I’m sure rattle does the job more effectively than the other semi-parasitic options like eyebright and lousewort, but I don’t particularly find rattle an attractive plant and if you don’t either, nuffin wrong with that!
If you want to reduce fertility rapidly and kill off the grass entirely, rather than just scarifying you could strip off the turf, rotavate and grow a vigorous leafy crop that uses up the nutrients in the soil. Then you are ready to sow, plug and go.
I have lots of naturally appearing bulbs and perennial flowers, including several types of orchids, growing in my wild meadow/abandoned orchard areas with no intervention from me. Most are purple, pink, lavender, blue and white. It does get a rough clip with the tractor mower on a highish setting twice a year but that’s it.
Mountainous Northern Catalunya, Spain. Hot summers, cold winters.
Thanks @Nollie. I know I am a great one for ideas without always understanding the practicalities of them. The introduction of a leafy crop is something I had never heard of before but can see the logic. Cheers.
Meant to say, if you do go for a crop, make sure it’s not a nitrogen fixer! Mustard greens are apparently good. I grow those for salads. Also dig it all up and compost it before it seeds, unless you want a mustard meadow 😆
Mountainous Northern Catalunya, Spain. Hot summers, cold winters.
Cheers @Nollie. That's interesting. Is a nitrogen fixer what might be classed as " green manure"? I appreciate you are saying I would need the oppose though 👍
Yes, green manures are grown to dig into the soil to help fertility and soil structure, nitrogen-fixing green manures are usually legumes such as field lupins, alfalfa etc. You would need a hungry crop that takes nutrients from the soul not puts them back - so brassicas like mustard and that yellow peril rapeseed are good ones.
Mountainous Northern Catalunya, Spain. Hot summers, cold winters.
The fallacy is that for any growing plant there will be roots. Prossibly as much mass and potential nutients as the top growth. If you remove the abve ground growth you may still be enriching the soil.
Choose a plant (I can't recommend one) that comes up root-and-all easlily.
But aren't wild gardens meant to be "wild". Take what nature throws at you.
location: Surrey Hills, England, ex-woodland acidic sand. "Have nothing in your garden that you don't know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful."
Thanks @bede. I think your last sentence is very true and we have lots of wild here, by way of time /man power limits as much as anything else and it's all lovely in it's own way. I have left this strip for many weeks but now it's hard going to cut down. Trying to make something more pleasing to the eye whilst saving effort /being wildlife friendly was just a loose idea. I may just have to accept what it is and try to do more regularly. I have received some interesting information from the question though for which, as always, I'm appreciative.
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If you want to reduce fertility rapidly and kill off the grass entirely, rather than just scarifying you could strip off the turf, rotavate and grow a vigorous leafy crop that uses up the nutrients in the soil. Then you are ready to sow, plug and go.
The introduction of a leafy crop is something I had never heard of before but can see the logic. Cheers.
That's interesting. Is a nitrogen fixer what might be classed as " green manure"?
I appreciate you are saying I would need the oppose though 👍
The fallacy is that for any growing plant there will be roots. Prossibly as much mass and potential nutients as the top growth. If you remove the abve ground growth you may still be enriching the soil.
Choose a plant (I can't recommend one) that comes up root-and-all easlily.
But aren't wild gardens meant to be "wild". Take what nature throws at you.
"Have nothing in your garden that you don't know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful."
I have left this strip for many weeks but now it's hard going to cut down. Trying to make something more pleasing to the eye whilst saving effort /being wildlife friendly was just a loose idea. I may just have to accept what it is and try to do more regularly.
I have received some interesting information from the question though for which, as always, I'm appreciative.