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Establishment and Maintenance |
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Seedling establishment phase |
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When you first sow a meadow, seedlings will keep on germinating each spring and autumn until about the second or third year. Correct timing when cutting the meadow is crucial to the survival
of seedlings. A meadow is won or lost at this stage. If your original cultivation methods did not produce a clean weed-free seedbed, this is your last chance to get rid of stones and weeds that you have missed. During this stage it
is vital that you cut and remove the growth of grasses & flowers, each autumn. Cutting the growth away allows the sun to warm the soil and for fresh air to circulate over the tiny seedlings. If the grass is left uncut, mould will
grow and kill off the tiny seedlings. Remove the dead layer of thatch at the base of grasses. Roll with a Cambridge roller if the soil is crusted.
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Cutting Machinery |
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Use a strimmer with blade attachment or a finger / sickle bar mower ( lawn mower Type) |
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Meadow
cutting times in the 'first and second year' both 'with' and 'with out grass'. |
Any meadow can be cut every 30-60 days to keep tidy as a lawn. On infertile sites cutting may not be necessary, except once in the autumn. On very barren sites you may not have to cut at all, instead roll with
a Cambridge roller.
On fertile sites from 4 - 8 cuts per year may be required to reduce fertility during the seedling establishment phase.
The seedling establishment stage must be maintained during the first year and may need to continue into the 2nd and 3rd year on fertile sites. See also 'Gap creation'.
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Meadow cutting times 'with grass' |
* In the first year for meadows sown 'with grass' always cut by the end of July if not sooner.
* All floras sown with grass and no annuals must be regularly cut and the grass removed when growth passes a height of 15-25cm in the first year. Cut down to 1"-3". The grass must not 'lodge' (fall over).
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Meadow cutting times 'without grass' |
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* Most annuals and pure wildflowers sown 'without grass' need only be cut when flowers fade in autumn. For 'non-grass' mixtures of pure wildflowers, cut and remove if growth passes a height of 25-35 cm by mid
June as the meadow is growing too fast. Cut again in August or when annual flowers finish.
* Spring flowering wetland meadows can be cut in late May to restrict Creeping Buttercup setting seed.
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Special
Cutting Times to attract wildlife or encourage specific plant species. |
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Some wildflower meadows are recommended as requires special cutting times.
This advice is given to encourage specific flowers, flora types or to attract
wildlife. Where such advice is given, if the wildflower grower seeks to
follow the instructions, it is hoped that the result will be rewarding.
Specific cutting times may include: Cut in High Summer when meadow is in
full flower, Why? because th mixture may include spring such as Cowslip or
Red Campion and late summer flowering species such as Fleabane or Devil's Bit
Scabious. Unless stated the meadow would only grow grassy if left
uncut. So the advice given is to cut the meadow which may well be flowering
or about too, after the Red Campion or other spring flowers finish blooming
and have set seed. The cut will only knock back the flowers and
rearrange the meadow for a later summer or High Summer bloom, which will
allow the later flowering species to grow and set seed.
There are far too many variations of advice, so all I can say is read the
specifications and advice supplied with every seed mixture
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