Seeding a 10mx10m area

Igotadose

I'm soon to have a 100 sq. metre area in a part of our yard that was previously overgrown with brambles and assorted weeds. This area overlays a new septic percolation field. It's not in any part of the yard that gets regular access, so it's not mowed or walked on very much.

I could simply seed it with grass and forget about it, though I find grass loathsome. No trees or bushes because we can't have deep roots interfering with the field. But, my experience seeding other areas with grass is that it's a battle with the magpies, blackbirds and crows if we simply seed without covering it over with more dirt. If instead, I chose to put in lots of wildflowers, would the birds avoid them? I don't simply want to leave it fallow, that'll mean it quickly fills with brambles, nettles and thistles and becomes inaccessible, which I can't have either as I need to keep access available to the field and, frankly, have gone through way too much work to build this field.

Suggestions welcome, thanks.

looksee

If you want to keep down the brambles etc to some extent (you will never get rid entirely) you need to be putting in aggressive 'weeds that you want' rather than hoping that the commercial packets of 'wildflowers' will do it - mostly they are too fleeting and delicate. Just off the top of my head, tall clover, dog daisies, creeping buttercup (would that be mad?), scabious, valarian, poppies and a few flowering grasses will all look pretty, take care of themselves and largely see off the opposition while remaining accessible and can be strimmed or mowed once a year. Nettles shows the ground is fertile, which is not always the best for 'wild flowers' but it will be hard to get rid completely, and in fact they can look good as well as being beneficial to wildlife.

Igotadose

Will the crows get after the seeds for clover, etc?

looksee

I just put down clover and none of the birds, including the many crows, paid any attention to it at all. It is very small seed, would not really suit crows I think. I did cover it slightly but it looks like every single seed germinated😀

Igotadose

For the area I'm considering, how much clover seed? Where can I source it, I don't recall seeing it at the local garden centers, would a farm co-op stock it? Clover would be good for bees as well.

looksee

I got them from Fruit Hill Farm https://www.fruithillfarm.com/seeds-and-propagation/green-manures-cover-crops/summer-green-manures.html

I got the small leaf clover for between paving slabs. The small pack claims to do 20 meters square but hand broadcast takes a bit more. I think they mean 20 square meters rather than 20m2 as it is a small pack and I used about 2/3 of it on I would imagine about 4 square meters.

standardg60

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119061291#Comment_119061291

I got educated on this when i questioned it many moons ago, why not put 20 sq. m on boxes rather than 20m2.

Turns out 20m2 is the correct designation for say 4m x 5m. 20m x 20m is 20m(2)

Sq. m is not used as it is the English language translation of m2, so wouldn't be recognised in non English speaking countries.

Igotadose

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119061655#Comment_119061655

I'm slow. I would think 20m x 20m is 400m2 if 4mx5m is 20m2?

standardg60

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119061729#Comment_119061729

Correct, but if the 2 is placed in brackets ie. 20m(2), then it also works

Definitely confusing though!

looksee

I think of it as - 1 sq m is a meter on each side.

10 sq m is 10 of those 1 m sqs so could be an area 10m x 1m or 2m x 5m.

10 m2 is an area of ten meters on each side so would be 10x10 = 100 sq m.

I have had this argued with me both by people who actually know (I am not a mathematician, they are probably right) and people who just have an opinion and tell me its the same thing. The OP's method is the safest but the seed packet I have here says 20m2 so I am not sure what they actually mean since it is a fairly small packet.

standardg60

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119061865#Comment_119061865

I had the same argument, but with someone who unbeknownst to me was a mathematician, Doh!

1m2 is one square metre

10m2 is ten square metres

It's difficult to convey the brackets when typing but remember when in school you'd put a little 2 in brackets at the top right after the number which denoted that it had to be squared?

So 10m(2) is 100m2

looksee

I always earnestly avoided any sums that required little 2s or brackets or letters of the alphabet. However I accept your explanation, I had not hear that version before, but it makes sense.

Tree

It's 10 (m²) not (10m)².

Anyway, I really am happy with the wildflowers I got from wildflowers.ie, all germinated, now just waiting on the flowers. I expect to mow it once or twice a year tops and pull nettles when I spot them.