Welcome Owen Wormser, Author of Lawns into Meadows

Barbara Schickler wrote:Welcome Owen,
I look forward to your ideas on making meadows, turning lawn into areas that provide a sustainable area for insects and birds. My dilemma is that I have an invasive grass, that I am trying to get rid of , not using pesticides which  I am against, so I put black plastic down for 9months , pulled it up and put down cardboard and covered it with mulch and hope to reclaim this area by planting blueberry bushes and a few fruit trees. Wish me luck!

Donald Ray wrote:Hello and welcome Owen,

I have a yard with bermudagrass and johnsongrass and a bunch of weeds. I was following a rancher that claims planting "cover crops" will remove weeds? Does your experiences address that and is it really true there is a way to get rid of these two grasses?

don

Karen Douglass wrote:Awesome, welcome, Owen! I'm trying to acheive that goal in my back yard (inner city). Chickens paved the way (a-hem, e.g. decimated lawn for me) to stsrt this adventure. How do I get rid of what is left of city lawn-grass? That is my new weed; grows taller than the flowers etc. My nemesis. Do you have a good way to get rid of that type? Live in MN, probably a bluegrass mix. Thank you.

Michael Heath wrote:Hello, Owen.
I am interested in finding about how to combat the mow every week mind-set.
Thanks,
Michael Heath

Owen Wormser wrote:
Scoring into a lawn using what's known as a drill seeder can help get seeds in contact with soil, increasing the odds they establish. Of course you can sprinkle seeds onto a lawn but that can be more of a crap shoot.  The thing with most lawns is that they are usually comprised of cool season grasses which spread thickly, creating a carpet that can make it difficult for newly sprouted meadow plants to establish because of the initial competition of the existing grass.  

I usually try to match plants to the existing environment, so in a very sandy area, I'd focus on species that truly like those conditions; unfortunately, that narrows the possibilities significantly if you're focusing on meadow plants (it's dune and desert species that usually can grow well on sand).  Because the lack of organic matter and the inability of sand to hold water, growing a meadow in this type of environment can be prohibitive.

Carol Broadribb wrote:Lawn. Ugh. We suffer with voracious mosquitoes all summer. If we leave the lawn uncut I fear it would be even worse. I have been slowly encouraging the clover and a little purple flower I call creeping Jenny to crowd out the grass. Other ideas?

Noel Young wrote:How do you define a meadow versus a relatively unmanaged grassy area? We chop our field probably 1-2× a year. It's full of grasses, yarrow, clover, dandilion, plantains etc. Is there a management strategy for meadows or fields gone fallow for years?

Nicole Alderman wrote:We have winners!!!

Congratulations!
Eliot Mason
John Suavecito
Clayton High
Julie Reed


We'll be sending the publisher your email addresses--so please keep an eye out in your inboxes for when they contact you!

Bit thanks to Owen for sharing his knowledge with us this week! If you're bummed that you didn't win the book, you can buy it HERE![/quote

Congratulations to the winners.  I've enjoyed commenting here and I hope my input was helpful.  I really appreciate the resource permies.com offers the global community. Ultimately, humanity can create abundance wherever they go, not just scarcity, especially in their interactions with the earth and the natural world.... The permaculture community understands this possibility and hopefully that perspective spreads because this planet wants to be – and is – abundant. Meadows are a simple way to create that abundance, as well as beauty and ecological health, and all without much effort.  Here's to more landscapes like that!

Zeph Mullins wrote:Hi Owen, we are in Zone 8 Southeast Texas with roughly 45+ inches of rain per year and heavy soils. Historically my area was coastal prairie and though the years trees from timber industry or otherwise imported have taken place of this. I have been interested in planting more "useful" trees in my landscape but after learning the historical information of my specific bioregion I am interested in stacking the functions of prairie/meadow into my design potentials as well. I want to get started on identifying species (besides sedges and bahia) and hope to receive your book What other resources would you suggest to look into?

Cécile Stelzer Johnson wrote:

Carol Broadribb wrote:Lawn. Ugh. We suffer with voracious mosquitoes all summer. If we leave the lawn uncut I fear it would be even worse. I have been slowly encouraging the clover and a little purple flower I call creeping Jenny to crowd out the grass. Other ideas?

Actually, quite the opposite: We used to have more mosquitoes but since I have resisted mowing the lawn, we have more pollinators and more birds: That is important to keep the mosquito population down.
The way that mosquitoes populate is by finding a body of water. It can be as small as a saucer, a small pail: Any area where there will be water for 3 days will do.
So after a rain, look around for saucers under pots, plastic containers... anything. Turn it over and empty it. If you have a pond nearby, invite purple martins or other mosquito eaters.
If you have a birdbath, you might want to install a cheap little pump to keep the water trembling.
The clover and the creeping Jenny are much better than blades of grass, but for the mosquitoes, bring in the birds!

Lindy Oconnor wrote:This is my first post and I fear I am too late for wisdom from Owen, but perhaps someone else could advise me. I live in suburban Toronto, so cold snowy winters. My front yard is perhaps 40 x 40 feet, so not that large. On one corner is a Norway Maple planted by the city 60 years ago. It now qualifies as an invasive plant, poor thing, but provides wonderful shade that helps keep the house and car cool. Several years ago after endless frustration trying to keep grass happy under the tree, I gave up, bought a bag of white clover watered it and stopped mowing, except once in the fall to mulch up the maple leaves. Each year I let the clover grow as tall as it likes, and the bees and bunnies approve. Some grass shoots up and I will for the benefit of my groomed yard neighbors take clippers to cut the tallest grasses.

My question is how to best enrich the soil and what do I need to begin planting an edible or pollinator garden there. It now feels like the clover is too monoculture and I am missing an opportunity...baby steps. The ground tends to be dry and dusty, although the clover is green and happy. I can’t water it enough to make it moist. I’d like to create a forest, as big a forest as possible on that little piece of earth. I have been given names of native Ontario plants that will grow under the maple canopy. Any other suggestions?