May have killed my wild meadow before its started.
 

I have sown a section of my garden with Wild Meadow seed recently (less than 2 weeks ago) , but today I have spread weed and feed over this area aswell, when I was doing the rest of the lawn.
As soon as I had done it I suddenly thought this may kill the wild meadow seed before it has even started....So my question is have I done the wrong thing using weed and feed over this area..?
Many thanks for any info.

May have killed my wild meadow before its started.
 

Jony68.gardenbanana.uk wrote:

I have sown a section of my garden with Wild Meadow seed recently (less
than 2 weeks ago) , but today I have spread weed and feed over this area
aswell, when I was doing the rest of the lawn.
As soon as I had done it I suddenly thought this may kill the wild
meadow seed before it has even started....So my question is have I done
the wrong thing using weed and feed over this area..?
Many thanks for any info.

Ahahahahahahahahahahahaha. . . . weed killer on newly sown
wildflowers... ahahahahahahahahahaha. . . . jony, that's like putting
on freshly laundered panties and not wiping your ass. LOL-LOL

Hi Jony, hmmmmm ! but my gut feeling is that you might just have got away with it as most weed and feed rely on there being existing weeds present in grass on which the chemicals act. So assuming that as it had only been sown recently and that its been dry (assuming that your in the UK ??) IF nothing had germinated, you probably are ok but if the seed had germinated, then it might be a different story ?? Also, most weed and feed require that the lawn is at least 6 months old before applying so if even the grass has germinated, you might have damaged that as well !! I think you'll need to see what happens and what grows ??
As a point of interest, having created several 'wild meadows' professionally, if I was to be asked whats the biggest mistake that most people make, its trying to create these in 'normal top-soil', let me explain. If you do try to create these in normal top soil, the grass grows so well that it often smothers the broad leaved flowering element of the mixture and you end up with very little 'flower' so what I found was the most successful way is to remove most of the top soil almost to subsoil level and then sow. The effect of doing this is to 'weaken' the grass element, allowing the flowering element more chance to survive without the grasses crowding them out.
One of the most successful 'wild flower meadows' I ever created was on coastal sand dunes, as planting here gave a lovely balance to the grass v wild flowers, due to the poor nature of the sandy soil.
Hope this helps, Lannerman.

May have killed my wild meadow before its started.
 

On Sun, 1 Apr 2012 14:58:49 +0000, Jony68 wrote:

I have sown a section of my garden with Wild Meadow seed recently (less
than 2 weeks ago) , but today I have spread weed and feed over this area
aswell, when I was doing the rest of the lawn.
As soon as I had done it I suddenly thought this may kill the wild
meadow seed before it has even started....So my question is have I done
the wrong thing using weed and feed over this area..?

Depends on how you look at it. Your weed and feed probably has 2.4-D,
which will kill most broadleaf plants, so you've just nuked what you sowed.
On the other hand, most of the "Wild Meadow"-type seed mixes are loaded with
non-native plants that often become real nuisances in some areas. So you've
possibly staved off a problem for yourself.

On the other hand, we probably don't need more 2,4-D running around in the soil
and getting into mischief.

Kay

If you have definite killing frost in winter, things are different. In these areas (most of the country) spring and fall are both fine for planting, and each has its advantages.

If you decide to plant in fall, wait until after killing frost. The timing is roughly the same as when tulip bulbs are planted-late enough to be sure your seeds will not sprout before winter. The point is to wait until the soil is so chilled that seed cannot sprout, but stays dormant until warming soil and moisture trigger germination in spring.

The idea is to clear the ground, do not sow seed, but instead begin immediately to encourage weed growth as quickly as you can. This means watering if it's dry, and watching closely. After about two weeks, you'll see green seedlings popping up, and you'll know at least the early germinating seed population of your soil. Wait as long as you can (this usually depends on weather, and how early you got started), and once you have a good idea of what you're dealing with, you're ready to kill those young weeds and spread your flower seed.

here are several ways to proceed. Many use a herbicide like Round-Up. Others have been known to lay wet newspaper on the weeds to smother them, but this is not surefire and takes longer. At this point, you must resist heavy raking or tilling again, because if you do, you'll turn up fresh weed seeds which will begin their sprouting process, starting the whole cycle over again. In other words, at this point, you must kill the weed seedlings you see, but NOT disturb the soil again.

Annuals are the flowers that normally sprout quickly, grow fast, and are the first to bloom. They bloom heavily, then drop seed from fading flowers, and are killed by the first frosts. Annuals are the plants that live only one growing season.

Many thanks for your input, I think I will just have to wait and see. I also read elsewhere that wild meadows tend to work best on lesser fertile soils.
If it all fails, theres always next year..! Jony68

I would reseed and put down bonemeal instead of fertilizer.