Lower Blackwood LCDC | Brett Hazelden | Activity

Brett Hazelden replied to the discussion A bit of biomass to chew through. in the forum Perennial & Biodiverse Pastures

Tue, 07 Oct 2025 03:24:30 +0800

Reply to A bit of biomass to chew through.

Hey Kate

agree we should be looking to fence down some of the alley ways and we have recently got some kiwitech mobile electric fencing. So on the list to try out.

I was going through there today and I think there is enough in one of the paddocks for another month at least. I’ve got 7 paddocks though.

plus it’s growing more each day.

all we…

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Brett Hazelden started the discussion A bit of biomass to chew through. in the forum Perennial & Biodiverse Pastures

Tue, 07 Oct 2025 03:07:16 +0800

A bit of biomass to chew through.

So we shut down the south side of the farm this year and planted a Multispecies mix with the plans to let it go to seed.

After a visit to Nevs place with the LBLCDC we decided to send some ewes in to see what happens to the fields based on with a late graze and without.

the graze is allowing the chicory, plantain, clovers and grass to grow (and…

Brett Hazelden replied to the discussion Current multispecies Mix progress in the forum Perennial & Biodiverse Pastures

Tue, 19 Aug 2025 10:33:51 +0800

Reply to Current multispecies Mix progress

Hey Kate,

Here is this years mix plus some Barley in there too which I had left over from last year.

Brett Hazelden started the discussion Current multispecies Mix progress in the forum Perennial & Biodiverse Pastures

Thu, 14 Aug 2025 12:01:22 +0800

Current multispecies Mix progress

Thought I would share some progress photos of our multispecies mix that was seeded at the start of May after being sprayed out.

This year we have decided to not graze the 35ha area (half the farm) so we can grow some deep roots and then let it go to seed to start a new seed bank in the soil.

We had to dig a 1m test pit today for a different…

Brett Hazelden posted an update: Carrots 🥕 here is a crazy idea but has anyone fed […]

Fri, 17 Jan 2025 02:11:27 +0800

Carrots 🥕

here is a crazy idea but has anyone fed sheep, cows and pigs carrots ? If so how did the animals perform?

I have had a chat with a guy that can deliver 23 tonne of seconds carrots to my farm all inclusive of delivery and the carrots for $3k.

that’s alot of carrots and doubt I could use them all before they went off, but maybe others…

Brett Hazelden replied to the discussion Red Legged Earth Mite in the forum Perennial & Biodiverse Pastures

Wed, 12 Jun 2024 10:58:01 +0800

Reply to Red Legged Earth Mite

Everything should dissolve with the exception of the JS mix. So it can go out through the the boom spray but you see a lot of people put it through a 100 micron filter from a dissolving tank.

part of the reason I bought the T&F as it uses a trash pump, that helps mix and dissolve with no filters and a 3mm spray orifice. Removes the majority…

Brett Hazelden replied to the discussion Red Legged Earth Mite in the forum Perennial & Biodiverse Pastures

Wed, 12 Jun 2024 03:13:35 +0800

Reply to Red Legged Earth Mite

This is the Tow and Fert spraying out at Kate and Lloyds farm. Gets about a 8-10m width.

Brett Hazelden replied to the discussion Red Legged Earth Mite in the forum Perennial & Biodiverse Pastures

Wed, 12 Jun 2024 02:24:42 +0800

Reply to Red Legged Earth Mite

Hello All

Touch wood I’ve had no red legs (yet!!)

About 3-4 weeks after seeding (30 April) I put out the following mix

Per 500 litre tank load = covers 2-3ha with the Tow and Fert

Fish Hydrolysate 35 litres (brewed on farm)

JS mix 8kg (made on farm and ~8 months old)

Seaweed solid extract 850g (Soil Dynamics)

Fulvic Acid Powder 1.5kg…

Brett Hazelden replied to the discussion Red Legged Earth Mite in the forum Perennial & Biodiverse Pastures

Wed, 12 Jun 2024 02:02:24 +0800

Reply to Red Legged Earth Mite

At a guess I would go say 5 litres/ ha of each

It was in a John Kempf book that I don’t have on me currently

Brett Hazelden replied to the discussion Red Legged Earth Mite in the forum Perennial & Biodiverse Pastures

Wed, 12 Jun 2024 00:24:36 +0800

Reply to Red Legged Earth Mite

I haven’t tried this but apparently a mix of milk and molasses diluted in water and sprayed out over the area might do the trick.

Brett Hazelden replied to the discussion When to start grazing the green? in the forum Grazing Management

Wed, 29 May 2024 08:58:33 +0800

Reply to When to start grazing the green?

Hey Kate.

We run out of hay and silage next week, so we will be onto the new pastures 5 weeks post seeding instead of my preferred 6 weeks. We also have a mix of pastures with some already at 2500kg/ha and looking good, but others only at around 1500kg/ha. Our various brassicas, radish, mustards, vetch, clover etc aren’t going to like the…

Brett Hazelden posted a new activity comment

Sun, 28 Apr 2024 05:00:38 +0800

We have just seed coated today and will seed half of the farm on Monday and Tuesday and then another third of the farm in four weeks time.

May average rainfall is 132mm and lowest on record is 50mm. So we are taking the punt that the rain will materialise along with cooler temperatures.

we also have lambs due to start dropping from mid to late…

In reply to - Mark Tupman posted an update

It’s proving to be a tricky season.

We could all do with some green feed.

Are we going to get enough rain in the South West this week to trigger germination? We’ll see, but quite […]

Brett Hazelden replied to the discussion Sourcing fishmeal for hydrolysate production in the forum Make Your Own Biological Inputs

Thu, 18 Apr 2024 12:56:22 +0800

Reply to Sourcing fishmeal for hydrolysate production

Hello

WA Bait in O’Connor do a seconds mullies trap bait. They are a whole soft fish so better than heads in terms of quality. They are mullies that have gone on the floor and may have metal in the mix so not good to go through a mincer. That said they break down well in a barrel of hydrolysate. They are between $2-3 /kg for 20kg boxes. 08 9314…

Brett Hazelden posted an update: Well I was doing some reading on the weekend over the […]

Tue, 05 Mar 2024 04:01:44 +0800

Well I was doing some reading on the weekend over the link between plant health and pests, which in summary said insects generally only eat unhealthy plants, leaving the strong ones to thrive.

Then I looked at my garden and saw two little grass hoppers nibbling away at some leaves that came off second best during the recent heatwaves. Notice…

Brett Hazelden replied to the discussion Where does everyone source their Fulvic acid and trace minerals? in the forum Make Your Own Biological Inputs

Tue, 20 Feb 2024 05:55:58 +0800

Reply to Where does everyone source their Fulvic acid and trace minerals?

I get the Fulvic and humic from Nutrien in Margs.

The trace elements and other nutrients I’ve been buying the Campbells brand from E E Muirs and Son Perth but the is a Manjimup store too.

https://www.campbellsfert.com.au/distribution/

campbellsfert.com.au

Distribution | Campbells Fertilisers Australia

Select a map marker to view more information.

Brett Hazelden replied to the discussion Moving Molasses! in the forum Make Your Own Biological Inputs

Thu, 15 Feb 2024 09:09:39 +0800

Reply to Moving Molasses!

Geoff- I have stuck with using the 20kg drums to make it a bit easier. All I could suggest is a hand drum pump. There are different versions for fuel, oil, chemicals etc. but the viscosity will be the key driver

Brett Hazelden posted an update in the group Perennial & Biodiverse Pastures: I'm looking to order this years seed for planting in […]

Tue, 09 Jan 2024 03:26:58 +0800

I’m looking to order this years seed for planting in April and thought I ‘d ask the group what people are looking to put in this year, and what has been successful or not worked?

I was looking at doing a custom mix again but the Bells Pollinator Mix in combination with the Premium Mix at a ratio of 1:2 looks like it might be a cheaper option.…

Brett Hazelden posted a new activity comment

Wed, 03 Jan 2024 00:05:33 +0800

Yes on the irrigated pasture across two different mornings. Gave them a water the next day and the same day as a trial.

In reply to - Brett Hazelden posted an update in the group Make Your Own Biological Inputs

Happy new year to all

We brought the farm a Xmas present this year being a Tow and Fert 500 litre foliar spray trailer. Has a […]

Brett Hazelden posted an update in the group Make Your Own Biological Inputs: Happy new year to allWe brought the farm a Xmas present […]

Tue, 02 Jan 2024 10:07:34 +0800

Happy new year to all

We brought the farm a Xmas present this year being a Tow and Fert 500 litre foliar spray trailer. Has a single spray nozzle that can handle up to 3mm particles with a 8-10m spray width.

It’s probably on the small side for us but will spray out the 500 litres across 2-3ha in about 20 minutes. I managed to get two loads out in…

Brett Hazelden posted an update in the group Perennial & Biodiverse Pastures: Next update on irrigation paddocks that were seeded on […]

Mon, 18 Dec 2023 07:01:21 +0800

Next update on irrigation paddocks that were seeded on 8 October with the Soilkee.

Best laid plans was to have the seed in at the start of October which should then have seen about 4 weeks of rain plus top up irrigation to get them established. Well last real rain was 3 October so has been irrigation only.

We have had a first graze but it’s all…

Brett Hazelden posted a new activity comment

Mon, 18 Dec 2023 06:28:59 +0800

A quick update – the fish bodies have all broken down with only the bones still around. Needs a stir every few weeks to help keep the process going which gets it bubbling again for a day or two. Smell wise it’s not sweet but it’s not like awful rotting fish either – just slightly unpleasant on the nose. Not to bad for 6 weeks of fermentation.

In reply to - Brett Hazelden posted an update in the group Make Your Own Biological Inputs

We have managed to source some cheaper seconds mulies for $2/kg – see photo. Much more cost effective!

So we have put 15 x 20kg […]

Brett Hazelden posted an update in the group Make Your Own Biological Inputs: A few progress photos on the Johnson Su mix. Has […]

Mon, 18 Dec 2023 06:20:49 +0800

A few progress photos on the Johnson Su mix.

Has definitely compressed as it breaks down given it was all the way to the top of the cage when we started it on the 8 October.

It gets a daily 2 minutes of water at 6pm each day using the auto retic sprinklers.

Have added some worms to it a few weeks ago too to help with the process

Brett Hazelden posted an update in the group Perennial & Biodiverse Pastures: Some follow up photos post the Soilkee seeding. No real […]

Sun, 05 Nov 2023 09:40:14 +0800

Some follow up photos post the Soilkee seeding.

No real rain post seeding 4 weeks ago so it has all been irrigation.

Competition is causing the expected challenges with some areas being hard to see any seed coming up at all. But other areas are relatively easy to see.

Jury’s still out on the benefit of the Soilkee. Spacing looks too wide to me,…

Brett Hazelden posted an update in the group Make Your Own Biological Inputs: We have managed to source some cheaper seconds mulies […]

Sun, 05 Nov 2023 09:12:43 +0800

We have managed to source some cheaper seconds mulies for $2/kg – see photo. Much more cost effective!

So we have put 15 x 20kg boxes into a 1,000 litre pod to make a fish hydrolysate plus water, molasses and the base culture.

The ones that were made on farm with David Hardwick used a minced up burley block of Mulies which have gone well and…

Brett Hazelden posted an update in the group Make Your Own Biological Inputs: A couple of photos of the humate and seaweed drums, plus […]

Mon, 16 Oct 2023 09:34:58 +0800

A couple of photos of the humate and seaweed drums, plus a patch that got a heavy spray whilst we adjusted the spray unit. You can see a solid brown stain on the grass from the extract mix. Maybe we will see super bacteria, fungi and microbes in this area 😬.

Should say if you have a fine screen in the spray unit it will block it up straight…

Brett Hazelden posted an update in the group Make Your Own Biological Inputs: Managed to do a Johnson Su extract and spray it out over […]

Mon, 16 Oct 2023 09:31:13 +0800

Managed to do a Johnson Su extract and spray it out over the weekend. Our extract method was to hose approximately 40kg through a screen so only the fine material was utilised <1mm at a guess. We then diluted this fine slurry material into about 900 litres of water and added in 20 litres of humate and 10 litres of seaweed (all I had left…

Brett Hazelden posted a new activity comment

Wed, 11 Oct 2023 03:10:41 +0800

It is called Pearler Hybrid Pennisetum. There was a bag going cheap in Perth so I thought my not add it into the mix. Might be a bit cold for it but let’s see.

In reply to - Brett Hazelden posted an update in the group Perennial & Biodiverse Pastures

Managed to get our 9.5ha of irrigation paddocks seeded this weekend using the Soilkee mulcher and seeder after coating the seed the […]

Brett Hazelden posted an update in the group Make Your Own Biological Inputs: Making the compost

Wed, 11 Oct 2023 02:04:30 +0800

Making the compost

Brett Hazelden posted an update in the group Make Your Own Biological Inputs: Busy weekend, besides the seeding got a Johnson Su […]

Wed, 11 Oct 2023 02:02:24 +0800

Busy weekend, besides the seeding got a Johnson Su Compost Bioreactor going – made out of a couple of IBC’s..

Brett Hazelden posted an update in the group Perennial & Biodiverse Pastures: Managed to get our 9.5ha of irrigation paddocks seeded […]

Wed, 11 Oct 2023 01:59:36 +0800

Managed to get our 9.5ha of irrigation paddocks seeded this weekend using the Soilkee mulcher and seeder after coating the seed the day before. Also added in some guano to the seed mix to see if it helps putting it down the same seeding slot.

We have not killed the existing pasture but rather cut it down with the mulcher to allow it to…

Brett Hazelden posted a new activity comment

Mon, 02 Oct 2023 10:56:12 +0800

A couple of tyres dragging behind might help cover up the seed?

Want to try it on an irrigation paddock ?

In reply to - Dean Campbell posted an update in the group Perennial & Biodiverse Pastures Our little Rotary Hoe Air Seeder

Brett Hazelden posted a new activity comment

Mon, 02 Oct 2023 10:52:24 +0800

The curd (solid white stuff on top) got separated from the whey (solution at the bottom) today.

A whole 20 litre buckets worth !!

The whey was combined with the molasses ready to sit there for the next 10 days before being ready to use.

Good luck to all those giving it a go.

In reply to - Lower Blackwood LCDC posted an update in the group Make Your Own Biological Inputs

Also host farmer Brett Hazelden has shared some video of the brews we put together a couple of days on.. definitely something […]

Brett Hazelden posted an update: Hopefully there are 8 photos this time.

Wed, 31 May 2023 09:07:50 +0800

Hopefully there are 8 photos this time.