At the Bačkonių organic farm, a novel approach to haymaking was employed during a recent event. Instead of traditional methods, participants engaged in an unusual process involving tearing up existing hay bales, scattering the material into the meadow, and then spreading it with a hay rake. This event marked a first in Lithuania as it tested a method for restoring natural meadows.
The technique involved transferring hay from a donor meadow, which boasts a rich variety of plant species, onto an area with less diverse vegetation. The hay sourced from the donor site carried a significant quantity of seeds, which were spread across the prepared area. This process facilitates the transfer of local plant seeds to a new location, thereby establishing conditions favorable for the long-term development of a naturally diverse meadow.
This initiative is being carried out in collaboration with the Baltic Environmental Forum and the LIFE project “GrassLIFE2.” This project is managed by the Latvian Nature Foundation and is dedicated to restoring meadows deemed important to the European Community. The overall goal is to test and implement effective ecological restoration methods across the region.
Topics: #hay #meadow #haymaking
