Hi Again, thanks for the info and Stone here are answers to your questions - and a few more questions 🙂
[quote="stone"] Pic?
- How long has this been turf? Any guesses?
* I will attach a pic after writing this. The area of concern is my back yard. I do not know how long but would suspect for 40 yrs. When I moved in 6 yrs ago, I quit mowing about 1/4 of back yard - to leave a 'natural area.' I have it bush wacked every spring. I am pleased with this area (so are other little critters - black snakes, bunnies and birds) and it is beginning to regenerate a bit to a heathy meadow. I want to double the size of this and incorporate native plants. I prefer not to till everything up and start from scratch. Would that work? Should I just scratch up areas and put seeds out? Advice, please.
- Also, are you going to have issues with the neighbors?
Town people don't like seeing vegetation that's taller than an inch...
* No issue with neighbors, the small neighborhood is
surrounded by pasture.
- Personally am not a fan of solarizing. I wouldn't do it.
I'd try to regain the plants that would already be there if someone had left it alone...
* Agree, would prefer not to kill everything and 'cook' soil bugs.
- There's usually tons of wildflower seeds in the existing seed bank... It's always fun seeing what shows up when we stop mowing.
* Have some thistle, too many wild thorny plants and junipers - which I dig out.
- That turf generally requires massive amounts of effort to keep it going... when all that stops?
Generally, the turf starts dying out without our having to do anything.
When I'm planting a garden with container grown plants, I'll dig out the turf and shovel dig the soil, but to create a wildflower meadow... I'd probably try to do a lot less.
The thing about a meadow... it usually looks like a grassy pasture.
If you're hoping for a flower garden... you may be disappointed.
* My goal is to have a grassy pasture with plants that provide shelter and food for birds, pollinators and other little critters.
- As far as flowers to plant?
You can buy seed mixes...or find someone that will let you walk through the back of their lot, looking for wildflowers... I prefer the second... but you would need to learn what the plants look like when they aren't in bloom...
you can not transplant stuff while it is flowering... but you can tie a ribbon, and come back later and collect a few seeds.
* So how do I add plants to this tall (pretty nice) grass that happens when I quit mowing?
- I have lots of suggestions... we can make this happen...
you may start seeing pretty blue chicory flowers within a month of parking the mower!It doesn't have to be difficult.
* I love your enthusiasm, you have encouraged me. So I will read up on collecting, preserving and planting native seeds. So advice please on that and when to scatter the collected seeds - after I have it bushwacked in the fall or in the spring when the grass starts growing again ? Can I continue to bushwhack when I have native plants? I have been cutting it down once a year because that seems to keep the junipers and thorny plants down and promotes healthier grass. Look forward to additional suggestions.
