Hey everyone.
As the title says, all the research states that now is the time to mow it all down to suppress annual weeds and promote a healthy meadow. But of course, here I am at the cusp of some blooms and I my knees got weak haha.
Seriously though, is mowing necessary for larger spaces where it just isn't practical to address it by hand? I'm willing to take the time to trim the invasive weed species in here but don't want to put the meadow through more stress than necessary.
Sowed seeds in December, zone 7b.
Thanks all!
by Malicfeyt
14 Comments
I’d just weed by hand for something this size if you have the time. It’s what I did and it worked out great.
Mowing is definitely for larger seeding projects.
I don’t mow mine, I find hand pulling gives me zen tho so up to you. If you don’t want to mow, don’t.
I mowed it used a brush cutter anywhere there was more weed than desired plants and hand weeded anywhere that was more desired plants. Any weeds I can’t get to easily enough I chop the stalk once it flowers/before it goes to seed.
Looking great! The critters will love you for it!
In addition to weeding, I cut taller plants down by about half. It slows down the blooming, but it keeps the plants more compact. They are less prone to flopping over, and generally look a little more tidy.
Please post progress pics
Many plants will still flower after being cut. You aren’t going to miss out on blooms, and you may actually get more as a result!
Strategically throw down some mulch and put down some pavers for a path.
Boom! Now it’s intentional landscaping 😆
Planting from seed in years 1 and 2, mowing can help plants that take a longer time to establish. If you don’t mow in those years, annuals will tend to dominate and it’ll take much longer for perennials to break through. A lot of non-native weeds are also annuals so that’s the other reason that mowing is helpful.
Year 3 and beyond, mowing once in the spring helps warm season plants by simulating burning. Cool season plants get stunned a bit and there’s more light hitting the ground to warm it. If you don’t mow, you’ll see more blooms early in the year but fewer later in the year. This mowing should be done once after nighttime temps are above 50 degrees F consistently and only for 1/3 of the area, then rake the stems/leaves.
However, if you’re happy with what you’re seeing then you don’t need to mow at all. You’ll get a different result that will still look good. You’ll need to weed a lot more in years 1-3 than afterwards in any case.
I’m a beginner, can someone explain the point of mowing here?
I thought I didn’t need to mow the first section I did, but the first heavy thunderstorm I got completely destroyed my plants. Mowing the plants will encourage them to grow lower and bushier, and also spend more time growing their roots. Otherwise they’ll grow as tall as they possibly can and be vulnerable to wind and heavy precipitation/hail.
i don’t mow and everything is fine 🙂 just pull a bit here and there
When a prairie planting is installed during the agrinomic planting season (April, May), broadleaf weeds tend to dominate. These can shade prairie species and slow establishment. Mowing in June and August (at 6 in.) reduces the weed shading and doesn’t hurt the prairie
Planting last half of June through 2nd week in August tends to result in annual grass weeds like fox tail dominating. This type of weed cover still allows adequate sunlight at the soil surface for prairie seedling growth and mowing can be avoided.
Snake paradise??? 🐍
Thanks for posting this. I am hoping to have a mini prairie project in my future and curious if I can make it work without mowing!