3
depend upon your time, budget,
the size of your site, and
attitude towards herbicides.
Method One involves early
site preparation three weeks
prior to sowing. Tilling is
followed by repeated cultivation
during that time period, thus
eliminating the early annual
weeds.
Method Two starts six weeks
ahead of sowing. During the
first three weeks after tilling,
weeds are allowed to grow (even
encouraged with watering) and
then they are treated with a
herbicide such as Roundup. The
weeds will die during the next
three weeks and can be raked
away. This also gives the
chemicals time to wash out of
the soil. This method is good if
you have persistent perennial
weeds to remove.
Method Three takes more
planning, but requires no
chemicals. Till in the late
summer or early fall of the year
before you want to plant. The
soil can be left fallow, or you can
plant a cover crop such as
buckwheat or annual rye grass.
This will hold the soil in place,
add beneficial organic matter to
the site, and help to crowd out
germinating weeds. In the spring,
lightly cultivate to loosen the
soil and turn under the cover
crop just before planting.
Sowing
Once your ground is bare and
loosened and you are ready to
sow, there are some tricks that
will make the process easier and
more successful. Choose a
nearly windless day, and
separate the seed into roughly
two equal parts. Put the first
half in a container and add
about 10 parts of light sand or
vermiculite.
This will help you to spread
the seed evenly, and also make
it easy to see where you’ve
already been. Sow this half over
the whole area to be seeded,
either by hand or using a hand-
crank cyclone seeder.
You may want to sow up to 2
or 3 times the supplier’s
recommended minimum rates,
but don’t go higher than that
because it will inhibit good
growth.
Mix the second half of your
seed in the same way, and
spread it over the whole area
also, making sure that you hit
any bare spots that were
missed the first time. Don’t
rake or cover the seed with soil.
Instead, press it into the
ground using a lawn roller or
piece of plywood that you walk
on.
If compressing isn’t possible,
it is better to do nothing than
to rake or cover the seed.
Germination
All seeds, even wildflowers,
need moisture and warmth to
germinate. Some will sprout in a
week, while others take months.
Most mixes will include both
annual and perennial flowers.
The annuals germinate quickly
and grow fast. They bloom early
and heavily, set seed, and are
killed by frost. They may reseed,
but you will probably want to
add more seed every couple of
years to insure a good
performance.
Perennials come back every
year from the same roots. They
grow more slowly and may not
flower until the second year.
They get larger and stronger
each year, forming clumps that
may die back in winter but
return the next spring. A third
type of plant, biennials, form
leaves the first year, bloom the
second, and are killed by frost
after blooming. They are
generally considered perennial
performers, however, because of
their heavy seed production.
Maintenance
Fertilizer is not recommended.
Wildflowers grow best in soils
with low fertility, where nitrogen
levels are low. Using fertilizer will
also promote weed growth.
Water to get the meadow
established, and then only in
times of stress. Overwatering
yields more leaves and fewer
flowers.
You might have to pull up
some weeds or shrubs that
intrude on your meadow, but
often it is easiest to just let
them go and become part of
your natural landscape. Once a
year, at the end of the growing
