Despite threatening rain, five of us tackled some important tasks on 14 November. You may remember that we gathered hay rattle (yellow rattle) seeds heads back in July. We dried them off, and one of us spend a couple of hours separating out the seeds. We harvested the equivalent of a hundred plus commercial seed packets - here are just some of the seeds:
We are experimenting with planting the hay rattle in patches of the invasive meadowsweet. Hay rattle is a semi-parasite - it can tap into other plants' root systems, and we are hoping that this may give us a natural means of controlling the meadowsweet. Nobody else has tried this combination, as far as we are aware. Time will tell!
Of course, next year we will need to find the particular patches we have "treated" - so we have brought in a bit of technology. We took GPS ("Satnav") readings for each of the patches:
We also noticed some "fairy rings" of large mushrooms in the meadows:
In the meantime, our other work party was busy doing litter picking - an "autumn spring clean", perhaps?
Of course, next year we will need to find the particular patches we have "treated" - so we have brought in a bit of technology. We took GPS ("Satnav") readings for each of the patches:
We also noticed some "fairy rings" of large mushrooms in the meadows:
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In the meantime, our other work party was busy doing litter picking - an "autumn spring clean", perhaps?
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