At our allotment site we have a five rod, long vacant plot, just inside the gate which I have persuaded the council is our carpark. As I am the de-facto doer of all things including the site mowing I have decided to turn this into a wildflower area.
It has been mown as a roughish lawn for the last three years and is now nettle-free, I started off by taking some cowslips (from my mothers garden) and planting them as trowel sized plugs.
What other stuff could I legitimately add to this area to take it towards being a meadow environment?
Sources of seed or plants appreciated.
Regards, Peter.
Wildflower meadow, best way to create please.
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peter
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Hi Peter,
Strange as it may seem it is harder to establish a wild flower area than you would think. I have a large area that cannot be used by tractors because of Badgers undermining the hillside. I hand rotavated the whole area and bought a collection from what was DTBrown Commercial (now part of Moles Seeds) and although they were perennial the first year was wonderful but they failed to regenerate in any meaningful number and after several years there is no sign of any of them. The whole idea of the collection was that they should form a permenant display. Because of advancing years I have never repeated the process. D T B said although no fertilizer was used the ground was too fertile.
I thought at the time that the old Air Force saying 'Bullshit baffles Brains, was apt, but thinking about it they were probably correct.
The year before last I sowed patches of Linseed which seem to have regenerated and spread a little so perhaps I might sow patches of something else and acheive my goal by stealth. It's certainly not as easy as you would imagine.
Strange as it may seem it is harder to establish a wild flower area than you would think. I have a large area that cannot be used by tractors because of Badgers undermining the hillside. I hand rotavated the whole area and bought a collection from what was DTBrown Commercial (now part of Moles Seeds) and although they were perennial the first year was wonderful but they failed to regenerate in any meaningful number and after several years there is no sign of any of them. The whole idea of the collection was that they should form a permenant display. Because of advancing years I have never repeated the process. D T B said although no fertilizer was used the ground was too fertile.
I thought at the time that the old Air Force saying 'Bullshit baffles Brains, was apt, but thinking about it they were probably correct.
The year before last I sowed patches of Linseed which seem to have regenerated and spread a little so perhaps I might sow patches of something else and acheive my goal by stealth. It's certainly not as easy as you would imagine.
JB.
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oldherbaceous
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Hello Peter, glad someone else does all the mowing on there allotments as well.
I also had a failure with trying to establish a wild meadow area. As Johnboy pointed out fertility plays a big part, the soil must be in a low fertile state, but if it has been under grass for a long time it should not be to high.
The other big factor is the type of grass you have, if it is very coarse fast growing the plants get smothered before they get established, and you will lose all the plants.
As for introducing the plants the best way is to buy a seed mixture and sow in plug trays, when growing well you can plant them out. You can buy mixtures of just wildflower seed with out any grass seed in it.
The other way of doing it, is to spray some areas off
with weedkiller, prepare the soil and sow the seed directly in the soil.
The other issue is when and how to mow,but you can cross that bridge when you get that far.
Hope you do suceed as it would be a pleasure to look at.
Kind regards Old Herbaceous.
Theres no fool like an old fool.
I also had a failure with trying to establish a wild meadow area. As Johnboy pointed out fertility plays a big part, the soil must be in a low fertile state, but if it has been under grass for a long time it should not be to high.
The other big factor is the type of grass you have, if it is very coarse fast growing the plants get smothered before they get established, and you will lose all the plants.
As for introducing the plants the best way is to buy a seed mixture and sow in plug trays, when growing well you can plant them out. You can buy mixtures of just wildflower seed with out any grass seed in it.
The other way of doing it, is to spray some areas off
with weedkiller, prepare the soil and sow the seed directly in the soil.
The other issue is when and how to mow,but you can cross that bridge when you get that far.
Hope you do suceed as it would be a pleasure to look at.
Kind regards Old Herbaceous.
Theres no fool like an old fool.
Hi Peter,when you mow the patch be sure to take the clippings off to try and bring the fertility down.You should be able to buy seeds to match your soil type but get them up to plug size before planting.Poppies and cornflowers will only grow in turned soil not it grass I'm afraid so you could always turn a small part over to sow some.I have a patch of garden that I'm letting go wild and I've just let it do it's own thing with only a couple of late summer strims and wild plants are starting to out compete the grass.
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Jenny Green
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I agree you're best off getting a mixture to suit your soil type and doing everything you can to reduce the fertility of the soil. Many books suggest taking the grass off completely and sowing on the bare ground beneath. You can get mixtures that include the fine grasses too, but if the soil's in good heart the area will return to rough grass in a few years.
I have a wildflower area at the bottom of my garden that's just holding its own, but has a lot of tough grass too and requires more care and attention than a 'wild' area should.
I have a wildflower area at the bottom of my garden that's just holding its own, but has a lot of tough grass too and requires more care and attention than a 'wild' area should.
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Mr Potato Head
A local farmer rents one of our fields (something to do with leaving it fallow for EU land quotas) and we asked him to sow wild flower seed.
All we have now is a field full of 'fat hen' (sorry don't know the proper name)
A friend said that it's because we hadn't had it mowed frequently enough... his recommendation was that a meadow needed to be scythed or grazed by sheep, three times a year... power mowers being to destructive or something...
(I think you're probably beginning to see the limits of my knowledge now - it's a bit embarrassing!)
We're going for the sheep option, so will let you know how that gets on!
All we have now is a field full of 'fat hen' (sorry don't know the proper name)
A friend said that it's because we hadn't had it mowed frequently enough... his recommendation was that a meadow needed to be scythed or grazed by sheep, three times a year... power mowers being to destructive or something...
(I think you're probably beginning to see the limits of my knowledge now - it's a bit embarrassing!)
We're going for the sheep option, so will let you know how that gets on!
Hi Peter
Check these out www.nwc.org.uk
They're based near to me and are brilliant. They do loads of info and also supply the seed that is best suited to your site.
Good luck
Check these out www.nwc.org.uk
They're based near to me and are brilliant. They do loads of info and also supply the seed that is best suited to your site.
Good luck
Lots of love
Lizzie
Lizzie
Mr Potato Head,
Once you have Fat Hen (Chenopodium album)at that concentration it will take more than you sything it down to get rid of it. That way all you will do is even have more Fat Hen to contend with next year. Fat Hen is exceedingly difficlt to get rid of especially if you allow it to seed. It probably is not in seed yet and maybe Sheep will eat it off but I have grave doubts about that also.
I would contact the farmer you have leased it to and ask what HE intends about it. Do not give him any quarter just tell him that it is incumbent aupon him to clear it up.
Do not rush into Sheep as there is a lot more to keeping Sheep than you would imagine.
Once you have Fat Hen (Chenopodium album)at that concentration it will take more than you sything it down to get rid of it. That way all you will do is even have more Fat Hen to contend with next year. Fat Hen is exceedingly difficlt to get rid of especially if you allow it to seed. It probably is not in seed yet and maybe Sheep will eat it off but I have grave doubts about that also.
I would contact the farmer you have leased it to and ask what HE intends about it. Do not give him any quarter just tell him that it is incumbent aupon him to clear it up.
Do not rush into Sheep as there is a lot more to keeping Sheep than you would imagine.
JB.
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sandersj89
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Johnboy wrote:Mr Potato Head,
Do not rush into Sheep as there is a lot more to keeping Sheep than you would imagine.
Amen to that.....though I do have fond memories of lambing 800 ewes with my father and one other helper in 3 weeks one December back in the 90's.
But sheep have one over riding aim, to find a new way to die!
Jerry
Farmers son looking to get back to the land full time one day.....
Holiday in Devon? Come stay with us: http://www.crablakefarm.co.uk/
Holiday in Devon? Come stay with us: http://www.crablakefarm.co.uk/
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Mr Potato Head
Believe it or not, there's a local farmer that 'hires' his sheep out to clear fields... they seem mostly to enjoy eating sprout stumps... 