This is a public-interest archive. Personal data is pseudonymized and retained under GDPR Article 89.

Re: now what?

Hello,

You say you are not ready to conduct a burn.  Burning is one of the main
management practices used in prairie restoration.  I would recommend trying
to burn at least part of your area each year.  In east central Illinois we
burn from March 15 to April 15, but in your area, it would probably be
earlier.  We do not mow our restoration sites.  We do cut brush and tree
seedlings and treat them with an herbicide.  We burn them in spring or
fall, depending on the site and the weather.  We pull exotics before they
go to seed or treat them with an herbicide.

My main concern are the wildflowers you are sowing.  Many of the wildflower
mixes available commercially have western species mixed into to them that
are not native to your area of the country.  I would recommend that you
check the listing carefully and make sure that you are sowing species which
are native to Tennessee.  There are many nurseries in Illinois who sell
native seeds and plants.  I am sure there are some in Tennessee, as well.

I am not an expert on advising when to mow.  Mowing is usually done when
first establishing a site.  I hope some others will respond to that
question.

I can send you a handout put together by Peter Schramm called, "The Do's
and Don't of Prairie Restoration".  Dr. Schramm is a retired professor from
Knox College in Galesburg, Illinois, and has been doing prairie restoration
in the Midwest for over 30 years.  This handout may answer many of your
questions.

Sincerely,
Ruth Green

>
>We are nearing year one with our new land.  We've been cleaning up the old
>fence rows.  We plan to thin out the tree line to the south so we can see
>through to the rest of our property.  That area will remain wild and serve as
>a buffer against the development that is going up south of us.
>
>We let the old hay fields grow.  It was wonderful to see how many flowers
>there were without any help from us.  The grasses topped out at about 3-4
>feet.  The last flowers are still blooming at about 4-5 feet.  I mowed a
>walking path aroung the perimeter.  The only maintenance I have done with the
>fields is to go after the thistle and anything unsightly.  Every farmer in
>the area has stopped by and offered to cut our hay.  They look quite
>bewildered when I tell them what I'm doing!
>
>I planted a southeastern wildflower mix around the house and have been
>observing them and collecting the seeds.  In August I plan to cut a swath
>around the two main field areas and throw the wildflower seeds there in
>September.  My hope is that the flowers will eventually spread on their own.
>
>
>Our main questions now are about the annual mowing.  We will probably have to
>do it in January.  That would be just before the ground starts to warm up and
>get mushy.  The birds here are already starting to pair up in February.  I've
>read that some birds like to nest in newly mown fields while others prefer
>areas that have not been mowed for 2-3 years.  So I plan for us to only mow
>the outer one-third of the fields.  Then the following year we would mow
>two-thirds, and then in the third year we would mow everything.  Does this
>sound like a reasonable plan?
>
>I don't feel we are ready to try to conduct a burn.  So my main question is
>what to do about the plant debris.  Do we have to remove the debris?  If
>everything is dry and brittle when we mow won't the plant debris just mulch
>into the ground?  Or does this change the ecology of the soil?  I understand
>that if buffalo came through and grazed there would be no debris.  The same
>if there were a spontaneous wildfire.  Won't mulching the debris enrich the
>soil just like the buffalo droppings would?
>
>What we have to do will determine what kind of equipment we have to buy or
>rent.
>What equipment is essential for us to maintain a 10-acre prairie?  My husband
>is itching to buy a monster machine.
>
>Thank you all for your advice and guidance.
>
>Carmen
>Spring Hill, Tennessee
>---------------------------------------------------------------------
>To sign-off this list, send email to majordomo@mallorn.com with the
>message text UNSUBSCRIBE PRAIRIE


Ruth A. Green, Greenhouse Manager, Illinois Natural History Survey,
Center for Biodiversity, 607 East Peabody Drive, Champaign, IL  61820
Office:  217-333-7091   FAX:  217-333-6294
Email:  rgreen@mail.inhs.uiuc.edu


---------------------------------------------------------------------
To sign-off this list, send email to majordomo@mallorn.com with the
message text UNSUBSCRIBE PRAIRIE
References:
Other Mailing lists | Author Index | Date Index | Subject Index | Thread Index