Rotating for Seed Diversity 

Collecting high-quality native seed requires careful timing and thoughtful rotation. We stagger our hay-cutting across different weeks each year to capture the widest possible variety of seeds. In years when we cut the hay later that allows us to capture seed from late flowering perennials like Sawort, Sneezewort and Devil’s Bit Scabious a critical late nectar source for our insects. 

To ensure our meadows remain resilient as well as vibrant, our donor fields are rotated. Seed is never harvested from the same field two years in succession. Giving each meadow a full year of undisturbed growth allows the natural seed banks to replenish and maintain the resident plant species.  

The harvested mix contains a diverse blend of native wildflowers and fine meadow grasses suitable for both wet floodplain and drier conditions, creating a valuable local seed bank that will be used to help create diverse meadows across the County. 

Harvest Schedules  

Our harvesting and mowing schedules are guided by ecological priorities rather than rigid calendars. We intentionally delay cutting our meadows until later in the summer to protect ground-nesting birds such as Skylarks and Lapwing. By holding off until late July or August, we are able to give young chicks ample time to fledge safely before any of the machinery which may disrupt them enters the fields. 

Hay cutting can also allow a second burst of late-flowering flora to bloom depending on the conditions that year.  
   

Autumn Grazing 

Once the seed harvester has passed through the meadow, the management work continues. Within a few weeks we will then cut the hay and bale the remaining vegetation which helps feed our cattle through the winter. Removing this keeps growth low which is important because it prevents competitive, coarse grasses from taking over and leaving no room for delicate wildflower seedlings as they germinate in early spring. 
 

The combination of hay cuts, seed collection, and conservation grazing forms the basis of our sustainable wildflower meadow management. As cattle move through the meadows after harvest, their hooves create small patches of exposed soil, pressing fallen seed into the earth and creating ideal micro-habitats for next year’s flowers to take root. Through these time-tested methods, every hectare harvested brings us one step closer to a more diverse and healthier flora in our landscape. 

Want to help grasslands continue to thrive in Wiltshire? Support our Amazing Grazing campaign...