No Mow May

[niemeyjt]

At the risk of denting @Bayleaf's workload, tomorrow is the start of No Mow May

https://www.plantlife.org.uk/campaigns/nomowmay/

[ajm]

Only applies in the UK

[Blaze]

I totally agree with the sentiment but it's not something that's suited to every garden. It was easy in our last place but here we no longer have that space and we have to be more practical. Shorter grass means it's easier for the poo patrols !

Most of our "grass" is weeds but the small part of it that we keep a bit shorter is at least reasonably "grassy". We have planted a lot of shrubs and trees but they are a long way from maturity. The soil is a mixture of sand and clay and part of the garden goes like concrete in the summer. There are several wildflower areas though the insects are quite choosey !

Last year we left an area uncut for insects, bees etc. and to begin with, it was fine. Unfortunately with no rain, the long grass and weeds ended up as a straw mass with a lot of dead growth. It took a very long time to recover, leaving swathes of large bare patches, and the dead grass never recovered, leaving the ground free for more weeds, tough spiky things with long tap roots. I shan't do the same again this year. A long cut from time to time works best here and we seem to have a good variety of insects.

[L Austin France]

Blow that for a game of soldiers!
If I left our lawn uncut for a month it grows so fast it would take me another month of cuts & sweeping to get it back to some semblance of OK.
There's plenty of things for insects in our 2.5 Ha of fields.

[Bayleaf]

We now adopt the "less mowing in general" these days! Our clients have all embraced the idea of keeping certain areas alone, if there's more wild "flowers" than grass. Then it gets chopped down at the end of the season. The biggest garden that used to take us 4 hrs with ride-on mowers is mostly left for the neighbouring farmer to take a couple of bales at the end of the season - then it's a lovely "cut and collect" finish. Yes, it's less earnings for us, but it was such a pretty landscape it seemed criminal to cut it down every month, especially when the clients don't even live here.

At home we only keep short the areas immediately around the house, and only collect in the little rear lawn that gets a lot of traffic over it. Interestingly, fairly poor soiled areas that we've reduced mowing, grass isn't growing very long now anyway and it's nice to see different stuff growing, and the odd self-seeded tree. There are always prolific areas that cannot be left, as it would be a macheté job to cut it down if left too long. Saying that, I've commandered a rather home-made looking scythe that someone found at the back of their shed. Mr Bayleaf sharpened it up and tightened up the handle, and it works a treat on chopping down patches of nettles and suchlike. Much quieter than the strimmer and dried nettles in the paddock are a favourite of the mud muppets!

[exile]

Well I have adopted an almost no mow April - I now have just over half still to do.
I always avoid the clumps of flowering "weeds" such as violets and cowslips* so there are are always patches of uncut May. As for leaving the rest - s0d that for a game of soldiers. It is now peak growing and I really don't need to give the thymes and oregano even more chance to overtake the meadow. Plus by June I would need a reaper or scythe to cut the resulting jungle. And just to add to that the benefits are said to allow an increase in invertebrate life. Well we already have tick heaven here judging by the numbers pulled of the cats. I have no intention of further encouragement. Yes the cats are treated but it doesn't stop the little bu@@ers coming in on the cats fur and then dropping off.

*Dandelions are not afforded the same privilege.

[Headers]

We did No Mow May in 2023. OH moaned for the whole of June and swore it would never be left that long again.
Along comes 2024 and the ground is too wet, the grass is as tall as me and the trees have overgrown the rows so we are summer pruning before we can get the Ferri fauchage machine out. I’m waiting for the moaning of June. Is this going to become an annual event?

By the way we have hundreds of lovely orchids -an unforeseen benefit.

[Quiksilver]

No chance here. I want a garden, not a meadow. Mowing is my job for an afternoon when I'm shattered by other tasks and have to sit down My neighbour has left the field next door en friche for the last 17 years, so there's plenty of wilderness for those creatures that need it. Judging by the variety and quantity of wildlife in the garden, all that fluffy tosh about having to only grow native species is just that....tosh!

[Bayleaf]

It's a lovely idea, but most every-day mowers just won't cope with grass that's been growing for a month. Our's struggle, and it's their job!
But what's this? Rain again? That doesn't help!

stopped raining.jpg

[Doug]

Sure to have posted before, our half a hectare of paddock which we are slowly planting up with trees ( a mixture of natural and ornamental) for a few years we haven't cut a third of it back till the autumn, started because of so many wild orchids growing everywhere, now its full of wild flowers.
Since starting we have noticed many more butterflies, moths and other insects also no where near as many pests in the veg plot.
I strim it in autumn and used to compost but it got so much that now it's burnt with the years cut backs.