Pollen & Nectar Mix Grass & Legume Margin
Ref: mixpn
ELS/HLS/CSS Codes: EE1, EE2, EE3, EE9 br>
br>The mixture below is designed for ELS Pollen & Nectar margins but can also be used for HLS. It is best on light soil and lasts for around four years. Excellent for bumblebees and butterflies.
Contents per Kg | % | kg | |
certified common bentgrass | 5.0 | 0.050 | |
certified crested dogstail | 5.0 | 0.050 | |
certified sheeps fescue | 15.0 | 0.150 | |
certified Dakisha smooth stalked meadow grass | 15.0 | 0.150 | |
certified chewings/red fescue | 20.0 | 0.200 | |
certified meadow fescue | 20.0 | 0.200 | |
certified Red Clover blend | 5.0 | 0.050 | |
commercial Sainfoin | 5.0 | 0.050 | |
certified vetch | 4.0 | 0.040 | |
certified alsike clover | 3.0 | 0.030 | |
certified birdsfoot trefoil | 3.0 | 0.030 |
Alsike Clover
Alsike clover is a short term perennial that fixes nitrogen. It is a true clover, not a hybrid as the name suggests. Compared to many annual clovers it can be the slowest to flower after a spring sowing.
Bentgrass
Common Bentgrass is a perennial grass with fine leaves, The seed head is delicate and attractive, opening loosely from late spring through to autumn. Older swards in heavily grazed or trampled areas may form dense, low growing clumps.
Birdsfoot Trefoil
Birdsfoot Trefoil is a legume, it grows from a basal crown, with numerous stems that can vary from prostrate to erect in growth habit. In some parts of the country it is called the 'eggs and bacon' plant.
Birdsfoot Trefoil Species Guide Buy Birdsfoot Trefoil Straight
Crested Dogstail
Traditionally a grazing grass, which helps to fill out the base of the sward. This compact tufted perennial is found in abundance in sheep pastures. It is not aggressive and grows well late into the season when other grasses are giving up. It has good winter greenness but is inclined to produce wiry stems if not cut or grazed.
Meadow Fescue
One of the larger fescues this is a valuable grazing grass which can also be made into hay. Recent thinking has altered the Latin so that the flat leaved fescues (meadow fescue and tall fescue) have been given their own genus, separate from the finer leaved fescues.
Red Clover
Red clover is one of the most popularly used true clovers in the UK. Once established it’s capable of rapid growth and shows reasonably good persistence up to three years, although ongoing breeding work is being carried out to increase plant persistence. The highest yielding strains of red clover are called 'double cut' varieties, normally providing quick regrowth after cutting and several flushes or cuts per season. The 'single cut' strains of red clover, notably the variety altaswede provide one large cut per season, flowering approximately 2-3 weeks later than the 'double cut' strains.
Red Fescue / Chewings Fescue
Also known as chewings fescue, this is a fine leaved, tufted grass. It is distinguished from creeping red fescue by its absence of creeping rhizomes. It remains dark green throughout most of the season.
Red Fescue / Chewings Fescue Species Guide Buy Red Fescue / Chewings Fescue Straight
Sainfoin
Sainfoin is extremely palatable to livestock and has very good nutritional balance. It can be grazed or fed as hay or silage. It suits the thin soils and limestone rich downlands found in some areas of the UK. Loosely translated sainfoin in French means 'Healthy Hay'.
Sheeps Fescue
The finest leaved and least aggressive fescue, it is found throughout the UK. It is hardy and drought resistant and will with-stand heavy grazing or close cutting, however it has a low forage yield. It is a useful species for providing a low growing, low maintenance green cover on difficult soils. It is one of the earlier fine fescues to flower in the spring.
Smooth Stalked Meadow Grass
Found throughout the UK in meadows and traditional pastures. It is said to be one of the greenest grasses found growing in the early spring, and is an indicator of land that is well drained and in good heart. The species itself is palatable, and nutritional to livestock, often called one of the traditional 'sweet grasses'.
Smooth Stalked Meadow Grass Species Guide Buy Smooth Stalked Meadow Grass Straight
Vetch
Vetch is a well known legume also known as common vetch or tares. It scrambling, smothering growth habit and frost tolerance make it a very useful winter cover crop or green manure.