Without doubt, the most important part of the process is preparation of the proposed wildflower area. The following progression of steps has worked for me because they are in small increments - there is no rush to accomplish everything at once - and the likelihood of aggressive undesirables taking over the area is minimal.
Gaillardia (Blanket Flower) going to seed near the end of the second season of establishment in a New England wildflower meadow.
Begin work the autumn before the first seed is sown.
- Measure and mark out the area the same as you would for a turfgrass lawn.
- Till or turn over by hand existing sod. It is not necessary to dig deeply. This will uproot vegetation already there, allow some weed seeds to germinate and then die off, and reduce the need for herbicides.
- Cover with black plastic over winter. This will continue to kill existing plants and prevent new ones from taking hold.
Continue the groundwork as soon as the soil is dry and warm in the spring.
- Remove chunks of dead vegetation by hand. The best use for these is probably fodder for the compost pile.
- Use a steel-tined landscape, level head, or bow rake to break up clods of soil and smooth the surface to make a uniform seedbed.
- Either hand pick or spray a contact herbicide such as one containing glyphosate to control any emerging undesirable seedlings.
- At this point, some sort of weed-suppressing barrier can then be laid on the soil. Research at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst shows that this barrier can be a thickness of four newspaper sheets (those with black and white print, not the colored sections) or one sheet of Kraft paper (strong wrapping paper made from pulp). The study also suggests landscaping fabric (spunbonded polyester) and other root-permeable surfaces. However, I've tried these and didn't like them. Even though the roots penetrated these fabrics, they are not biodegradable, and therefore, add nothing to the soil.
- Spread a layer of sterilized compost from about one-half to 2-inches deep over the entire area. Composts can be cooked up from biosolids (solid or semisolid material obtained from treated wastewater), woodchips and other woody trimmings, farm manures or yard wastes. Be aware though that farm manure and yard waste compost will usually contain weed seeds - more work to suppress - and also require some balanced fertilization. Research your region to see if biosolid or other heat-treated compost can be obtained locally.
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