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Converting a Backyard lawn into wildflower lawn meadow in USA

Lawn care and maintenance is a long task and difficult sometimes to deal with weeds and unwanted species with grass. Sometimes, small mistakes allow moss and fungi on the lawn. So, it becomes very annoying sometimes to have a healthy lawn throughout the year. 

Turning your backyard into a lawn meadow reduce your maintenance and caring work in the lawn. Simply, you allow all the weeds and other plant species into the lawn. 

Although lawn meadow looks less organized and stuffed compared to lawn turf still it looks more attractive, natural, and peaceful sometimes.

Backyard wildflower lawn meadow in the USA

Before understanding all the requirements and process of converting a lawn turf into a meadow, you should be aware of the purpose and points of a meadow. 

Backyard wildflower lawn meadow in USA

Requirements to convert a lawn into a meadow 

Considering you want to turn your lawn turf into a meadow, the following are the basic requirements for it- 

Selection of seeds

Choose native seeds of plants, grass, flowers, and shrubs otherwise, they are not guaranteed that they will stay for a longer period. 

Climate conditions required 

Moderate even climate conditions are helpful and quite natural for lawn meadows. In summer, the temperature range from 25 to 32 degrees Celcius, and in winter, it can drop to 8 to 10 degrees Celcius. 

Irregular rain in winter and spring can affect the growth of meadows. In snowfall regions, lawn meadows can't survive more than a season and for the rest of the year, it covered with snow. 

Fertilizers 

There is no better option than organic compost in your meadow to provide it more natural smell and growth. 70% dry organic compost is very effective and enough to let it grow faster and natural way. 

Safety wearing kit 

Although if you are setting up your lawn meadow with natural ways and products, you don't need a full body safety kit. But still, wearing hand gloves, rubber boots, glasses, and a head cover is enough as a safety kit. 

Tools and kit 

Considering you are converting a turf into a meadow, the following tools are helpful-

Turf cutter tool to make sections. 

  • Turf removing tool so you can use it anywhere else. 
  • Small plowing tool that can plow small sections. 
  • pH scale to check soil pH. 
  • Seed scattering tool. 
  • Long handle scratching reck. 
  • Small cultivator tools. 
  • Wooden sticks to divide the sections initially. 

Steps to turn lawn into a meadow

The following steps cover the process of removing existing turf to converting a lawn into a meadow- 

Cleaning lawn turf 

Mark the backyard portion or lawn turf where you want the lawn meadow. Remember, you can use this turf somewhere else so let's understand how to remove it carefully. 

Use a turf cutter tool that can cut turf 4 to 5 inches deeper. Make rectangular cuts in your turf. By using a turf removal tool, you can separate turf from the deep soil. So in the end, you will have turf with roots and a thin layer of soil. 

Division of lawn area

Now you have empty lawn space. It's your choice in how much area you want particular flowers or plants. There is no ideal mapping for lawn meadows in small backyards but still, almost every kind of land mapping works if you will be able to maintain it initially. 

After cleaning the turf area, you have to inspect your soil condition first. If it is too acidic or too alkaline, you should try to keep it in the range of 6.1 to 7.9. Using compost in more percentage helps to keep soil effective for native plants. 

Slopping of area 

Slopes help lawn meadows to drain extra water and save plants from getting rotten. Either you can make a soil mixture with compost either you use ordinary garden soil with compost(2:1) or use garden soil, sand, and compost(1:1:1). Try to make a 15 to 25 degrees slope in your meadow. 

So now, your soil is enough fertile for seeds and has a slope as well. 

Native seeds scattering 

Your second land mapping for particular flowers and plants is not that necessary even if you can scatter seeds with irregular ratios. You can do this only if your other seeds are not invasive. 

If you have invasive seeds, you can scatter seeds in particular sections. So keep awareness while selecting seeds for lawn meadow.

So if you follow every step properly, conversion into lawn meadow is not that difficult for a beginner. Just be practical and careful while using sharp tools. 

Advantages of converting your lawn into a meadow

Although there are advantages of lawn turf still, 

having a lawn meadow is not a bad idea in your backyard. 

Following are some advantages of having a lawn meadow in your backyard- 

  • Lawn meadow maintenance cost is very low and it is free from regular care of the meadow. 
  • You can see various plants and flowers in different colors and patterns that look attractive throughout the year. 
  • Although lawn meadows get dormant in winter they appear automatically from the next spring.
  • A lawn meadow looks more natural than lawn turf and can grow without special initial arrangements. 
  • Lawn meadows reduce the fear of weeds, moss, and fungi. Instead of removing weeds, moss, and fungi, you allow them in your lawn. 

Post lawn meadow care and tips in the USA

Although we mentioned above that lawn meadow doesn't need special treatment and care still we have to take the right steps at the right time. You have to take some steps in winter and summer to keep it maintained because it can be healthier in the spring, rainy, and fall seasons. 

The following steps will help you to take care of your lawn in the winter and summer-

  • When your lawn meadow enters the first week of fall, you can use compost one last time before dormancy. You can use this dry compost in the entire meadow. It will help all the meadow plants to recover before going into their dormancy. In the first winter, you can keep your meadow fertilization once a month in both the summer and winter seasons. 
  • You shouldn't hesitate to irrigate your lawn meadow once in a 10 to 15 days period in spring. In summer, you can keep it once a week. Stay away from irrigation of lawn meadows in winter in dormancy. 
  • Don't mislead by weeds and other natural grass combinations in your meadow. So let them grow and bring variety and natural essence to your backyard. 
  • Never use weed killers or any pesticides in your meadow otherwise there is no point in converting the lawn into a meadow. 

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