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Using a Drop Spreader for Wild Flower Seeds?

richard49richard49 Posts: 22
in Wildlife gardening
I have purchased some wild flower seeds and plan to use my Scotts EverGreen Drop Spreader.

The seed needs to be sown at 4gm per sq meter.

Two Questions.

1) Should I mix the seed with fine sand to enable an even distribution using the drop spreader?

2) Using the Scotts EverGreen Drop Spreader, do you know what setting to select to get the required 4gm per sq meter?

Any advice would be very welcome.
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Posts

  • McRazzMcRazz Posts: 440
    Hi Richard, is this a large area? My advice would be to mix with sawdust and broadcast by hand as drop spreaders can be inconsistent with WF mixtures. If you're concerned about running out then divide the mixture in half, and spread the two halves across 100% of the area in two runs. That way if you fall short you can ration with the second pass. 

    I seeded the entire Olympic park meadows this way in 2012. https://www.nigeldunnett.com/olympic-meadows/

  • richard49richard49 Posts: 22
    edited March 2023
    Thank you for your advice McRazz.

    My area is only 30 square metres.

    I've got lots of sawdust so I'll do what you suggest; very helpful splitting it into two.
  • richard49richard49 Posts: 22
    edited March 2023
     
  • Busy-LizzieBusy-Lizzie Posts: 24,043
    Wow! What beautiful photos @McRazz! Lucky Richard to be answered by a real expert.
    Dordogne and Norfolk. Clay in Dordogne, sandy in Norfolk.
  • McRazzMcRazz Posts: 440
    richard49 said:
    Thank you for your advice McRazz.

    My area is only 30 square metres.

    I've got lots of sawdust so I'll do what you suggest; very helpful splitting it into two.
    No problem. Seems a bit of a fiddle with the drop spreader for 30m2. Fingers crossed for a good display come June!
  • ObelixxObelixx Posts: 30,090
    Hi @McRazz.  I'm about to sow a small wildflower meadow in my garden, about 10m square and with 4 recently planted apple trees.

    Can I ask, please, if you sowed the Olympic park on loose soil after harrowing or did you have to do the treading that's recommended for sowing grass for lawns?   There will be no grass in my mix other than what arrives by itself.  It's all about pollinators.
    Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
    "The price good men (and women) pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men (and women)."
    Plato
  • McRazzMcRazz Posts: 440
    Hi Obelixx.

    All soils to the South Park (Stadium areas) were an imported topsoil blend. They were machine spread then raked by hand to a fine tilth, seeded, then simply trodden in.

    We didn't use any mechanical aids due to the gradients but you can use a light garden roller if you have one to hand. Its the soil/seed contact that is important (whilst avoiding over compaction).

    Emorsgate have a useful FAQ on this and other aspects of meadow/grassland creation - https://wildseed.co.uk/frequently-asked-questions/

    Hope this helps. 
  • ObelixxObelixx Posts: 30,090
    edited March 2023
    That's great.  Thanks very much @McRazz .

    The patch in question is former pasture so I expect will be too fertile for many wildflowers so I'm planning a mix of single flowered garden annuals.  We'll see.
    Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
    "The price good men (and women) pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men (and women)."
    Plato
  • McRazzMcRazz Posts: 440
    Obelixx said:
    That's great.  Thanks very much @McRazz .

    The patch in question is former pasture so I expect will be too fertile for many wildflowers so I'm planning a mix of single flowered garden annuals.  We'll see.
    The issue with fertility relates mostly to increased proliferation of pernicious weed and grass growth that can out-compete the slower growing, and often shorter, meadow plants. The level of fertility that you'd find in pasture is likely manageable if you clear the sward by scarification some 50% prior to seeding...and ensure no fertiliser is used on or nearby from that point. 

    Also, you mention annuals, they can actually help here as a 'nurse mix', basically they can outcompete the grass as they grow quickly whilst leaving breathing space below for the lower level herbaceous perennial meadow plants to establish. the advantage here is you get an annual display in the first year followed by your permanent perennial meadow thereafter.

    I have a small patch of meadow on former lawn. Its incredibly fertile but all that really means is i mow it a little more than usual and ensure the dog doesn't poo anywhere near! I also moved to get Yellow Rattle established very early on as its a key player in keeping the grass under control - I collect seeds for this yearly from a local park to ensure the population is kept in the right place (its a nomadic annual) and at the right levels (you need a fair amount).
  • ObelixxObelixx Posts: 30,090
    Thanks again @McRazz for such good advice.   The area in question was cow pasture for centuries then that spot was fenced off to make a donkey paddock and we've turned that into our veg plot as it's fenced so the dogs can't get in.

    The 10m x 10m part has been under a plastic sheet for 2 years but I don't expect that will have killed off the field bindweed.    It has been forked over and raked but not trampled.   It has 3 apple trees and a crab apple and I want flowers for pollinators to cover the bare earth.

    I have red clover, wild mallow and ox-eye daisies elsewhere and will try and transplant some.   I know about yellow rattle but haven't found it available locally.  Time to search on the net then.
    Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
    "The price good men (and women) pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men (and women)."
    Plato
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