Volunteer Sunday was upon us once again on the 6th and it was indeed that time of year again – the annual ragwort pull!
Ragwort is an important, native plant here in the UK, providing food for a number of insect species, including the familiar cinnabar moth. The adult moths are black with red underwings and red markings on the forewings, whilst the larvae are black and yellow striped and of course, can be seen feeding on ragwort.
However, it is also important that we control ragwort on certain areas of the site. The grasslands around the visitor trails are botanically rich, with many species of vetches, clovers, knapweeds, fumitory and hawkweeds. We want to keep it that way and a most effective method for doing this is to take a late season hay cut in August or September. This removes the old growth from the grassland, keeping nutrient levels down – ideal conditions for the floral community we have there. The late timing of the cut also ensures that plants have time to set seed for next year and that insects that depend on these plants have time to complete their lifecycles.
The hay is then sold on as feed for animals. Here it is vital that the hay is ragwort free, as the plant is poisonous to animals such as horses and cattle. The removal of ragwort from this area of grassland therefore ensures that our hay is safe.
Many thanks to all our volunteers who attended the day on Sunday – once again, a brilliant job done!