From Paddock to Wildflower Meadow - a transformation through management
Вставка
- Опубліковано 29 вер 2024
- In this series of videos we explore the management of meadows, in particular species rich meadows giving a range of management examples and techniques as explained by the owners themselves.
In this video we meet David who owns a delightful 2.7 acre paddock on Dartmoor, Devon, England. He talks us through how he and his partner have restored and enhanced their land to become the flower and insect-rich wildlife haven. We learn how they manage it and Dave introduces us to his scythe - a key management tool.
I don't think I would worry too much about the rattle getting out of hand. We introduced it to one area in 2015 (just 10grams of seed planted in two small patches) and it spread quite quickly over about 1/2 an acre at a high density. However, it has subsequently become significantly less dense on that plot over the last two years while being still quite dense on a plot seeded in 2017. I suspect that as the rattle weakens the shallow-rooted rye-grass it thins out itself (I was given to expect as much by Emorsgate who supplied the seed originally)
I wouldn't be surprised if the success of the yellow rattle is a function of the vigor of the grasses in the meadow. Take away too much rattle, and the grasses will just fill the gap, rather than more flowers.
@@MUSTASCH1O Yes indeed. I think one has to keep the rattle going or, as you say the grass is going to come back full strength. We now have several meadow areas and if the rattle gets thin on one we usually have lots on another. I move the arisings from area to area and rake them around to bring rattle seeds from one to the other. Hopefully the areas won't all run low on rattle in the same year.
Brilliant video, I have been trying to get advice on managing our land for the benefit of the wildlife and nature and it is so difficult as a novice.
We have 25 acres including a small wood, we would like to use it for the benefit of nature but not really sure how.
We are located near the Malvern hills in Worcestershire if you can offer any tips we would be delighted to hear them.
Your land looked beautiful and some day hope ours will too.
Michael
We bought a smallholding on the edge of the Peak District about 23 years ago and the advice from the Derbyshire Wildlife Trust was basically to do as little as possible! We have to a great extent stuck with that and we are now seeing the benefits. Like David, we introduced Yellow Rattle to one field in order to generate a flower-rich meadow but have resisted doing so more widely. Much of the land is a vole heaven which is perhaps why we have barn owls, tawny owls, kestrels and visiting buzzards and sparrow-hawks.
Interestingly, we now have orchids in profusion though we can't really ascribe that to any given management scheme as they appear everywhere from the areas we never cut to the lawn that is cut as often as Derbyshire weather allows.
Good luck!
Interesting video. Does bother me that the yellow rattle was stolen. So many people feel entitled to take whatever they like from farmers fields, be it soil, berries, seeds etc. Doesn't seem right to me.
Only the seed was taken...this is a very acceptable way to spread wild flowers. They did not dig up any plants to my knowledge..
Can you please tell me the names of the wild flowers
All of them? There are a lot... if you are interested in learning botany we have a Beginners Botany course you can do online - ecologytraining.co.uk/course/beginners-botany-course/
How safe is it for ponies to graze that type of pasture ?
I'm not even remotely an expert in pony feeding behaviour, but it should be safe. The main poisonous plants I saw were hogweed and ragwort.
As far as I know, horses instinctively know not to eat poisonous plants because of the smell or bitter taste. You don't hear of wild horses dropping dead after all. Poisonings tend to occur in fields that are overgrazed, leaving no alternative to the starving horses. Give your horses enough forage and they will do the rest for you.
This comment doesn't consider harvesting the field for hay. Drying for hay makes poisonous plants palatable, though horses have to eat a large amount of poisonous hay to fall ill.