On Tue, 28 Jun 2011 16:17:27 +0100, Mike Lyle
wrote:

On Tue, 28 Jun 2011 13:04:26 +0100, Sacha wrote:

On 2011-06-28 12:56:59 +0100, Chris Hogg said:

On Mon, 27 Jun 2011 19:23:59 +0100, "Kate Morgan"
wrote:

Can anyone one recommend where I can get a complete and thorough soil
analysis done, it is for use on a bit of land that was an orchard in the
past but is now needed for animals.

kate

Googling for soil analysis brings up lots of ads down the right hand
side. Probably give you some ideas on prices, elements and timing.

It also occurs to me that Kate's local branch of the NFU might be able
to help with advice on testing and reliable people etc.

Kate, it strikes me that you should probably make your vet the first
port of call: whether or not there's anything serious going on, he or
she will know what to do next. There may be insurance implications,
too: they're famous for finding reasons to invalidate one's cover.

A friend who keeps horses encountered a problem last year and early
this year and her vet has said the culprit is himalayan balsam, which
is now rife in this area. She cordoned off an area of her field and
invited friends to a "himalayan balsam picking party" with free food
and booze. So we carefully cleared the area of hb and the horses have
been let loose in that area and are fine. She rechecks the area a few
times a week and removes any new plantlets she finds.

The remainder of the field is being sprayed with glyphosate regularly
to kill all the growth of anything with the intention of reseeding
with grass in the autumn. Trouble is that the hb growing all round the
area will also reseed itself so she's fighting a losing battle.

I was not aware that hb was toxic at all, though.