Herbal leys are a mixture of herbs, grasses and legumes that create a strong diversity of opportunity both above and below ground. Nectar and pollen-rich flowers offer a wonderful food source for pollinating insects whilst the variety of plants create habitat and refuge for invertebrates and small mammals. Below ground, the diverse mix opens up the soil with a variety of different rooting structures and begins to disrupt the physical nature of the soil, the fixing of nitrogen, its biology and ultimately, it’s chemistry. In a regenerative system, herbal leys offer grazing herbivores a superior healthy nutritional forage with plenty of medicinal benefits:
Self-Medication: Bioactive plants like Chicory and Sainfoin act as natural anthelmintics (wormers).
Mineral Mining: Deep-tap rooted herbs such as Plantain and Sheep’s Parsley and Burnet pull essential trace elements – Zinc, Copper, and Selenium – from deep in the subsoil, delivering them directly to the animal in a highly bioavailable form.
Bloat Prevention & Protein Efficiency: Tannin-rich legumes prevent the risk of frothy bloat and protect dietary proteins during digestion, leading to improved daily liveweight gains and overall metabolic health.
Herbal leys not only deliver on soil fertility and increasing topsoil but also improve soil structure, which means more water can get into the soil and prevent run off. Once established herbal leys are productive even with low rainfall.
For more information on herbal leys visit:
Cotswold Seeds – Knowledge Hub
- Herbal Leys Guide Website10.jpg (cotswoldseeds.com)
- Create and maintain herbal leys – Farming (blog.gov.uk)
- Herbal leys | Soil Association
