Preparing rocky soil for wildflower meadow
James Coyne
7 years ago
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James Coyne
7 years agoRelated Discussions
Meadow making
Comments (24)I'm also starting a meadow. I have a natural field with grass paths through it that I mow. There are already some wild flowers growing there, but I wanted to have more. My SIL wanted to plant a cover crop for deer so although I may have done things a little differently, this is what we (he LOL) did: Weed-whacked the grasses, etc. down to the ground Raked the entire area numerous times Roto-tilled it numerous times Scattered seed Let mother nature take her course I'll let you all know how it turns out. My SIL already has a meadow. I don't know how she prepped the site, but I know she added seeds to it every year until it was established. She does not weed it. She depends on the flowers blooming at different times to camouflage and compete with the weeds. Then I came across this method posted here. My area was much too large for this method, but I think it's about the easiest, fastest way I've heard of. INSTANT BEDS Posted by donn_ 7a, GSB, LI, NY (My Page) on Tue, Mar 28, 06 at 19:01 Need quick bedspace for your new babies? Here's a surefire way to build them quickly, using nothing but lawn and cardboard. Groundlevel beds: Cut the lawn/sod about 6-8" deep, in sections you can handle easily. In the space you dug the sod from, lay out sheets of cardboard. Soak the cardboard. Flip the sod chunks upside down, so the grass side is on the cardboard. You now have a new bed, which can be planted into immediately, with a little compost added to the back fill. Elevated beds: Find a part of the yard that could use a new woodchip path (alongside a bed is a good spot, because it doesn't have to be mowed or edged, because there won't be any grass to grow into your bed). Dig out the same sod chunks outlined above. Lay out the cardboard where you want the new bed, and soak it down. Flip the sod chunks same as above. It's ready to plant. Put down some landscape fabric where you dug out the sod, and cover it with 6-8" of woodchips. You now have a weedfree path that will make compost at it's bottom, which you can harvest every year. Just rake back the top, shovel the bottom into adjacent beds, rake the top back into the bottom, and put a new layer on top. The primary benefits of instant beds are that you don't need layers of greens and browns like with lasagna beds, and they don't shrink down like lasagna beds. Nancy in Wisconsin...See MoreMeadow site preparation methods that work?
Comments (7)see my suggestions to the Bay area grasses perosn... everyone wants to farm (and making a meadow is more like farming than gardening a perrennial bed) and yet wants to have great new ideas that farmers never thought of... like laying plastic all over their fields... or wet newspaper for a vew years (if your homeowners associatio will allow it along with your clothesline in the front yeard) sorry to be sarcastic but i've tried all this so i am the first idiot... what i don't get is how those "wildfower seed companies" can continue to bambozal people. If you want a pure stand of grass then seeding can work... but if you want more the simple rules are... first kill all existing weeds (is handweeding an acre cheap?) then smother all existing seeds (the esaiest way to do this is to use sand and compost. This is not cheap but at least it actually can improve the soil.. and you do need good soil to grow what you want rather than what you do not want. and lastly, if what you are gowing is an annual, and grows fast and has no competition then seeds can work, especially if you hydroseed and have irrigation. If not then you shoudl use bare root plants, planted in the fall. And still you will need to weed or use chemical surpessents and you will need to water through the first summer. Ultimatly it is beautiful and requires not a lot of work time, though the work it does require it requires that you do it without delay, and it requires constant monitering to keep it right. Is there an arboreatum near you who has established a field like you want? ask them the cost and then ask the installers exactly waht they did... just my experienc.....See MoreAll-over flowers for dry, rocky soil
Comments (1)You can grow Gaillardia, Perennial Portulaca, Purslane, Gomphrena, Kalanchoes, Ice plants etc etc They all will require full sun and a little watering initially but once they start growing, very little care is required and you will get blooms throughout the season.. Izhar...See MoreLawn renovation on rocky terrain
Comments (3)Sounds like more of a landscaping forum question than a lawn care forum question, since there is no longer a lawn to care for....See MoreJames Coyne
7 years agoUser
7 years agoa1kinobe
4 years agodocmom_gw
3 years ago
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