The Meadow Makers' Network Forum

Out of interest I asked about the provenance of the seed/trees and was told "All DCC tree schemes administered within the Natural Environment Team are of UK and Ireland Sourced and Grown provenance (Woodland Trust UKISG certified)"

Apparently Knepp control ragwort within 50m of their boundary, as per the law: https://knepp.co.uk/injurious-weeds-policy/

I haven't seen that many butterflies ALL summer here on Dartmoor!

Valto63 - there is an abundance of grass in everyone's meadows at the moment due to - 1. the very wet spring and summer, 2. the fact that yellow rattle plants die mid-late June, and therefore the grass is no longer being parasitised. Was your sward short in spring? newinvention - in my experience ha...

Posted on behalf of The Exmoor Society EXMOOR MEADOWS DAY Saturday 6th July ~ Hollam House, Dulverton TA22 9JH We are delighted to invite you to our Exmoor Meadows Day on Saturday 6th July at Hollam Estate, as part of National Meadows Day Find out how to create and manage beautiful wildflower rich m...

Bob - I get my chestnut stakes from Dorset Fencing Supples https://dorsetfencingsupplies.co.uk They deliver throughout the south west and have a wide range of materials. For 6' high guards you would use round 8ft 4-5″ posts (you won't get split stakes that long, 4-5" will last longer than 3-4&q...

In my experience, chain harrows are not the best implement. They might work at a push if you haven't got anything else and haven't got a big area, but it'll take a while before you have any exposed earth. A spring tine cultivator, like a triple k would be better. Mind that if you are flailing the sw...

Claire, it's a very common misconception that the seeds need frost in order to germinate - if that were the case, rattle would also have vanished from other nearby meadows, when actually it did not. According to the definitive work on the species by Duncan Westbury (attached), about 3 months at temp...

𝐎𝐩𝐞𝐧 𝐌𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐬 𝐚𝐭 𝐁𝐞𝐞𝐭𝐨𝐫 𝐅𝐚𝐫𝐦, 𝐍𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐡 𝐁𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐲, 𝐧𝐫 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐠𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐝

𝐒𝐀𝐓𝐔𝐑𝐃𝐀𝐘 𝟐𝟐𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐒𝐔𝐍𝐃𝐀𝐘 𝟐𝟑𝐫𝐝 𝐉𝐔𝐍𝐄, 𝟏𝟏-𝟑𝐩𝐦

Details in post above.

Claire, if you had an abundance of rattle last year, there are really only two reasons why you wouldn't have it this year. 1. the rattle was grazed after germinating in mid-spring this year. 2. the sward was not open enough for the rattle to successfully germinate into this spring. From what you say...