Let’s make hay!

Grass drying out after the hay cut before being removed.

Hay Cut Update

We arranged with our neighbour Timmy Nettles for a local farmer to come and cut Wild Maple field at the same time as Timmy’s wildflower field, which he did this week, and to take away the grasses as hay when dry. The reason we did that is to give the trees we will be planting this winter a head start; less grassy growth will make it easier to dig slits for our tree roots, and it will also mean less competition for the trees as they seek moisture for their growth next spring. We will still need to remove the grass around the base of the trees for a few years until they’re established, but will need to do that carefully and by hand.

Removing the grass will also make it easier to establish our wildflower meadow as the tractor cutting has prevented the tough thatch in the grass building up and this will make it easier for the wildflower seeds and plug plants we will be sowing and planting in the Meadow to establish themselves.  The removal of the hay will also mean a lot of nutrition is removed. Wildflowers tend to flourish better in poorer soils with less nitrogen so less grass growth will help with this.