Nothing comes from nothing, is what is usually said in the garden - which is why lawns, vegetables and flowering plants are diligently fertilized so that they can thrive even better. However, what is right for intensive use in the garden can turn out to be fundamentally wrong in many meadows.
How should you fertilize a meadow?
A meadow should be fertilized depending on its type: agriculturally used and fat meadows require industrial meadow fertilizer or natural alternatives such as manure and compost. Poor meadows, on the other hand, should only be fertilized with lime every two to three years.
Fertilization depends on the type of meadow
Basically, the question of how to fertilize a meadow can be broken down into the following formula: Only heavily used agricultural and fat meadows are fertilized, as these have a high nutrient requirement and therefore need to be recycled via fertilizer. However, what is right for horse and cattle pastures as well as fat meadows can be particularly fatal for poor or dry meadows. These meadow types have a particularly high population of meadow flowers and herbs as well as comparatively few grasses - which, however, only lasts as long as the soil remains poor and nutrient-poor. The poorer the soil, the more diverse and species-rich the meadow is. The reason for this lies in the serious difference between fast-growing, competitive grasses and plants that simply displace more sensitive and slow-growing plants thanks to additional fertilizer applications.
How and what to fertilize
Nevertheless, poor meadows also need fertilizer from time to time, which they receive in the form of lime every two to three years. On the other hand, meadows used intensively for agriculture (especially hay and pasture meadows) can be supplied with an industrial meadow fertilizer that has been specially adapted to the respective needs or with natural, organic fertilizer. There are several options available, with manure in particular being a good alternative. Manure should be applied in spring - and, above all, dosed sparingly, otherwise the weeds in particular will benefit. For this reason, you only hew when the grass has already started to grow. In addition to manure, compost (€41.00 on Amazon) - especially if it has been mixed with rock dust - can also be used as meadow fertilizer. Farmyard manure, on the other hand, is not very suitable as it forms an airtight layer on the meadow that prevents the plants from growing. Only freshly planted meadows benefit from manure, as it has a protective effect on the young plants. But no matter how fertilizer is used, the meadow should be harrowed or scarified before any fertilization so that the nutrients can get into the loosened soil.
Tips & Tricks
Some gardeners or farmers swear by fertilizing their meadows by mulching. The finely chopped cuttings are left on the meadow, where they decompose and release nutrients. The method has some advantages but also serious disadvantages if it is not used correctly.