Yours is the first video I found for planting a meadow in the states where I live. I took some notes for my own use, but perhaps they will be helpful to others too. Thanks for sharing your knowledge! 0:34 Step 1 Site evaluation 1. Hours of sunlight? (4+ ideal) 2. Soil composition? (wildflowers are adaptable) 1:10 Step 2 Site preparation. *Most important step* "The more time you take preparing the area by getting rid of the grasses and weeds, the better results your wildflower planting is going to yield..." 1. Rototiller - can be rented from hardward stores, inexpensive 2. (or) Use steel rake/trowl. 3. (&/or) Black plastic covering. 2:16 Step 3 How much seed is needed? Ask: 1. How big an area? (length x width = square footage) 2. What are your expecations? That is, do you want high visibility/lots of color? Or some color in a low-visibility area? 1+2 = Seed Requirements For example: High visibility: ~1 lb. of seeds for 1000 square feet Not high visibility ~1/2 lb. for 1000 square feet It's a matter of choice." _____ ♥. #dulynoted
Thanks, this was very helpful. And yes, most of the videos I see are for the UK so the seeds and weather are completely different than what I need to know about.
I covered a small 10x10 area with black plastic in the spring. It was covered in weeds and cheat grass. I took it off in August and so far not one weed or grass has sprouted! I have a bag of perennial wild flower seeds that I got from you guys and Im still (Oct 16) waiting on the first frosts so I can plant them. Im at 8300' in northern NM.
Fantastic video, keep up the good work, get the whole of America planting up their wild flower meadows, we need to look after the bees , butterflies and other pollinators, not to mention the birds..
Let us know if you have any questions! Lots of great information on the website. www.americanmeadows.com/content/resources/meadowscaping/monarch-waystation
Ok - just a novice here. So he talked about prep and such. Then how do we go about seeding? Just use a broadcast spreader? Do we need to cover the seeds with more dirt, work them into the soil, or anything like that?
Hello Koda...Thanks for the kind words and please let me know if I can answer any further wildflower questions. You can e-mail me directly at mike@americanmeadows.com
what kind of rototiller specs should i get? ive seen several sizes. someone told me i would need some super heavy duty rototiller to get rid of the grass. my concern is also about the grass, .....making sure i get the grass doesnt come back and dominate.
We used a rototiller to dig up the grass and weeds, but they keep coming back. Anyone know how to get rid of tough wild grasses? I want to do it naturally because it is going to be a pollinator garden (no Roundup or other poisons)
@@stolte95 I assume you're being sarcastic, but for those who don't know, rock salt would kill everything and ruin the soil. Maybe some wildflowers would survive but most won't.
When you use the tiller you expose the grass seeds. You could try putting down thin layers of newspaper to kill the grass, then putting a thin layer of compost or peat moss or coco noir and planting into that.
VictorNewman201 use weed cloth. Plant wildflowers on top of the weed cloth. Seed penetrate the cloth(mat) but gras can’t come up. A free gardening hack is newspaper for this. Should be about 15-20 pages thick.
Use a better seed mix. This kind isn't meant to stand the test of time. There are much better ones out there that actually have natives and are meant for restoration. Try prairiemoon.com and prairienursery.com. They have much better info
The fact that its this hard to grow a wildflower meadow makes me understand why they dont really exist…if i could just throw seeds down, id have wildflowers…but they have to be more fickle than the amount of effort im willing to do…
If you plant perennials, you can do the preparation once, and then enjoy your wildflowers for many years to come. Check out our guide to choosing the right wildflowers for your yard - www.americanmeadows.com/content/wildflowers/how-to/choose-wildflower-seeds
@@americanmeadows i also have about 3 acres of lawn plus another 20 acres of wooded… It costs nearly $1200-$1500/acre of wildflower/native grass seeds.. So to plant an actual “meadow” is around $4500 in seeds alone…no soil prep, erosion mats, etc.. Thats the issue…if i wanted to throw money at it, yeah, i can do it… Im just saying there is a reason why turf lawns are common more than just aesthetics…
@@TheAcenightcreeper plant a small patch and mow it down jn the fall to spread the seed. Over time, your small patch will grow. Nothing good in life is free and easy. You could put in the time or the money and have something nice. Or you can do neither and complain about it, and have nothing to show for it.
@@GregoryMcConnor bud, i know you think you know what your talking about but i have 40 acres…im trying to bring back the natural order, oak/hickory savannah in the south east in soil thats been farmed, rocky, and all timber… The prep alone for the soil is $75k worth of work if i were to hire someone, thats on the good friend price… The cost of wildflower seed is $1000+ acre… How many decades you estimate it would take for one acre to turn into 40. My point is that if its that important, govt should subsidize the cost with me, pay for seed, ill do the labor…you most likely have a postage stamp yard, we arent talking about a backyard meadow…
Michael I already sprayed the roundup... the area I brown now with a few blades of green grass. I weed eated it and now I’m raking up the grass. How long should I wait to plant. Before you responded a landscaper told me to use roundup.
@@wvgoodoleboy5134 Hey man. If you know how long roundup will stick around, wait long enough for it to fully go away before proceeding. If you can't till, try scratching the surface of the area really good to expose the dirt before broadcasting seed. Keep the area moist once the seed is spread. Will take a few weeks before you see flowers. After that, continue to give water until they're about 8 inches tall. Beyond that, they can just about take care of themselves. Mow in the fall.
The instructions I've got say either spring or autumn and the lady who does our communal gardens says around the end of March,so 31st March today and I've put them in! I had to remove a lot of weeds from the area I planted them in,I think I took most of them out,now I'm hoping for a good result. The instructions said that I should make sure they've got enough water each day until they start to come up so I plan to water them but not over-water them each day.
Dig in with our wildflower learning center for detailed information! www.americanmeadows.com/content/wildflowers Plus, you can always reach out to our customer service team for advice.
The first step really should be to create some interest in the landscape for the flowers to play off. That muddy pond and plain grass field are lacking interest that will frame the wildflowers for success. Take a look at the photo gallery on our site to really explain this better than words alone.
Hi! Our seeds are 100% pure seed, no fillers, with thousands of seeds per pound. Birds don't usually make any impact! Check out our planting guide for more tips. www.americanmeadows.com/content/wildflowers/how-to/wildflower-seed-planting-instructions
Yours is the first video I found for planting a meadow in the states where I live. I took some notes for my own use, but perhaps they will be helpful to others too.
Thanks for sharing your knowledge!
0:34 Step 1
Site evaluation
1. Hours of sunlight? (4+ ideal)
2. Soil composition? (wildflowers are adaptable)
1:10 Step 2
Site preparation.
*Most important step*
"The more time you take preparing the area by getting rid of the grasses and weeds, the better results your wildflower planting is going to yield..."
1. Rototiller - can be rented from hardward stores, inexpensive
2. (or) Use steel rake/trowl.
3. (&/or) Black plastic covering.
2:16 Step 3
How much seed is needed? Ask:
1. How big an area?
(length x width = square footage)
2. What are your expecations?
That is, do you want high visibility/lots of color? Or some color in a low-visibility area?
1+2 = Seed Requirements
For example:
High visibility:
~1 lb. of seeds for 1000 square feet
Not high visibility
~1/2 lb. for 1000 square feet
It's a matter of choice."
_____
♥. #dulynoted
Thanks, this was very helpful. And yes, most of the videos I see are for the UK so the seeds and weather are completely different than what I need to know about.
Good video thanks, i ordered as much wildflower seeds i could afford and im going to plant them all over my area.
Hopefully it went well
Wonder how it went
Were they native flowers?
I covered a small 10x10 area with black plastic in the spring. It was covered in weeds and cheat grass. I took it off in August and so far not one weed or grass has sprouted! I have a bag of perennial wild flower seeds that I got from you guys and Im still (Oct 16) waiting on the first frosts so I can plant them. Im at 8300' in northern NM.
Fantastic video, keep up the good work, get the whole of America planting up their wild flower meadows, we need to look after the bees , butterflies and other pollinators, not to mention the birds..
Looking to make a monarch waystation with our high
school's Garden Club and Environmental club. This is really helpful
Let us know if you have any questions! Lots of great information on the website. www.americanmeadows.com/content/resources/meadowscaping/monarch-waystation
im excited to plant my wildflower seeds
Hooray! Happy growing!
I hope you have beautiful results.
Ok - just a novice here. So he talked about prep and such. Then how do we go about seeding? Just use a broadcast spreader? Do we need to cover the seeds with more dirt, work them into the soil, or anything like that?
pt. II
omg I just ordered a half pound of seeds from y'all and this popped up (creepy google but awesome vid)
How do you keep grass out?
You're amazing thank you
Hello Koda...Thanks for the kind words and please let me know if I can answer any further wildflower questions. You can e-mail me directly at mike@americanmeadows.com
what kind of rototiller specs should i get? ive seen several sizes. someone told me i would need some super heavy duty rototiller to get rid of the grass. my concern is also about the grass, .....making sure i get the grass doesnt come back and dominate.
Do you guys have any newer videos, showing how to do a no-till site preparation?
We have a great guide with different techniques here! www.americanmeadows.com/content/wildflowers/how-to/seed-planting-preparation
Thanks for sharing its a big help for us
Glad we could help!
Great video! Thanks for sharing :)
Thank you.......very informative!
สวยๆจ้า
We used a rototiller to dig up the grass and weeds, but they keep coming back. Anyone know how to get rid of tough wild grasses? I want to do it naturally because it is going to be a pollinator garden (no Roundup or other poisons)
Rock salt.
@@stolte95 I assume you're being sarcastic, but for those who don't know, rock salt would kill everything and ruin the soil. Maybe some wildflowers would survive but most won't.
When you use the tiller you expose the grass seeds. You could try putting down thin layers of newspaper to kill the grass, then putting a thin layer of compost or peat moss or coco noir and planting into that.
VictorNewman201 use weed cloth. Plant wildflowers on top of the weed
cloth. Seed penetrate the cloth(mat) but gras can’t come up. A free gardening hack is newspaper for this. Should be about 15-20 pages thick.
Use a better seed mix. This kind isn't meant to stand the test of time. There are much better ones out there that actually have natives and are meant for restoration. Try prairiemoon.com and prairienursery.com. They have much better info
The fact that its this hard to grow a wildflower meadow makes me understand why they dont really exist…if i could just throw seeds down, id have wildflowers…but they have to be more fickle than the amount of effort im willing to do…
If you plant perennials, you can do the preparation once, and then enjoy your wildflowers for many years to come. Check out our guide to choosing the right wildflowers for your yard - www.americanmeadows.com/content/wildflowers/how-to/choose-wildflower-seeds
@@americanmeadows i also have about 3 acres of lawn plus another 20 acres of wooded…
It costs nearly $1200-$1500/acre of wildflower/native grass seeds..
So to plant an actual “meadow” is around $4500 in seeds alone…no soil prep, erosion mats, etc..
Thats the issue…if i wanted to throw money at it, yeah, i can do it…
Im just saying there is a reason why turf lawns are common more than just aesthetics…
@@TheAcenightcreeper plant a small patch and mow it down jn the fall to spread the seed. Over time, your small patch will grow. Nothing good in life is free and easy. You could put in the time or the money and have something nice. Or you can do neither and complain about it, and have nothing to show for it.
@@GregoryMcConnor bud, i know you think you know what your talking about but i have 40 acres…im trying to bring back the natural order, oak/hickory savannah in the south east in soil thats been farmed, rocky, and all timber…
The prep alone for the soil is $75k worth of work if i were to hire someone, thats on the good friend price…
The cost of wildflower seed is $1000+ acre…
How many decades you estimate it would take for one acre to turn into 40.
My point is that if its that important, govt should subsidize the cost with me, pay for seed, ill do the labor…you most likely have a postage stamp yard, we arent talking about a backyard meadow…
If I don't have a tiller could I use a rake and rake the grass after spraying Roundup?
Do not use roundup. Just till the soil and spread seed
Raking the soil will work too
Michael I already sprayed the roundup... the area I brown now with a few blades of green grass. I weed eated it and now I’m raking up the grass. How long should I wait to plant. Before you responded a landscaper told me to use roundup.
@@wvgoodoleboy5134 Hey man. If you know how long roundup will stick around, wait long enough for it to fully go away before proceeding. If you can't till, try scratching the surface of the area really good to expose the dirt before broadcasting seed. Keep the area moist once the seed is spread. Will take a few weeks before you see flowers. After that, continue to give water until they're about 8 inches tall. Beyond that, they can just about take care of themselves. Mow in the fall.
Next time just cover the area in cardboard or a tarp for a couple weeks, it’ll kill the grass and weeds under it.
How do I broadcast spread wildflower seeds in a pasture?
Do you order a snow drop? When is it coming in snow in from Amazon snow drop
We do sell snowdrop bulb! You can find them here: www.americanmeadows.com/category/flower-bulbs/snowdrop-flower-bulbs
Thank you
What time of year should I plant if I live in NJ? Also, how many hours of sunshine is optimal for a good location and how dry of an area?
The instructions I've got say either spring or autumn and the lady who does our communal gardens says around the end of March,so 31st March today and I've put them in! I had to remove a lot of weeds from the area I planted them in,I think I took most of them out,now I'm hoping for a good result. The instructions said that I should make sure they've got enough water each day until they start to come up so I plan to water them but not over-water them each day.
Are these GMO free heirloom seeds?
Our seeds are all Non-GMO. We offer some heirloom varieties, but our biggest selection is with wildflower seed mixes!
Nice!!!
Where’s the rest of the information? Like...the important parts. 🤦🏼♂️
Dig in with our wildflower learning center for detailed information! www.americanmeadows.com/content/wildflowers Plus, you can always reach out to our customer service team for advice.
you single mr farmer mike? xD
Very incomplete. Weed removal, how to keep them out which flowers do well in dry conditions how to water once planted.
You can find all these answers and more in our wildflower learning center! www.americanmeadows.com/content/wildflowers
Trying to pinpoint his accent. Western mass?
Rhode Island :)
The first step really should be to create some interest in the landscape for the flowers to play off. That muddy pond and plain grass field are lacking interest that will frame the wildflowers for success. Take a look at the photo gallery on our site to really explain this better than words alone.
Do the birds eat your seeds?
Hi! Our seeds are 100% pure seed, no fillers, with thousands of seeds per pound. Birds don't usually make any impact! Check out our planting guide for more tips. www.americanmeadows.com/content/wildflowers/how-to/wildflower-seed-planting-instructions
how many horse power was this rototiller @americanMeadows