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Lawn / Meadow Conversion

BrixtonGardenerBrixtonGardener Posts: 73
in Plants
Hoping somebody might have an answer to this as I’m getting conflicting information searching online and a bit confused...

A couple of weeks ago I started the process of converting our 6x3m lawn to a meadow of sorts. Cut it super short and pretty brutally scarified it twice over a weekend. Opened up lots of gaps, and then sowed Emorsgate EM2F at around 2.5g per square metre. 

The grass has recovered, and in the gaps I can see tiny seedlings. 

What I’m not sure about is whether to keep cutting the lawn short over the winter to weaken the grass and get light to the seedlings? We’ve only got a flymo hovermo, so don’t want to suck up any seedlings that may be developing. 

Any advice will be much appreciated. 

Thanks!

Posts

  • SueAtooSueAtoo Posts: 380
    Hope somebody can answer this as I've done the same in the past few days (but I do have an ordinary mower). I see you've got some yellow rattle in the mix - I bought extra to help to weaken the grass. Hope the bees, butterflies and moths appreciate all this work next year.
    East Dorset, new (to me) rather neglected garden.
  • WilderbeastWilderbeast Posts: 1,415
    I mow my area hard down until it's too wet to do so, I have a big petrol rotary mower which has more suck than a hover mower. Keeping the grass down is really important and the seedlings will happily grow a big root structure even if the get a haircut.
  • terri_stellaterri_stella Posts: 49
    How exciting to see the seedlings! I’m a bit behind - scarifying today. I have no advice as it’s the first time I’ve tried a meadow but also worry about mowing the emerging seedlings - not so much sucking them up but the wheels of the mower. It’s a mind field (Mine field??) creating a meadow but hopefully rewarding for us all. Good luck!
  • JoeXJoeX Posts: 1,783
    I thought it was a patience thing.  Cut and scarify so that some soil is exposed, scatter the seeds lightly, then they have to out compete the grass which is where yellow rattle comes in.

    I could be wrong, but I dont think the idea is that no grass grows.
  • JoeXJoeX Posts: 1,783

    Im also interest in doing this - does anyone know how reversible it is?  Im thinking of doing it for one or two years.
  • WilderbeastWilderbeast Posts: 1,415
    The grass will grow back @JoeX mowing the grass helps the new seeds establish with less competition from whatever else is already there. It's quite a long term process, the yellow rattle is an annual plant so needs lots of help to get going so that you get enough flowers to produce more seed for the following year. Making a meadow is notoriously difficult and frustrating 
  • BrixtonGardenerBrixtonGardener Posts: 73
    Got it. I’ll give the grass a haircut tomorrow. At the moment it’s so long that I can’t imagine much light is getting to the seedlings. I ended up speaking to Emorsgate, and they confirmed that in the first winter it’s worth keeping the grass as short as possible. Once the seedlings have bulked up a bit you can mow less frequently. 

    @JoeX , my understanding is if you’re wanting a more short term look it’s better to sow cornfield annuals like cornflowers and poppies, or buy wildflower plug plants in spring. You can then let this set seed, or just resume mowing and let the grass takeover. Not an expert but I’m sure somebody here is. 

    Good luck everyone!

  • ButtercupdaysButtercupdays Posts: 4,546
    I would wait a little until the seedlings start showing several true leaves and then cut with the mower on its highest setting. If you take off or damage  the very first seed leaves the seedlings will die. By the time they have some true leaves they will also have a better root system and will cope better with their haircut. 
    The seed mix you have chosen includes some plants that can cope with being grazed/mown better than others, but it is for a medium tall meadow, not a low one, such as would be heavily grazed. The nearer you get to spring the higher the grass will need to be and you will need to stop mowing or you will be cutting off the flowering stems of things like the cowslips and ox-eye daisies. You would then usually leave it unmown until your plants have set seed.
    @JoeX this type of meadow is not easy to reverse entirely, as the meadow plants would then become lawn weeds. It could just be converted to a low level meadow containing plants such as lawn daisies, creeping buttercup and clovers, among others, that will withstand regular mowing.
  • BrixtonGardenerBrixtonGardener Posts: 73
    @Buttercupdays

    Sorry about the delayed reply to this, work really took over in the last few weeks.

    I decided to take your advice. I'm keeping to mower packed away until November and giving the seedlings a chance to grow. Pretty sure they'll still be pretty tiny, but I've got some spare seed to throw down, and hopefully the highest setting on the mower won't cause too much damage.
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