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Wildlife meadows

johnglambBN2ncnbKjohnglambBN2ncnbK Posts: 1
in Wildlife gardening
about 50 years ago I purchased a farm near Lichfield and the vendor pulled me to one side and told me not to plough or spray too early the small field adjacent to the buildings. He said that this field had always been known as the "Doctor" field as it contained many useful herbs that would mend any ailing cow/sheep and thus was a valuable asset. It was never ablaze with popular concept of wild flower meadow as is the norm today. It's not all about the pollinators, Farmers like me have been spraying out these pernicious weeds as most are poisonous to  stock.

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  • Slow-wormSlow-worm Posts: 1,630
    Then I'd be doing better fencing. 
  • CeresCeres Posts: 2,698
    @johnglambBN2nncnbK welcome to the forum.
    Interesting. Of course farming is a business and I am surrounded by what amount to open air factories, something that I didn't appreciate when I was a town dweller. The idea of having a picnic on the edge of a field just seems ludicrous now that I have seen the tractors out spraying and the combines eating their way across a field of gold. There's a beauty to it all but also purpose and need. A field of sheep may look cute but it is a field of roasts and chops when it comes down to it. A field of barley ends up in bottles.
    The modern fashion for wild flower meadows in a gardening context is just that.....a fad that will doubtless pass as every other fashion has in the past.....but it is a useful fad as it brings the destruction of insects to the attention of everyone. It may not be "all about the pollinators" but without them we are all in deep trouble. There are many wild plants that are not good in a farming context but if we look at this as a game of Jenga, then removing certain things can cause the whole lot to fall. So the fashionable wildflower meadow is a useful way of keeping things in balance so that all things can thrive and it can, with other gardens and field margins, provide a wildlife corridor for insects and creatures that would otherwise be driven to the margins and then extinction.
    It is good to hear differing viewpoints and I love the idea of a special field for ailing livestock.
    Let us hope that together we can do something to reverse some of the decline in our wildlife.
     


  • philippasmith2philippasmith2 Posts: 3,742
    Not quite sure what point you are making but be interesting to know what the "useful herbs" were in your small field and whether/how you used them to treat your stock ?  Were they successful ?   Did you use any of your land for food production or solely livestock ?  
    In the context of a gardening forum, wild flower "meadows" are often used to encourage pollinators as well as trying to offset the sterility of endless swathes of pristine lawns, concrete/paving/decking etc. 
    A pity really that the farming community and the gardening community often seem to be in opposition to a certain extent.  
    Hopefully this won't be just a one off post from you - a different perspective is always welcome :)
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