Johnny Appleseed Never Planted a Prairie

Conservation Stewardship requires getting dirty.  Dirt under your fingernails, wood chips in your hair, and mud everywhere (you don't want to know.)   

I thought it'd be easy to plant a native prairie.  I'd sip tea while selecting a beautiful prairie seed mix from the glossy pages of a seed catalog.  Then one sunny day I'd don a frock and skip through the pasture tossing seeds left and right, and viola...a prairie would bloom the next spring.  A modern day Johnny Appleseed.

Nine months later I understand that it takes a good mix of science and art to reconstruct a prairie.  Did you know that every prairie has a main purpose?  Ours will support pollinators, others may support wildlife habitat (think grouse) or improving water sheds...there are as many purposes as there are stars in the sky.  All of them positive to the environment. 

Did you know that prairies requires A LOT OF PRE-WORK?  I didn't.  Seed must touch the soil to germinate.  So tossing seeds on a pasture won't work.  The seed will rest on the grass and debris and not germinate. 

What does work?  Here we go!

Spring

• Cut down/gird all self-planted, straggly trees
• Brush cut all invasive vines and woody stems 
• Burn the prairie site...with all of the permits and safety precautions to keep you and your neighbors safe

Summer

• Mow, Mow, Mow.  Yes, mow three times over 4-5 months to discourage unwanted grasses and vines from reappearing

Fall

• Plant Seed.  No skipping around in a frock...use special equipment called a "drill" to place seed directly into the ground

Winter

• Seed benefits from a cold freeze period.  It supports germination.  Cross your fingers and use the time to remove the dirt from under your nails.

Second Spring

• IF everything has gone right...you'll mow early sprouting grass (darn brome) so that the seedlings can elbow their way up and above competing invasive grasses and BLOOM!

And then...maintenance.  Just like kids, you raise native prairies for a lifetime.  A prairie requires mowing, burning and seed monitoring.  But a labor of love is just that...enjoyable even when it shouldn't be.

Where are in the first step, cutting down and girding the straggly red cedar that has grown in the forgotten pasture.  Stay tuned, we'll share our journey in this blog; the good, the bad, and the dirty.

All the Best,

Susan