Wildflower meadows

SeanoChuinn

Hello,

I have a question about wild flower meadows and hoping the farming forum might be the best place to get answers.

Firstly, some background! I am not a farmer so no agri experience but have some knowledge garnered from friends and relatives involved in farming, but we have a 4 acre field that we are about to build a home on. I hear your farming sighs, four acres wasted !! Anyway, with the lay of the land we have decided to utilise all of the 4 acres for the full site. The house will be positioned towards the back centre of the field in the highest point to get the best of what views we have. Typically it will include probably 1.5 acres of house and garage footprint, garden, lawns, yard etc. There will also be a long drive way to the house. Now this leaves quiet a bit of spare ground left idle either side of the driveway. We're thinking as maintenance free as possible and have decided we'd like to try to plant wild meadows in this section of the site.

So some details. The ground is dry, an elevated field. Has typically been used for grazing but mainly for silage and appears to have plenty of growing potential. Its south facing so gets lot of light. The last owner would have easily gotten two cuts each summer so I guess is pretty fertile from a grass point of view at least! I have no idea of soil type but again appears to have no issues growing grass. There are a few buchalans growing throughout but nothing crazy, no rushes indicating any wet ground. No standing water at all.

Does anyone have any experience of doing this type of meadow? Is there any practical tips you could give? Is there any help we could avail of for information from Teagasc or any other body. I know there is some type of promotion for this type of meadow to promote insect and bird life, but not sure where to go for some more answers. Some Google searches have turned up some Irish wild flower sites but was hoping the agri people might have some helpful suggestions too!

Thank you all.

blue5000

https://www.cotswoldseeds.com/seedmix/wild-flowers

Might be something available in Ireland too, I think August is the best time to sow it, same way as grass seed.

SeanoChuinn

Yeah have read a little bit alright and seen this site for supply before. Was curious about stuff like land preparation, do we need to strip off ALL the top soil to promote the wildflower growth and demote natural grass growth to stop the grass choking the flowers for example.

Bass Reeves

First off 1.5 acres is a large footprint for a house, garage lawn and yard. Unless you intend laying a lot of concrete you will have over an acre of lawns to cut. However you will have a good idae when you have total site laid out.

Obiviously money is not an issue from your post. If you set a WFM of a hectacre you will have to decide on how to maintain it. What you really need to do is to prevent grass taking over the meadow. I would not touch the topsoil a lot of the flowers in a WFM need. What you need to do is first find out from your seed provider what is the idael fertility, PH and P&K.

I imagine that you will need to reduce fertility to promote the WFM. This is best done by taking a few cuts of silage/hay off the field with adding any fertlizer. More than likly you will need to replace some of the p&K and keep N levels low. This will allow wild flowers to compete with the grassas they grow. Not sure what type of spring managment you will need buy more than likly some light grazing during March. Most that use this tpye of meadown mowe pats through it for waling around it AFAIK.

You more than likly will have to take a cut of hay off it in July to prevent the build up dying material and and eith top or lightly graze for autumn.

StopWatch

There's a fella on laois Kilkenny border who'd be the man to talk to, particularly regarding Irish wildflower seed,hed be considered the expert

http://www.wildflowers.ie

yosemitesam1

You'd probably be as well to try and get yellow rattle established first. Its a parasite to grass so should help any wildflower seed present in your grass get established also.

Day Lewin

You don't have to strip any soil, if it is already dry and limey. Just cut the grass close a couple of times and remove the mowings. What's left will start to grow to meet the conditions and you may find all sorts of things in the seed bank that haven't been seen for years. With luck, even orchids! And that will bring in bees, butterflies, moths and many other insects...
Fettility will come from the clovers and other pea-family plants such as birdsfoot-trefoil.
Yes, yellow rattle is a good one to have...it may be there already, too.

Please don't order in British seeds - the flowers may look the same but the local ones are genetically adapted over generations...Caffolla at Crettyard will probably be able to give advice and supply locally grown native seeds.

There's an art to managing this type of meadow...it needs a couple of cuts a year.
Its not a lawn nor a prairie...you learn it gradually by watching and noticing.

In fact, species-diverse limestone grassland is a very rich habitat and very much under-appreciated: it is shrinking at an alarming rate.

Good luck with your new and beautiful reach of wildflower meadow!

Muckit

I can see horses in your future OP!!

Water John

Would a few sheep have a role in helping create a diverse sward?

SeanoChuinn

There's actually a couple of horses grazing it right now, owned by our neighbours . Was a shame to not have someone take advantage of it. Will keep the grass down for us for the time being.

We know there will be maintenance yearly, 2 or 3 cuts but that would be much better alternative to having to mow that much lawn weekly, that would be just a crazy notion.

@Bass budget is imperative to us. the 1.5 acre is a pure/poor estimate, so insert an average site size number in here. We are lucky enough to have the space and would like to use it in a different manner than typical lawn.

We have seen some British seed sites @Day Lewin but would much prefer to choose Irish seeds that are natural to the local environment.

I guess its knowledge we're looking for having never undertaken a project like this, I've only ever sowed grass with the intention of cutting it once its a couple of inches tall!!!

Thank you all for the responses.

Water John

Have Seedsavers in Scariff have anything to offer in this area?

Here you go p35
http://www.irishseedsavers.ie/blog/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/seed-cat-none-supporters-2016-email.pdf

greysides

Despite the scale this is really a gardening question. You could try looking for appropriate books or ask in the gardening forum. Wild flower meadows need to cut at the appropriate time to spread seeds so there's a bit to it. The National Botanical Gardens 'out farm' at Kilmacurragh, Wicklow, had a wild flower meadow this year so they might be worth a ring.

The Cuban

The handiest option is to find a local agri contractor who will spray, till,fertilize and reseed for you.

Use the following seed http://moregrassireland.com/enviromental-nectar-buffer.html
MG920

You`ll need 4 bags.
Total costs contractor-fertilizer + seed should come in around 800 euro

Water John

That's 4 bags per acre. Looks good mix.

greysides

Kilmacurragh, this August.

SeanoChuinn

I'm guessing that the fertiliser would be necessary if we completely re-sowed with that 920 mix Cuban? I've heard from multiple people that the grass needs to go back to allow the flowers forward so no fertiliser to promote grass growth in an existing meadow, but in a new meadow with this mix would be ok?

Day Lewin

The Cuban wrote: »

The handiest option is to find a local agri contractor who will spray, till,fertilize and reseed for you.

Use the following seed http://moregrassireland.com/enviromental-nectar-buffer.html
MG920

You`ll need 4 bags.
Total costs contractor-fertilizer + seed should come in around 800 euro

Cripes.
Don't spray, and don't fertilise: Flowers are much better than grasses at getting the minerals and they will evolve a subtle eco-system using underground fungi, legumes, different depths of root-systems and surface mosses:
Every time you break into this process with accelerating chemicals you delay it.
Fertiliser may make edible grasses grow faster but at the expense of the soil structure. Whereas a flowery meadow can last for hundreds of years with an intact soil and seed-bank, in a complex but very stable plant and invertebrate community.

It takes patience and some skill: but it can be done...don't give up!

greysides

Found this about Kilmacurragh.

http://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/homes-and-property/gardens/creating-a-wildflower-meadow-at-kilmacurragh-botanic-gardens-1.2688759

Water John

Pity this isn't promoted in Glas. Oats on the bird area, seem to be mainly feeding the bloody crows.

The Cuban

Water John wrote: »

Pity this isn't promoted in Glas. Oats on the bird area, seem to be mainly feeding the bloody crows.

And the Rats!

Base price

Water John wrote: »

Pity this isn't promoted in Glas. Oats on the bird area, seem to be mainly feeding the bloody crows.

The Cuban wrote: »

And the Rats!

Over the past few weeks when I get a chance I take a wander through both wbc areas. I have not seen any rats but plenty of starlings, wagtails and other dickie birds like sparrows, chaffinches and others that I not sure of what they are. Saw a hen pheasant but I have to be careful and not bring our Llewellyn setter with me otherwise she will hunt it.