Meadow seed mix for fertile field?

[mikeakc]

Morning All,
I’ve recently been fortunate enough to buy a small section of the field behind our house. It’s a 50 m x 20 m area and most of the space is taken up with a handful of fruit trees and a veggie garden. In amongst this, I would like to encourage a meadow-like space to attract as much bird and insect life as possible. This is not a rewilding project, it will always remain part of our famiky space for the kids to play and camp etc. and will be cut once a year. The problem is that the ground is very fertile and rich, having been grazed by cattle and fertilised for the last seven years. I realise a true wildflower meadow relies on the removal of nutrients through cutting and removing hay every year which i can’t see happening as this is labour intensive and I don’t have the kit or inclination. I also hear that it takes many years to cause a meaningful reduction in fertility in this way.

What I would like to know if anybody knows of a seed mix which is designed for nutrient-rich soil. I have already scattered some yellow rattle for its parasitic qualities, but any other suggestions would be appreciated. The ground is already quite well prepared because in fencing the area I have been driving heavy kit around the field and damaged areas of the grass back to bare mud.

All the best,
Mike.

 

[JTO]

Just leave it alone! There will be all the naturally occurring seeds already in the ground.

 

[Bonzo dog]

Have a look at Cotswold seeds website lots of info on there and they are very helpful.
Conventional and Organic mixes and straights | Cotswold Grass Seeds
Might be worth spreading some seed by hand into the grass in the spring and see what happens, harrowing after if possible. I've done this on a couple of small patches and it works, don't expect huge results in the first year it takes time to establish. When it's cut is also important, needs to be done when the seed is ripe, this will spread it about for next year.

Hope this helps
Bonzo

 

[Norfolk Horn]

I would leave it alone and see what comes up. The problem is if you seed it then you get a load of thistle or other undesirable plants you will have to destroy everything unless your happy with them with regards to insects and birds latter.
I used cotswold seeds as mentioned earlier and they are very helpful but I think they supply in acre packs. I had a mixture of pollinators along with a suitable grass, it wasn't very successful but that was because we had a dry period just after I had sown them.

 

[VSS]

50m is a usefully long strip....
By the time you've scraped all the topsoil into a heap at one end to form a safe backstop to your private range, what's left won't be so fertile and your problem will be resolved....

 

[mikeakc]

50m is a usefully long strip....
By the time you've scraped all the topsoil into a heap at one end to form a safe backstop to your private range, what's left won't be so fertile and your problem will be resolved....

And the high tower for simulated driven days

 

[mikeakc]

Have a look at Cotswold seeds website lots of info on there and they are very helpful.
Conventional and Organic mixes and straights | Cotswold Grass Seeds
Might be worth spreading some seed by hand into the grass in the spring and see what happens, harrowing after if possible. I've done this on a couple of small patches and it works, don't expect huge results in the first year it takes time to establish. When it's cut is also important, needs to be done when the seed is ripe, this will spread it about for next year.

Hope this helps
Bonzo

They look like just the ticket. I will give them a call tomorrow. Thank you

 

[jall55]

Foxgloves Mike

 

[VSS]

Foxgloves Mike

Why foxgloves?
Admittedly they look pretty, but they do tend to take over. I get them sprouting up in any area of soil disturbance. Must have acres of the damn things.

 

[Craigsaun]

Personally, if you only plan on cutting it once a year don’t waste your time or money on seeds just let nature take its course

 

[jall55]

Why foxgloves?
Admittedly they look pretty, but they do tend to take over. I get them sprouting up in any area of soil disturbance. Must have acres of the damn things.

Just because they do so well in fertile soil and yes they do grow well
Its not a large area really and will be self sustaining
They flower for a long period

To be honest i do prefer your idea of stripping the soil back - thats what we did

But if Mike wants no hassle and benefit to bees and insects foxgloves are good

 

[Buchan]

I have a couple of acres behind the house that were regularly fertilised and full of sheep and cattle in summer, so fertile. I had an explosion of creeping thistle one year - dealt with by letting it go fallow. About 7 years ago I scattered some wildflower mix - whcih the chickens hoovered up, but, enough rattle survived and gradually the wildflowers are returning. It's intersting to see the succession and I do have a standing crop of rattle and plantain!!
I'd leave it fallow this year. But give some thought to a hay crop - or allowing cattle in in late summer. THe idea is to take the crop of grass off, thus reducing fertility. My plot has three areas, the one with grazing has the best biodiversity. HAve fun!

 

[jall55]

Mike - just re-reading - and as it is a relatively small area - why not - for maximum impact plant a wild bird plot
Something like a kale/chicory/fodder radish mix

 

[big ears]

As others have said leave it alone and see what comes up

Cotswold seeds are good but a bit expensive. I’ve used Boston seeds and found them very helpful.

 

[BenBhoy]

Get in touch with Barenburg & ask for Kevin. One of life's truly helpful guys. He'll set you right.

Barenbrug UK | The UK Grass Experts | Agriculture Grass & Lawn Seed Supplier

Learn more about the UK grass experts. We have been developing, breeding and growing grass seed since 1904 and our experience will help you find the best grass seed for your surface.

www.barenbrug.co.uk

 

[Pelyma]

I have done around a half acre of wild flower meadow on a bund we had constructed. It has been an immense amount of work, we were advised to kill everything off until nothing was coming back, I used seed from a similar part of the country, you need to fence it off to stop rabbits and deer and then at the end of the season mow it off and remove all cuttings which meant buying a flail collector. At the same time I used an AB8 nectar mix which uses 6 different clovers and I think 5 wild flowers. It has been left to its own devices and streamed off in the autumn, the bank its on is too steep to use a tractor. In the first year the Nectar mix has been stunning and should last 4 years. The wildflowers I hope will look good but will take much more time and effort, many say 5 years the way I've done it versus 10 years of just managing as a grassland, ie cutting and removing.

What I have found really fun is trying to identify the flowers, an iPhone is great for this as it is pretty good at identifying the flowers. It has been a really interesting project, but a lot more expensive than I'd imagined!

 

[old 30-06]

What about a National Trust "non-intervention policy" and see what happens ? It saves you every penny.

 

[shotgun98]

Have a chat with brights seeds