AB8 Countryside Stewardship provides a flower-rich plant mixture of grasses and flowering species for margins and plots.
Germinal’s AB8 seed mix delivers pollen and nectar throughout the summer for bees, butterflies and hoverflies. AB8 Flower-Rich Margins and Plots also provide important foraging habitats for farmland birds.
Countryside Stewardship AB8 is ideal for lower-yielding areas with a sunny aspect and facing south or south-southwest.
AB8 Countryside Stewardship supports insects
Flower-rich grass margins and plots provide an abundant supply of pollen and nectar throughout the summer for bees, butterflies and hoverflies. They are also an important foraging habitat for farmland birds, such as yellowhammers.
Mixture breakdown
AB8 Flower-rich Margins and Plots
Kg/hectare
Variety
Type
2.25
Mirador
Slender Creeping Red Fescue
2.25
Laura
Meadow Fescue
2.50
Maxima
Strong Creeping Red Fescue
2.00
Joanna
Chewings Fescue
2.50
Iliade
Soft Leafed Tall fescue
2.50
Bornito
Sheeps Fescue
1.35
Markus
Smooth Stalked Meadow Grass
1.15
Highland
Browntop Bent
0.25
Tonic
Plantain
0.03
Yarrow
Yarrow
0.08
Phacelia
Phacelia
0.02
Musk Mallow
Musk Mallow
0.10
Burnet
Agricultural Burnet
0.03
Leo
Birdsfoot Trefoil
0.03
Wild Carrot
Wild Carrot
0.30
AberClaret
Red Clover
1.00
Milky-Max SAS Premium
Lucerne
0.23
Virgo
Agri Black Medic / Yellow
1.00
Sainfoin
Sainfoin
0.15
Aurora
Alsike Clover
0.15
Self Heal
Self Heal
0.15
Red Campion
Red Campion
20.00
Sowing instructions
Rate
20kg per hectare
Time
1st March to 15th September
Process
Sow in lower-yielding areas with a sunny aspect, facing south or south-southwest. Avoid planting under overhanging trees, next to tall hedges or on land facing north or east. Leave access to surrounding crops to allow for management. Use wide margins and 0.25-0.5ha blocks to allow insects to move to safety when fields are being sprayed. Space five 0.5ha patches evenly within 100ha to meet the food needs of pollinators. Sow at a rate of 15kg/ha in light/medium soils, increasing to 20kg/ha where soils are heavier. Top emerging flowers and weeds at least three times in year 1 for spring sowings and twice in year 2 for autumn sowings, avoiding soil compaction.
Requirements
1. Establish in the spring, summer or early autumn of year 1 by sowing a seed mix containing a minimum of four grass species and 10 flower species. 2. The flower species component must be sown at a minimum seed rate of 2kg/ha with no flower species exceeding 25% of the total by weight. 3. The grass component must not exceed 90% of the total by weight 4. Regular cutting is recommended in the first 12 months to help establish the sown species. 5. Established flower-rich margins and plots must be managed as follows: – Cut or graze 90% of the margin/plot area each year between 15th August and 31st October to leave a plant height of 10-20cm – Always leave 10% of the area uncut or ungrazed to provide nesting over winter and a safe refuge for pollinators and other insects 6. Always remove or shred cuttings to prevent weed ingress and the development of patches of dead material. 7. Keep records of all seed invoices, field operations including associated invoices and grazing activity, plus photographs of the margin or plot. 8. Flower-rich margins and plots must be kept until 31st December in year 5 of the agreement.
