What to sow for hay?

[Grelinette]

Hello Chatelot,

Having horses, large wasteland available and occupying part of my time in green spaces, I tried a lot of grassland cutting experiences on one side that I deposited on the ground of the another to resemer on a cleared space.
Similarly, when I feed my horses, I lay hay, sainfoin or alfalfa on the ground, each time in different places for seeds to fall, bury themselves and germinate to re-install meadow in the horse parks. I also rotate my horses from one park to another to avoid trampling or grazing tender young shoots.

It works more or less but it is not ideal and this "improvised" meadow vegetates more than it develops: some nice little shoots of irregular meadow but overall it is not as effective as by preparing the soil, by amending it and watering after a real sowing done in the rules of the Art.

I think there is no secret, a meadow worthy of the name needs a suitable land, sunshine and minimal irrigation.

In my opinion, if the cleared area is not too big, try to use a weeder or a rototiller to break the small roots of the weeds (by saying that, I will make the followers of "lazy gardening" rant), fine a little soil according to its nature (clay, limestone, etc.) to find a balance more suited to the meadow, sow, cover and tamp. For watering, it's more complicated if you don't have water nearby.

It's a job, but it's more encouraging to see a positive result than to do something light and look at the small fragile prairie shoots that vegetate.

For the seeds, I would go to a merchant to buy seeds from a hardy and resistant meadow. You can also see on the net, there are now grain libraries that bloom everywhere where individuals exchange, give their left unused seeds and can also provide useful feedback.
Eventually, look to your home if there is an association of volunteer gardeners who can help and advise you, or provide you with a stock of unused seeds.
A local farmer who hay can also advise you and leave you the funds of his sacks of prairie seed: when some farmers sow acres of meadow, they do not bother to scrape sack funds.

Otherwise, I also have a background of prairie seed that I can send you by mail (leave me your coordinates by MP): every time I sow a meadow in a garden, I pour what remains in a barrel and when the opportunity arises I sow in the sandstone of my peregrinations. This is not guaranteed but you can have fun surprises because I mix everything and anything like seeds. Long live biodiversity!

I forgot: it is now in September that it is advisable to sow the meadows so that the seed has time to bury itself before the winter. I found this site which seems to give interesting explanations: http://www.prairies-gnis.org/pages/periode.htm

[chatelot16]

Otherwise, I also have a background of prairie seed that I can send you by mail (leave me your coordinates by MP): every time I sow a meadow in a garden, I pour what remains in a barrel and when the opportunity arises I sow in the sandstone of my peregrinations. This is not guaranteed but you can have fun surprises because I mix everything and anything like seeds. Long live biodiversity!

thank you, but the bag that I found expensive in the co-operative corner is finally quite reasonable compared to what we find on the net

[Did67]

No need to argue ...

The meadows are sensitive to the climate! In the south, naturally, a scrubland settles where in Ireland, mowing, we have a golf course!

After that, what everyone calls a "beautiful" meadow is relative ... expectations!

Finally, a beautiful meadow will "drift" towards a "meadow" in balance with the environment (soil, exposure, climate) and the treatment inflicted (mowing, grazing, overgrazing or abandonment ...). Inevitably ...

Now, sowing obviously allows you to quickly have "a maximum" of "good grasses". It's obvious. Even if this will evolve later!