This is the side of the front yard across from the 'Mini-Meadow'. That project was a success, although we still struggle with deer browse. More on that later. The above image is how this bit of yard looked prior to the start of our no-mow experiment.
Here it is after the boundaries were marked with downed branches. It was off to a good start. A little grassland. Alas, things would go south form here (where does that idiom originate?).
Here is a shot just before I started to mow, the boundary logs moved away (oh the irony, mowing a no-mow zone!). It had become mostly a field of Japanese Stiltgrass, Microstegium vimineum, a rather insidious invasive.
The best time to mow this species in late August/early September, just before it flowers. So this was the time.
The next step in converting this plot to a meadow is to mow as close to the ground as possible. The idea is to kill the plants that are there and later replace them with more desirable species.
It took three passes with the lawnmower until I was able to mow at the lowest setting. The stilt grass was so thick the mower would stall if the setting was too low. But eventually I got it done.
This is how it looks now. A mishmash of tarps and cardboard covering the area. This will cut the light from reaching the plants below. They will die, returning nutrients to the soil. After a period of six to eight weeks the tarps can be removed. At which point we'll begin phase three, preparing the soil and sowing the seed. But that's a story for another post.
Incase you are wondering, and I'm sure you are, phase two will be extending the deer fence to enclose our entire property. This will protect the front yard, including this project and the Mini-Meadow. As well as, we hope, restore the understory in our woods. And that too will be a story for another post (or posts). If we don't do that, this area will become but a deer feeding station. A highly non-optimal result.
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