Three of our members went up to the Nature Park in mid November to sow the Yellow Rattle Seed which had been collected previously from Gulleys Wood Meadow where it is abundant. Areas of grass were raked to expose the soil beneath, then seeds scattered and tamped down. We managed to rake and sow lots of areas across the meadow and hopefully the seeds will germinate successfully. Yellow Rattle parasitizes the roots of many plant species, especially grasses, and limits their growth. Yellow Rattle has been introduced in this location because some of the plants in the meadow are so vigorous that they overgrow and shade out some of the smaller species. Sadly, some of the species which were in the original seed mix have now disappeared. If the Yellow Rattle helps to reduce the height of the sward then smaller species may be helped to thrive.
Whilst scattering the Yellow Rattle a great flock of fieldfares flew over the meadow – an impressive sight.