Meadow 2020

Meadow June 2020

Continued from blog post 'Meadow 2019'.

Having decided to develop this as a perennial wildflower meadow, in autumn 2019 I sowed it again but this time with Special General Purpose Meadow Mixture from Emorsgate and Standard Cornfield Mixture as a 'nurse cover'. The annuals, being fast growers would flower while the slower growing perennials grew underneath. Unfortunately, in February 2020 the intense rain washed away most of the seeds and seedlings so I had to sow the meadow again in March. As I was now a whole season behind my plan, I also bought some wildflower plugs from Naturescape and planted them across the meadow area. 

It's now the beginning of July and the cornfield annuals have bloomed. Some of the grasses are coming through but I can't see much evidence of the perennial flowers, other than last year's Yarrow. 

Poppies and Yarrow June 2020

It's hard to tell if the wildflower seeds have germinated or if the wildflower plug plants are growing because the whole meadow has become covered in Black Medick*. I don't know why it's happened as it wasn't present before but I'm guessing the seedbank was disturbed by digging & it's all germinated. I've been told by some botanists (Twitter is a superb resource for learning!) that it's a welcome wildflower for diversity and it's an indication that the soil is low nitrogen, which is perfect for growing wildflowers so that's a bonus. However, it's currently smothering everything so I'll still have to control it in order to provide light for the perennial seedlings. 

Cornflower June 2020

Despite the setbacks, the meadow looks beautiful and is buzzing with pollinators so although the perennial wildflowers might take longer to establish than I'd hoped, the meadow is supporting wildlife this summer. 

Corncockle June 2020

As in previous years, there are bare patches in the same areas, which I have finally realised is because the topsoil is too stony, very shallow and almost all sand in places. I did the soil test where you mix soil and water in a jar, shake it and let it settle. The sand sinks to the bottom, the next layer is silt and clay sits on top. I did this with samples across the garden and found that it's predominantly sand with minimal silt and hardly any clay.  The bare patches in the meadow are 80% sand (plus stones) so no wonder nothing will grow there. I'm annoyed with myself for not paying enough attention to this before but I can at least rectify it in the autumn with additional topsoil. 

Corn Chamomiles and Corn Marigolds June 2020

The rabbits have also been in there (again) but it's fairly free of slugs as in March I treated it with Nematodes (harmless to all other wildlife). 

Update: July 2020 and I've found some Wild Carrot growing in the meadow. This will probably be from a plug I planted and I'm very happy to see it as I love umbellifers. 

Wild Carrot July 2020

Wild Carrot July 2020

Meanwhile, I'm sowing more seeds in trays and potting on seedlings so that in addition to sowing seeds straight into the soil, I'll have some site-specific wildflowers to plant in the meadow and wildflower border.

Wildflower Seedlings July 2020

Potted On Seedlings July 2020

* I thought it was Lesser Trefoil but on much closer inspection (the leaf has a tiny point) it's Black Medick. Apparently this flourishes in sandy soils with low nitrogen.

Successes:

• The cornfield annual seeds have flourished;
• The meadow is buzzing with pollinators;
• Digging out perennial weeds is paying off as there are far fewer;
• The meadow looks beautiful.

Lessons Learned:

• The topsoil in the meadow area is too stony, shallow and sandy but I can rectify it;
• Every time I disturb the soil, I'm enabling more annual weed seeds to germinate;
• Rabbits are cleverer than you think and the battle to keep them out continues.

To Do List:

• Keep controlling the Black Medick to prevent it from overwhelming everything;
• Cut the meadow in August and remove the cuttings;
• In September, dig out all the perennial wildflowers I can find and set them aside while I have a few tons of local, screened topsoil (minus compost to keep fertility low) laid onto the meadow;
• Replant the perennial wildflowers and add the plugs I'm currently growing from seed. 
• Sow the meadow again with a perennial mix plus grasses but no cornfield annuals this time. 
• Replace the wire fencing around the garden with a taller, smaller gauge version.