It’s easy to notice the glories of a wildflower meadow in the summer, but did you know that there are treasures to be found in the autumn and winter too? And it’s not just species rich meadows either, church yards, pastures, even lawns can be harboring exciting grassland fungi. Take
Category: Grassland Management
In Praise of Bracken
Bracken tends to get a pretty bad press. However, we have found that bracken can make a positive contribution to a habitat, garden or farm system. Read about bracken and how we use and manage it in THIS GUIDE
A Late Bracken Harvest
What to do if you’re running low on animal bedding? Go out and harvest more! The bracken on our farm needs controlling, but it is also an incredibly useful resource. Amongst other things, we use it for cattle bedding. When the autumn harvest began to run out, Phil and I
When to Mow your Wildflower Meadow
RHS Chelsea Flower show starts next week. And we will soon begin hay making with our annual “Chelsea Chop” Conventional advise has suggested waiting until July or later before beginning to cut wildflower meadows. In recent years this advice has begun to change. We now begin our hay making at
You Can Scythe in the Rain.
Unlike mechanical mowers a scythe is perfectly happy cutting wet vegetation ….which is lucky really, considering the weather we have been having. The view out of the window may not be very enticing, but sometimes you just have to get out there and mow! In fact, damp drizzly days can
The hidden promise of the winter wildflower meadow – the role of grazing in management
It’s officially Spring, yet at this time of year the wildflower meadows are keeping the glory to come well hidden. A combination of autumn grazing by our two cows, followed by winter grazing by our flock of sheep has left the vegetation short. It looks unpromising now but it is
Carmarthenshire Meadows Group
If you own, manage or are looking to create a wild flower meadow in or near Carmarthenshire, however small or large, or simply have an interest in meadows, the Carmarthenshire Meadows Group may be a useful source of information. Their next meeting is on Saturday 25th March, see more details