Yellow rattle and other species rich seed available from PL18

[Jo Tytherleigh]

We have brush harvested seed from our species rich meadows containing many yellow rattle seeds, southern marsh orchids, plantain, cats ear, buttercups, vetches and clovers and many more.
We'd love to share to help create more meadows.
Contact Jo at Harewood Farm, Calstock, Cornwall. 07977555849.

[Annette M]

I could do with yellow rattle for my small meadow patch. Will you sell your mix in small quantities? I probably only need about 100g.

[Ed Dolphin]

I'm sure you know that yellow rattle reduces the rank grasses, but please remember some caterpillars depend on rank grasses. You may gain a few flowers that feed adult insects but lose the food source for others. Before it takes over every meadow in the land, there needs to be a lot more research into how much yellow rattle affects unintended targets such as caterpillars of ringlets, meadow browns and skippers.

[Jo Tytherleigh]

Thanks for your reply and raising these points. Absolutely, it's so important to have a patchwork of habitat across our landscapes isn't it, to cater for the myriad needs of all life.
We use Dexter cattle to conservation graze areas of our meadows. In those areas we've noticed the grasses becoming stronger with their dung enriching the ground, although there's still plenty of diversity, lots of knapweed atm.
When we cut our hay we leave wide uncut margins in the hope it leaves places for larvae and caterpillars. We certainly have plenty of butterfly species here, it's been a good year for them.