May 11, 2010

The great wildflower experiment results are mixed

In December, I seeded the bare dirt around the new house and also on the flat below with rye seed which usually grows easily anywhere and with some wildflowers around the house to brighten up the area and to save walking in mud in winter and breathing dust in the summer.

We have some of the results below:

The rye woked well. It grows fast and loosens the hardpan. Even in the places where it germinated sparcely, it keeps the soil in place and soaks up water so that you're not walking around in mud.

These sweet little Baby Blue Eyes were the first wildflower to germinate.

The rye did well on the flat especially in the wet areas, but where the ground was really packed hard, it hardly germinated. I think I'll have to get someone to disk the upper left bare ground in this picture.

Part of the problem with the growth is that the area was not fertilized. Still, the clovers and wildflowers and some of the rye will reseed and native plants will move in to take over. All it needs is water this summer which I intend to supply.

Here is as close as it comes to what was advertised.