I’m in Ohio, planing on planting once we get to cooler weather in the fall. Can I just till this, add top soil and plant wildflower seeds? First time doing anything like this so any advice is appreciated. This area gets lots of sun but it’s unusable for the lawn and usually just burns out. Thanks for the look.
by MinorGratuity
4 Comments
Looks like it’s fairly compacted, so tilling wouldn’t be the worst thing, but it will activate tons of weed seeds that are dormant there. Modern practices like to avoid tilling established areas to not disturb the soil structures.
Top soil, is most likely not what you’re looking for. Even though the name implies it is. You’d probably be better off with just adding compost or even a garden mix. Maybe some sand if your soil is high in clay. In many areas here in Ontario, you can get compost for free from your municipality in the spring. Maybe there’s a similar program near you.
Look into sheet mulching. It’s one of the simplest and one of the quickest ways of getting a large area successfully transitioned. No tilling required.
For cheap mulch, check out [Chipdrop](https://chipdrop.com)
No. The grass will come right back.
You need a method of killing the grass (sheet mulching, sod ripping, etc) before anything new can be planted. Just turning the grass over will not kill it.
It’s funny that grass refuses to grow when you want it to and is very difficult to kill in situations like this.
I wouldn’t till. It destroys the fungal webs and microorganism community that make water and nutrients more accessible to plant roots. It also collapses soil structure, reducing the amount of air available to roots (which need to breathe).
You could scalp the grass, rough up the top quarter inch of soil with a rake, sow seeds, do a second pass with the rake, then tamp the soil down to get good seed-to-soil contact. You might consider using a nurse crop to cover the soil and reduce erosion through the winter. (Look up local restoration nurseries and Wild Ones chapters for specific species of nurse crops for your area.) You should consult local sources on meadow establishment – I hear Ohio has lots of hard pan and honestly Idk how to deal with that.
Be sure to have a smart mix of wildflowers and grasses. Pick species that suit the sun, soil, and moisture regimes of your site. Make sure that you have fast-growing and slow-growing species. Make sure that there is foliar coverage through the whole season (eg some plants don’t show up til summer while others disappear by late spring).
If that sounds like a lot, look up Ohio-based restoration nurseries. They will know what are suitable species for you and may even offer seed mixes.
Hope that helps. If you really want to dive deep, check out New Directions in the American Landscape. Larry Weaner has decades of meadow experience and can really help you understand the process.
I used a sod cutter but otherwise same as your plan. Cut out a section, put down 2in soil/compost mix. Put down bunch of wildflower seeds. Covered with straw. Year 3 and it looks fantastic
https://preview.redd.it/louvmpgi55hd1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=a7ace209c3a571eea733d733605597610218e0aa