# Woods to meadow



## ab01002 (May 14, 2008)

I have a new homestead and a new tractor. The barn will go up next year. I hired a local contractor to clear about two acres below the homesite. Wow, I have a great view now.

Has anyone converted newly cleared land to a meadow?

I think i have the basics figured out, but any pointers would be greatly appreciated.

I am using my new Kubota B2620 to get rocks out of the land. I have a loam pile to fill in holes and a york rake to smooth every thing out.

I do not live at this location yet, so do not want to plant rye grass that would require weekly mowing. I will plant grass in a few years when the house goes up, at least near the house.

One friend suggested I plant oats to get the meadow look. His suggestion is that it can easily be maintained with my brush hog

Please let me know if you have done this or if you have any suggestions of what I should plant to get a meadow that is low maintance.

I realize i will proably need to fertalize and lime to get the soil right. My new homestead is located in Western Massachusetts

Many Thanks


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## chrpmaster (May 5, 2004)

Growing oats will give you a nice "meadow" look but also it is just an annual crop and you will have to re plant next year. Plus to get a good crop you will probably need to add fertilizer and maybe lime depending on your soil conditions. 

If it were me I'd either let the wild grasses grow naturally and keep it down with the bush hog. If you are planning on planting grass eventually I would go ahead and put some in now. If you don't mind it getting tall (like a meadow) just bush hog it a couple times a year and it will be well established by the time you build the house. Maybe you could use sod from some areas farther from the house to fill in close to the house after construction. At least your not spending time and money growing something you will have to replace.

Andy


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## ab01002 (May 14, 2008)

*Thanks for reply*

We knew the oats were an annual, and since it is a small meadow, that did not worry us too much

We weighed that against the fact that this new field is quite rocky and we think we'll want to harrow it a few times

It seemed that we did not want to establist "turf" yet. We thought grass would likely produce turf and oats would make the harrowing easier

We also thought about fertilizing and liming 

So you re confirmed we are on the ricght track which is VERY helpful. Reassurance is very welcome to us rookies - THANK YOU.


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