dies over time, becomes stressed and higher in sugar as well as thinner grass areas, more dirt patches appearing and uneven growth throughout the paddock. Plus, weeds start to take over!

Tip *

If only the top 1/3 of the grass is grazed, it usually recovers well.

Tip *

Regular fertiliser helps speed up the growth & recovery process if resting for your property can be limited.

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