Wildflower lawn.

[benedmonds]

1 hour ago, sandspider said:

I just dump the grass to the sides, marking the boundary of my meadow. Grass seems to be growing more slowly in the meadow, so I think it's working...

Getting it mowed twice a year is enough of a mission.. There are a small group of volunteers (mostly me) who manage it, and I don't have time or the machinery..    We planted it in half a meadow but don't manage the other half which is cut once a year for hay.  With hindsight we should have put the wild flowers in that side as the grass is not nearly as vigorous as in our orchard..

 

https://www.facebook.com/search/top/?q=sutton bonington community orchard

[Mesuno]

Our wildflower meadow really came on when we got some rattle established.  It seems like managing it properly is key to both getting new species to thrive like the rattle, and ensuring that everything reseeds each year.

We do one cut in summer, using brush cutter. Then we rake the cuttings into heaps and let it dry in the sun for a week or so. This seems to let a lot of seeds finish maturing, dry and fall. Then the cuttings are raked all the way off and removed. This both prevents the cuttings forming a thatch in the grass, and reduces soil fertility, which further favours the wild flowers.

Once it has all been scraped aside we do a couple of quite short cuts with the ride on mower, bringing the level down even lower. This was the stage when we spread the yellow rattle seeds - when they could fall down to the soil properly. Then into the autumn it is mowed periodically, and the clippings removed again.

As the years have passed we have seen more and more wildflower, and less grass - especially where the rattle is thick.

[sandspider]

That's basically what I did / am doing, though haven't had time to cut again. Hopefully the rattle will take off next year and the flowers will have more of a chance... Will cut it again later in summer, once I've got the tractor fixed.

 

Maybe I'll put some rattle plug plants in. Bit of a shame as I got the seed from a local meadow conservation organisation, so it should be a good local variety and contribute to a good cause. Not sure I'll be able to find plug plants with local provenance.

[wildflowerbill]

Don't worry they will be back I did the same thing to my old front lawn and even though the new owners turned it into a drive for parking, the wildflowers poke through somewhere every year.

 

Sandpiper, what soil type do you have in the orchard, sand, clay? Plus, I am guessing a lot of the orchard is in shade? Choosing the right wildflower mix for the conditions is the key. And weed management.

[wildflowerbill]

On 07/06/2018 at 20:56, Mesuno said:

Our wildflower meadow really came on when we got some rattle established.  It seems like managing it properly is key to both getting new species to thrive like the rattle, and ensuring that everything reseeds each year.

We do one cut in summer, using brush cutter. Then we rake the cuttings into heaps and let it dry in the sun for a week or so. This seems to let a lot of seeds finish maturing, dry and fall. Then the cuttings are raked all the way off and removed. This both prevents the cuttings forming a thatch in the grass, and reduces soil fertility, which further favours the wild flowers.

Once it has all been scraped aside we do a couple of quite short cuts with the ride on mower, bringing the level down even lower. This was the stage when we spread the yellow rattle seeds - when they could fall down to the soil properly. Then into the autumn it is mowed periodically, and the clippings removed again.

As the years have passed we have seen more and more wildflower, and less grass - especially where the rattle is thick.

Doing all the right things Mesuno, after the short cuts, run a  roller over it if you can, especially if sowing new seed to squash the seeds into the soil to get a higher germination percentage.

Edited June 14, 2018 by wildflowerbill

[sandspider]

27 minutes ago, wildflowerbill said:

 

 

Sandpiper, what soil type do you have in the orchard, sand, clay? Plus, I am guessing a lot of the orchard is in shade? Choosing the right wildflower mix for the conditions is the key. And weed management.

Paddock is fairly fertile clayey soil. Thick grasses. A bit of shade from the west, but it's south facing. No trees in the meadow, orchard is separate...

[Treerover]

This is all highly educational and very interesting as I’m also in the process of trying to establish a wild flower verge on the edges of my garden plot, and the local environmental group has ‘patch plots’ which thus far seem relatively unsuccessful .
Tell me, would I be best of just taking the soil back to absolute naked state by digging out the Keck and Docks, nettles etc and glyphosating over a season until it was devoid of all competition (save seasonal windborn seeds which could be hoed ) and then introducing my wildflower seed/grass mix?
Or is this slightly heavy handed.
I should point out that the rest of the garden is very pollinator/wildlife friendly as are the immediate areas in my potential Monsanto napalming defence !!!

[wildflowerbill]

19 minutes ago, sandspider said:

Paddock is fairly fertile clayey soil. Thick grasses. A bit of shade from the west, but it's south facing. No trees in the meadow, orchard is separate...

Then you need a clay soil wildflower mix, try and introduce any of these; spray out sections of  the thick grasses when spraying for weeds

 

%	Latin name	Common name
0.5	Achillea millefolium	Yarrow
2	Betonica officinalis - (Stachys officinalis)	Betony
3.5	Centaurea nigra	Common Knapweed
1	Filipendula ulmaria	Meadowsweet
2.5	Galium verum	Lady's Bedstraw
0.4	Lathyrus pratensis	Meadow Vetchling
0.5	Leucanthemum vulgare	Oxeye Daisy
0.5	Lotus corniculatus	Birdsfoot Trefoil
1	Plantago lanceolata	Ribwort Plantain
1	Primula veris	Cowslip
1	Prunella vulgaris	Selfheal
2	Ranunculus acris	Meadow Buttercup
2	Rhinanthus minor	Yellow Rattle
1.4	Rumex acetosa	Common Sorrel
0.4	Silaum silaus	Pepper Saxifrage
0.2	Silene flos-cuculi - (Lychnis flos-cuculi)	Ragged Robin
0.1	Trifolium pratense	Wild Red Clover

[wildflowerbill]

18 minutes ago, Treerover said:

This is all highly educational and very interesting as I’m also in the process of trying to establish a wild flower verge on the edges of my garden plot, and the local environmental group has ‘patch plots’ which thus far seem relatively unsuccessful .
Tell me, would I be best of just taking the soil back to absolute naked state by digging out the Keck and Docks, nettles etc and glyphosating over a season until it was devoid of all competition (save seasonal windborn seeds which could be hoed ) and then introducing my wildflower seed/grass mix?
Or is this slightly heavy handed.
I should point out that the rest of the garden is very pollinator/wildlife friendly as are the immediate areas in my potential Monsanto napalming defence !!!

Not heavy handed at all. You need to get the area as clear as possible, with the exception being where a lot of wildflowers are already present, then you can spot spray. It's amazing how many seeds can be lying dormant until triggered. Make sure your seed mix suits your soil type, and the first three years of any wildflower meadow is weed control And the one thing you will need most of all is patience.
 

[sandspider]

1 hour ago, wildflowerbill said:

Then you need a clay soil wildflower mix, try and introduce any of these; spray out sections of  the thick grasses when spraying for weeds

 

%	Latin name	Common name
0.5	Achillea millefolium	Yarrow
2	Betonica officinalis - (Stachys officinalis)	Betony
3.5	Centaurea nigra	Common Knapweed
1	Filipendula ulmaria	Meadowsweet
2.5	Galium verum	Lady's Bedstraw
0.4	Lathyrus pratensis	Meadow Vetchling
0.5	Leucanthemum vulgare	Oxeye Daisy
0.5	Lotus corniculatus	Birdsfoot Trefoil
1	Plantago lanceolata	Ribwort Plantain
1	Primula veris	Cowslip
1	Prunella vulgaris	Selfheal
2	Ranunculus acris	Meadow Buttercup
2	Rhinanthus minor	Yellow Rattle
1.4	Rumex acetosa	Common Sorrel
0.4	Silaum silaus	Pepper Saxifrage
0.2	Silene flos-cuculi - (Lychnis flos-cuculi)	Ragged Robin
0.1	Trifolium pratense	Wild Red Clover

Thanks. I have some of those, but not all.

 

Where did you generate that list from?!