Wild flower meadows

Effects

So I've bought a bunch of seeds for a small area of meadow that goes unused each year.
Wild red clover, meadow buttercup, cornfield mix, borrage, buttercup, cornflower, phacelia.

Can I just fling these out and hope for the best or do I need to take a different approach?

waalaa

I would get some yellow rattle in there, helps keep the grass down. We sowed a wildflower meadow in an unused strip of land close to some sheds, we sprayed off the grass then raked it. Sowing the seeds was just walking over it and letting them fall out of my hand (with a gentle rocking motion), after that let nature do its thing.

Unfortunately weeds (thistles, docs, nettles, etc) were a pita in the first couple of years and we were forever pulling them but now the wildflowers have taken over and we just run a weedeater through it once or twice a year.
I'm glad we did it, we get different colours throughout the year and bees love them.

MOTM

waalaa wrote: »

I would get some yellow rattle in there, helps keep the grass down. We sowed a wildflower meadow in an unused strip of land close to some sheds, we sprayed off the grass then raked it. Sowing the seeds was just walking over it and letting them fall out of my hand (with a gentle rocking motion), after that let nature do its thing.

Unfortunately weeds (thistles, docs, nettles, etc) were a pita in the first couple of years and we were forever pulling them but now the wildflowers have taken over and we just run a weedeater through it once or twice a year.
I'm glad we did it, we get different colours throughout the year and bees love them.

What's a weedeater?

Effects

I'd hate to have to use killer on the grass to be honest. I was hoping any flowers I planted would just grow alongside the grass!
i've already bought all the seeds so can't add yellow rattle. I'll keep it in mind though. I'm moving some bees to this location so wanted to give them some more nectar!

Effects

MOTM wrote: »

What's a weedeater?

A petrol strimmer I'd imagine.

waalaa

Yeah weed eater, strimmer, string trimmer, it goes by many names apparently.

I burned off the area because there were loads of weeds and crap there, if you just have grass you could give it a rake to expose the soil a bit then roll in the seeds afterwards. If the grass isn't strong you should be good to go.

Simply scratch the surface with a rake, walk over it in an even pattern dropping seeds as you go, roll it or even just walk over it a bit to get the seed into the surface then just wait and see. Mine took nearly a couple of months before they started growing, I was convinced it hadn't worked but then they just flew.

Capercaillie

Effects wrote: »

I'd hate to have to use killer on the grass to be honest. I was hoping any flowers I planted would just grow alongside the grass!
i've already bought all the seeds so can't add yellow rattle. I'll keep it in mind though. I'm moving some bees to this location so wanted to give them some more nectar!

Yellow rattle parasitises vigorous growing grasses enabling slower growing grasses/wildflowers to grow. It's the most important species in my meadows.

MOTM

I'd promising wildflowers year 1, grass caught up on yr 2 but put down rattle that autumn. The rattle did well in year 3 and I see it coming up again now in the start of year 4. Hopefully it'll weaken the grass further. I'm keeping growth short from October to April to weaken grass and give yellow rattle seedlings a chance.

Effects

Capercaillie wrote: »

Yellow rattle parasitises vigorous growing grasses enabling slower growing grasses/wildflowers to grow. It's the most important species in my meadows.

Looks like I'll have to pick some of that up so!

Effects

Found this online:
"Even out of flower, areas of meadow heavily invaded by this species support only the most meagre growth of grass: little wonder yellow rattle is loathed by farmers."

Does it spread easily? I've got meadows for silage and cattle grazing close by and I wouldn't want to mess that up

MOTM

Effects wrote: »

Looks like I'll have to pick some of that up so!

Buy and plant it in autumn. It needs to go through winter to germinate.

It doesn't spread easily. I've a lawn beside my wildflower patch and it doesn't appear to have picked up yellow rattle or seedlings. It can be easily killed off by cutting it before it goes to seed.

MOTM

My yellow rattle is up. Very dense in some patches, thinly or not at all in others. Pity it isn't more evenly spread to thin all the grass. Will see how it goes.

Great to see it returning in year 2 though.