Gardening, wildlife and the environment

[antonio66]

Some nice plants growing in that meadow Stu. I imagine all that variety will make the haylage so much more nutritious than the almost monoculture grasses farmers locally turn into haylage. Although I guess if you are trying to manage the grassland better do you wait and make hay to allow the wildflower seeds to drop?

Yes a later cut is advised to let things set seed and insect life cycles to complete. This is at odds with what moat farmers want to do. Nutrition levels are at their highest in June which is what influences most farmer decisions. So end of July nutrition value is dropping but it has to be left for the greater good. Also late July clashes with the grain harvest and most farmers don't have time to be hay making then.

Leaving it late allows a few late flowers to seed like common knapweed, meadow sweet and fleabane although the knapweed can take over a bit and need thinning out.

Doing my bit for nature gives me a warm glow. Best way to fight depression that I have found to date.

[slinger]

The wildflower hay meadow is starting to look tired now. Common knapweed is still looking good along with some bits of meadowsweet, birds foot trefoil, vetch and common fleabane. It will be time to cut soon before too much of the goodness returns to the roots.


Common fleabane


Meadowsweet


Birds foot trefoil


Makes me all moist looking at these.