We moved to Exmoor last September and are keen to increase biodiversity on our land. We are currently having a ground source heat pump installed and as part of this now have 12 x 100m long x 1m deep trenches in a 3 acre field. The trenches should be re-filled within the next week and there will then be 12 long strips of bare earth, spread across the width of the field. It occurred to me that this might be an ideal opportunity to plant a wildflower meadow mix, rather than planting grass or just waiting for the areas to re-seed themselves. Does this seem a viable plan, and if so can we seed now or would we be best to wait for later in the year? I have tried to identify the species currently present and I think the predominant grass species is sweet vernal grass. It looks like at least some of the clover is red rather than white. The field has been grazed by sheep in the recent past. Any advice gratefully received!
Thanks.
Alison
Too late to seed?
-
Amy
- Posts: 139
- Joined: Wed Mar 03, 2021 1:09 pm
- Location: North Devon
- Has thanked: 64 times
- Been thanked: 89 times
Re: Too late to seed?
Hi Alison
I live somewhere near you. I suggest you leave the bare earth on the trenches until at least the autumn. The received wisdom from experienced people here is usually - leave it and see what your natural seed bank produces.
I would add to that - check if you have clay. I realise you haven't had a summer yet in your new home so it might be an idea to wait and see what happens then. Conditions with me are waterloggingly wet with standing surface water in parts as a minimum from Nov - April and a baked hard 8" deep crust over summer with deep cracks. If you have that, then unless you can water regularly and profusely, I think you might find that your seeds just frizzle. If you live near Barnstaple, perhaps your conditions are kinder, or if you are on the higher parts, perhaps you have a wet peaty soil that doesn't dry out.
Another reason to wait before sowing, is that the disturbed bare earth may give docks and thistles a chance to germinate this summer, and you then have the chance to scrape the seedlings off whilst they are still small and not big enough to regenerate, and without damaging anything else which is precious. Alternatively, you could sow some phacelia right now, whilst the ground is still damp, and that might beat the docks in the race to germination, as docks don't like being shaded out, and if the phacelia gets baked out of existence, it wouldn't matter too much. It's a pretty non native annual which is highly recommended for bees, and widely used by farmers in their wildlife areas, and by gardeners as a green manure, but it is unlikely to persist through the winter, or to present any problem. If you buy from Garden Organic or similar, then you can be sure that the seed hasn't been pretreated with anything nasty.
You may also find that the earth in your trenches will take a year to settle and will probably have sunk by this time next year, when you might wish to address that in May or June when you can get machinery on the ground, and then after that perhaps sow seed in the autumn if you wish to.
When you are ready to sow, I suggest that you contact Devon Wildlife Trust. I saw Simon Berry this week and he was talking about a wonderful meadow up on the moor and that the Trust was going to harvest seed from there this year. So good local seed may be available later on. ENPA is encouraging people to create meadows and will be pleased to hear from you. https://devonenvironment.org/new-meadow ... on-exmoor/
I suggest that you avoid the temptation to throw some lawn grass seed on the trenches in the meantime. It'll contain some rye grass, and you may well regret adding that, later on.
Whilst you are waiting, you might like to take cuttings of local plants in the hedgerows, or which you already have, or from local friends, and grow them on for planting out in the autumn. If your ground is really wet, then now is not too late to make divisions, which you could nurture in pots over the summer, or park them in your garden or even plant in permanently damp areas but not in your trenches because of the settling. At the moment, I am plucking newly emerged stems of marsh woundwort and just pressing them into mud elsewhere. And it is not too long until Sept (!) when you can collect seeds from your local hedgerows. Enjoy!
I live somewhere near you. I suggest you leave the bare earth on the trenches until at least the autumn. The received wisdom from experienced people here is usually - leave it and see what your natural seed bank produces.
I would add to that - check if you have clay. I realise you haven't had a summer yet in your new home so it might be an idea to wait and see what happens then. Conditions with me are waterloggingly wet with standing surface water in parts as a minimum from Nov - April and a baked hard 8" deep crust over summer with deep cracks. If you have that, then unless you can water regularly and profusely, I think you might find that your seeds just frizzle. If you live near Barnstaple, perhaps your conditions are kinder, or if you are on the higher parts, perhaps you have a wet peaty soil that doesn't dry out.
Another reason to wait before sowing, is that the disturbed bare earth may give docks and thistles a chance to germinate this summer, and you then have the chance to scrape the seedlings off whilst they are still small and not big enough to regenerate, and without damaging anything else which is precious. Alternatively, you could sow some phacelia right now, whilst the ground is still damp, and that might beat the docks in the race to germination, as docks don't like being shaded out, and if the phacelia gets baked out of existence, it wouldn't matter too much. It's a pretty non native annual which is highly recommended for bees, and widely used by farmers in their wildlife areas, and by gardeners as a green manure, but it is unlikely to persist through the winter, or to present any problem. If you buy from Garden Organic or similar, then you can be sure that the seed hasn't been pretreated with anything nasty.
You may also find that the earth in your trenches will take a year to settle and will probably have sunk by this time next year, when you might wish to address that in May or June when you can get machinery on the ground, and then after that perhaps sow seed in the autumn if you wish to.
When you are ready to sow, I suggest that you contact Devon Wildlife Trust. I saw Simon Berry this week and he was talking about a wonderful meadow up on the moor and that the Trust was going to harvest seed from there this year. So good local seed may be available later on. ENPA is encouraging people to create meadows and will be pleased to hear from you. https://devonenvironment.org/new-meadow ... on-exmoor/
I suggest that you avoid the temptation to throw some lawn grass seed on the trenches in the meantime. It'll contain some rye grass, and you may well regret adding that, later on.
Whilst you are waiting, you might like to take cuttings of local plants in the hedgerows, or which you already have, or from local friends, and grow them on for planting out in the autumn. If your ground is really wet, then now is not too late to make divisions, which you could nurture in pots over the summer, or park them in your garden or even plant in permanently damp areas but not in your trenches because of the settling. At the moment, I am plucking newly emerged stems of marsh woundwort and just pressing them into mud elsewhere. And it is not too long until Sept (!) when you can collect seeds from your local hedgerows. Enjoy!
Re: Too late to seed?
Hi Amy
Thank you very much for your reply and all your very useful advice. We are quite high up (300m) and have about 10-15cm of topsoil above shillett, although there will be less topsoil once the trenches have been re-filled. The land is also on a slope so it doesn't seem to get waterlogged but as you say we have yet to see what it is like over summer! I have been looking at what is there at the moment and there seems to be red clover and mainly sweet vernal grass, with lesser amounts of other grasses, so I am hoping that it hasn't been 'improved' too much in the past. I am sure you are correct that the earth will take a while to settle. Cuttings is a great idea and I will enjoy collecting seeds in September!
Thank you very much for your reply and all your very useful advice. We are quite high up (300m) and have about 10-15cm of topsoil above shillett, although there will be less topsoil once the trenches have been re-filled. The land is also on a slope so it doesn't seem to get waterlogged but as you say we have yet to see what it is like over summer! I have been looking at what is there at the moment and there seems to be red clover and mainly sweet vernal grass, with lesser amounts of other grasses, so I am hoping that it hasn't been 'improved' too much in the past. I am sure you are correct that the earth will take a while to settle. Cuttings is a great idea and I will enjoy collecting seeds in September!
-
Amy
- Posts: 139
- Joined: Wed Mar 03, 2021 1:09 pm
- Location: North Devon
- Has thanked: 64 times
- Been thanked: 89 times
Re: Too late to seed?
Hi - with your ground conditions, height and rainfall - then I would get in touch with Devon Wildlife Trust and ENPA right away. The settling might be minimal and you might be able to crack on and your growing season will be quite short. You might ask your neighbouring farmers too, if you haven't already.