Been reading about spraying paddocks with sugar water or watered down molasses. It is supposed to create soil conditions that are not conducive to broadleave weeds so they die out. Has anyone had any experience with this? the good the bad & the ugly. Also does anyone know what this would do to my dung beetles? Wouldn't want to do anything to harm those beasties.
If you have any ant colonies they will undergo a bloom if sugar water is sprayed on the soil. IF you want to use a soil treatment to discourage the broadleaf "weeds" I would think that making mineral amendments would be the way to go. Broad leaf weeds are indicators of calcium defect as well as manganese, iron, and probably iodine. If you get your soil more balanced, then you will see the broadleaf weedy plants go away, they won't be needed to draw up those minerals to replenish the surface minerals. the best thing to start with is gypsum ( use ground up left over dry wall found as scraps from some friends that are still in construction). If you see a new building going up, stop by and ask if you can gather up and take away the scraps of drywall boards. Some good sea salt will provide the other minerals as long as it hasn't been "purified". sea salt can be mixed with water and sprayed on or it can simply be sprinkled over the surface. I use about 1 lb. per quarter acre. The great thing about using this sort of product is that you don't do it every year, I did two applications (1 per year) for two years and have gone 3 without needing another application.
do you mean refined sugar instead of molasses? my $ would go towards seeds and establishing native grasses/plants. they will supply plenty of sugars manufactured from the sun's energy. if you have to do localized patches of amending to get a plant established that's ok, then you let it spread via seeds (make sure you are not grazing or mowing when it is not a good time). if you have a heavy grazing animal you may need to fence off areas until they are well established and can spread seeds. it might also be a good spot to poke a few native trees in for windbreak, shade and/or later fodder or organic materials. if trace minerals are needed to support animals i'd provide those through supplemental feed and then let the animals spread them around for you.