preparing soil for wild flower garden..

I am new to the forum, looks great,

I am newbie gardener... and have started a little project to establish a small patch of wild flower garden...

I am looking for a little advice... I have dug out all the top soil.. (see my blog here to see what I have done) http://www.tinywildgarden.blogspot.co.uk/2012/10/digging-out-top-soil_6.html

Seems too deep to till and plant the seeds at that level.. so was planning to fill it back in with some less fertile sub soil from another area of the garden...

The sub soil is clayey.. (i live in the leicestershire/warwickshire border)

would it actually be best to fill it in with something else, or a mixture of stuff, or part rubble or something?

I would rather keep it as a local soil, and get seeds designed for the local soil type, just thought maybe there might be some tips or ideas as something to mix with it...

any help would be much appreciated, thanks!

 

Welcome to Gardeners Corner Matthew

Looks like you've pretty much got it covered in your blog

Some grit would probably be a good thing to help with the drainage on a clay soil, you'll probably find there will be some long dormant seeds already there, poppies can stay dormant for 50 years or more till the soil is disturbed.

Look forward to seeing the progress.

 

thanks zigs

I added some grit. the soil was quite sticky in places so the grit seemed like a good thing.

Didnt get the space quite full today, i'm gonna add the top layer next weekend.

thanks for the help...

 

The only advice I would add is:-
If you intend to grow other plants in the same area - Don't.
Trying to differentiate between the wildflower seeds growing and weeds is a nightmare.
In the wildflower area just sow and wait. Take what comes. Some will be weeds, others your seedings.
Don't meddle - make it easy on yourself.
And goog luck!

 

Maybe a "green manure" would help? Temporarily growing something like mustard and then ploughing it back into the soil to increase fertility for your eventual wildflower lawn? I'm not an expert, its just something I have heard about.

 

I don't think you really want fertility for a wild flower garden
http://billyswann.com/page14.html]

 

I have been mooching around the garden today and where my wildflower garden is it is just covered in grass. I am thinking that this is going to overpower the seeds from last years flowers and they will not grow. Should I dig it all out and back fill with sub soil as in Mathews original post? Or just leave it and see what happens?

Rusty

 

I wouldn't like to advise, Rusty. All I did with my packet of wildflowers last year was to scatter them and hope for the best

 

I'm not going to claim to know better than the many, many people who say low fertility is good for wild flowers, but I'm curious as to why that is?

What springs to mind is the mix usually called things like 'cornfield annuals' or similar, surely the cornfield is quite fertile? Before intensive farming practices, I was taught at school that a farm was typically divided into quarters, with one quarter growing root crops, one growing top crop/cereal, one grazing livestock, and one left fallow. This, I'm told was done in yearly rotation. The reason being to maintain a high level of fertility in the land without expensive (now cheap) additives. I was taught that the wild flowers would thrive in the fallow section. Granted less fertile for that year because it was the last phase of the cycle before the cows were allowed in to graze it (and poo on it, ready for crops the next year), but still very fertile nonetheless.

At least that's my understanding.

I have no doubt there's something I've missed or misunderstood though.

 

I might just give it a bit of a chop and see what happens.

Rusty

 

I'd be inclined to disturb a few patches to give the bare ground colonisers like poppies a chance to grow. Then get some Hayrattle on the go as thats a semi parasite on grasses & should reduce its vigour.

 

The fallow land would have amost certainly included nitrogen fixing clovers, and bear in mind that most of the soils fertility is held in the plants. Thats the idea of green manures, stops the winter rains washing the nutrient out of the soil.

 

I've just been out and ripped a load of the grass out. Do I sow hay rattle direct and can I get it from the garden centre?

Rusty