Create and maintain a flower meadow

Different types of meadows

If you want to create a meadow, it is not enough to simply buy a bag of meadow flower seeds, sprinkle them and move on to their germination hope - not all meadows are the same, because different soil conditions ensure that certain plants are particularly good at it thrive. Therefore, before the sowing first of all one Soil analysis have carried out in order to find out the right type of meadow for the targeted piece of land. Furthermore, the type of meadow also depends on how you want to use it. A lean or Dry meadow can hardly be used agriculturally, while fat meadows, due to their high nutrient content, are particularly suitable as cattle pasture and for haymaking. Marsh meadows can usually only be used for the production of hay, while horse meadows, although lean, must still contain a high proportion of structurally rich grasses. In this article, however, we will only deal with the two forms of a flower meadow, as they are more or less often to be found - up and down the country.

How to create a poor meadow

Rough meadows usually thrive on sandy or lime-rich, i.e. H. nutrient poor, soils. For this reason, this meadow type also has the largest variety of different species, because fast-growing grasses and nitrogen-loving flowers (e.g. B. Dandelions or buttercups) hardly stand a chance on such a soil. Instead, the rather slow-growing flowers and herbs come into play. If you create a poor meadow first of all, if necessary, you have to lean the existing soil. This is especially the case if there is already a meadow, lawn or even a field on the selected area. Proceed as described for the system:

• Mow the existing vegetation too short as possible.
• Scarify the soil so that it is loosened and ventilated.
• Alternatively, you can dig it up.
• Chop up coarse chunks of earth so that the surface is nice, crumbly and smooth.
• If you have to lean the soil, work in a thick layer of sand and earth mixture.
• Scatter the flower seeds in a wide spread and cover them with a thin layer of sand.
• This is to protect the seeds from being eaten by birds.
• Keep the soil evenly moist and avoid using any fertilizers.

Typical flowers of a poor meadow

On rough meadows are common Representatives of plant species how

• Lesser ormennig (Agrimonia eupatoria)
• Carnation (Armeria maritima)
• Trembling grass (Briza media)
• Real bedstraw (Galium verum)
• Common cowslip (Primula veris)
• or Pechnelken (Silene viscaria)

to find.

Creating a fat meadow

the Fettwiese is laid out in a similar way to the lean meadow, except that you do not, of course, enrich the soil with additional sand for emaciation. Still, you should especially if you turn a lawn into a meadowto ensure emaciation. This is done primarily by stopping the usual fertilization of the lawn. Should the lawn or If the floor area is overgrown with moss, this is usually an indication of over-acidification of the soil - you can counteract this with additional liming. In addition, it can often make sense not to just mow the previous vegetation briefly and dig up the ground, but instead the top layer of earth with a shallow one spade to remove. This is then replaced by fresh earth.

Typical flowers of a fat meadow

Above all, there are many fast-growing grasses and some nitrogen-loving plants on fat meadows. Herbs, on the other hand, disappear the more nutritious the meadow is.

• Dandelion (taraxacum officinale)
• GermanderHonorary award (Veronica chamaedrys)
• Soft Trespe (Bromus hordeaceus)
• White bedstraw (Galium album)
• Sharp buttercup (Ranunculus acris), especially on moist, greasy meadows
• White clover (Trifolium repens)

Proper maintenance of the meadow

Of course, fat and lean meadows differ also in terms of care quite strong from each other.

Maintain a poor meadow

The most important care advice for poor meadows is that they must not be fertilized under any circumstances, because fertilization promotes especially vigorous plants like grasses. The more nutrients you add, the more grasses and the fewer flowers will flourish in your meadow. Instead, however, the Magerwiese should Limed once a year because this measure prevents over-acidification of the soil. Regular mowing once or twice a year also contributes to a rich flora. It is best to mow the first time either in May or in the second half of June and the second time in September. However, the cuttings should be cleared away.

Maintain a fat meadow

In contrast to the Magerwiese should Fat meadows fertilized regularly will. For this purpose, you can apply special art, but also natural fertilizers (liquid manure, dung, compost). Grazed fat meadows receive a completely natural fertilization by the Cattle manure.(€ 18.80 at Amazon *) Furthermore, fat meadows should be mowed about three times a year what traditionally happens once in May, once in the second half of June and once in August.

Tips & Tricks

Whichever type of meadow you choose, all meadows need one thing: as much sun as possible.

IJA