what to plant??

hey folks, have a small place that gets next to no direct sunlight. Result is most always moist to wet with nettle and a some type of sour grass that the horses won't eat.... I mowed it to knock down the nettle and raked everything up/hauled it off (horses will eat nettle and it's good for them after it has layed a day or so to dry). Just wondering if t makes to seed it with anything.... Prolly a real ignorant ??? to you folks, but if it was sedded with wheat or barley... 1) would it grow and overpower the nettle and junk grass? 2) would it continue to come back after just being mowed (think I know that answer)?
Less than 1/4 acre and prep doesn't seem to take much more than running over it with the rotary hay rake...

Thanks, Dave

If you plant a perennial or thick seasonal annual and also mow then you will get rid of the nettle, it only competes well on disturbed and non-mowed sites. Keep wheat and rye away from horses, it has a ergot associated with it that can be lethal to horses. Maybe plant oats but a fall planted perennial would be better in the long run, something shade tolerant and likes wet ground. You are too far away for a recommendation but I think most our hay and pasture species came from over there.

What would you plant with those conditions in your area? I'll translate from there and see what is available....

Reed canary grass, Italian ryegrass, annual ryegrass, perennial ryegrass, timothy, birdsfoot trefoil, ladino clover. Also, horses are pretty tough on pasture so after planting you would really need to control hoof traffic otherwise it can easily convert back to bare ground and annuals.

Would be no horses on it. Just want to get rid of the nettle and soak up some moisture. Would mow pick up loose as either fresh or hay. Have a pasture mix seed on hand just don't know about the shade tolerance

18% Perennial ryegrass early
20% Red fescue
5% Red clover
1% white clover
30% meadow fescue
1% Sweden Clover
5% Kentucky Bluegrass
20% Timothy


Think this is OK??? And is this a good time to plant?

Thanks, Dave

i agree with the others on wheat,if it gets mold and stuff like its prone to do it wont be good for any thing.too wet for alfalfa and stuff probably also.if it were mine i would either let it go back to nature for the wildlife or try to open the canopy up some to get more sun,maybe run a subsoiler with a mole ball through it. if you could open it up it might make a good place for a small orchard using dwarf trees if you have it fenced off from livestock already. i cant help you much ,ive never had too MUCH moisture!LOL

(quoted from post at 08:02:45 09/20/11) i agree with the others on wheat,if it gets mold and stuff like its prone to do it wont be good for any thing.too wet for alfalfa and stuff probably also.if it were mine i would either let it go back to nature for the wildlife or try to open the canopy up some to get more sun,maybe run a subsoiler with a mole ball through it. if you could open it up it might make a good place for a small orchard using dwarf trees if you have it fenced off from livestock already. i cant help you much ,ive never had too MUCH moisture!LOL

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Not my property, just in with a piece that I have rented and my insurance covers it. Can't keep folks off of it because they cut the nettle and either make fertilizer for tomatoes or make salad /cook it like spinach depending on the season. Last thing I need is someone slipping and twisting an ankle or worse....

Wet and little direct sun? Forget the grains, won"t have enough sun. Try turnips or beets- the European "mangol?" variety of cousin to sugar beet- The seeds will germinate in cool, wet soil better than grains or grass seed and the tops will crowd nettles while providing a forage crop in a part shade growing area. Kale may be another possible cover crop- again grows in less than full sun and can be harvested as forage chop or simple scythe/sickle cut for rabbit or human food. 1/4 acre is small enough for hand work, especially as you note forager/gleaners are in neighborhood. You could let growth get knee high and make a pass through with chopper for pig or chicken feed- or take a pair of horses with 50 foot ropes on halter and let them nibble couple hours twice a week to trim circles. Might consider a bit of moldboard plowing to make Irish/Dutch planting beds about a meter wide with 1/2 meter shallow ditch between beds- old 20hp Ford 9N could do that with the 2-12 plows and was done in New Jersey moist grounds for commercial garden beds growing lots of grrens for market. Dutch, Italian and Prussian farmers do same thing on low, moist grounds. Hugelkulture beds should be known in your area of Bavaria- the plow technique is just a quick way to get similar mounds to plant instead of hand spading. RN

A pasture mix is a good bet because the opportunistic species in the mix for that situation will grow. I think a couple of those species should work.

I have had good luck with Rye grass in shaded/wet places. It seems to do the best for me in those type areas. Really about any type of grass should do fine there. Seed it thick and it should smother out the neetles.