December 24, 2005
There were more spiderworts blooming in this little area than there were last year. The Canadian Rye has mostly left the northern edge of this plot. The ox-eyes are dominant from mid-summer on. These are supposed to be the prairie species, not the weedy ox-eye, but they really are overpopulating themselves in this area. Several Big Bluestems are holding their own and the New England Aster is still holding on, but I am generally disappointed in the lack of diversity thus far, especially considering the careful preparation of the site, the expensive mixes of seed and the fact that the area has received three spring burns. No herbicides were used in this area. The area receives shade for a few hours from the southeast, but areas adjacent which are part of the main restoration display normal prairie diversity. I think it's wait and see; nature will have to disrupt the ox-eye colony sooner or later and perhaps other species will become more evident.
May 26,2005
There was no burn this spring. There are really no weeds in this plot, but only a few species were visible last year, including stiff goldenrod, a few big bluestems, a spiderwort, yellow coneflowers, a New England aster, golden alexanders, etc. We did inventory each month what we found growing or blooming over the entire prairie, and that was a long, long list. I hope to get it up on the site yet this spring.
May 28, 2004
The April 12th burn was especially vigorous on this little site. There are really no weeds to be seen in this plot at all. Lots of forbs are coming, but there is less of the native grasses than you would expect. A species I hadn't seen til this year is the Wild Lupine, both in this test plot and near the southwestern edge of the main prairie where Randy sowed lots of flower seed.
November 23, 2003
Looking over the seed tables for this site, I'm sure I overseeded to a great degree. Next season I'll try to conduct a species inventory; my general sense is that many of the planted species have not yet been spotted. Perhaps they're just late, but I wonder whether planting too much seed allowed a few more agressive species to hog most of the room. At least there aren't too many weeds. The western edge has some stunted Giant Foxtail, and that's about it.
July 15, 2003
As one of my prairie handbooks predicted, the Black Eye Susans are more evident on the borders of the plot this year. A little more for prairie grasses, but they are still not competing strongly with the forbs. The vegetation canopy is about 5 feet tall. We added a few live plants from Prairie Moon this spring, and most of them are doing well. One Northern Dropseed plant expired for unknown reasons.
April 22, 2003
I mowed the site in mid-April, so as not to have an immense fire. There turned out to be not enough plant debris remaining to perform a burn so I added about 6 bags of leaves. I experimented with small backfires under calm conditions. The burn covered about 90% of the 20 x 20 foot plot. There were not many non-natives greening up--a few bluegrass plants and a few cool season grass plants. Several forbs are coming to life. Four days after the fire, they have repaired most of the damage to their leaves and are growing steadily.
November 10, 2002
The plot bloomed continuously from May to October. Species noted included Yellow Coneflowers, Black-eyed Susans, Canadian Milk Vetch, Smooth Blue Asters, Large-flowered Penstemons, Prairie Blazing Star, Wild Bergamot, Ox-eye, Blue Vervain, Hoary Vervain, Golden Alexanders, Long Headed Coneflower, Narrow Purple Coneflower and Stiff Goldenrod. Many forb species were 3 to 5 feet in height. There appeared to be so many forbs that the grasses were not very noticeable. Grass species noted were Canada Rye, Big Bluestem, Indian Grass and Little Bluestem. The only weed species seen were a wild raspberry or two, a Catnip plant, a few weak looking Lambsquarters and some giant foxtail on the north end. I got rid of as much foxtail as I could, as well as the wild black raspberry.
April 14, 2002
Burned 20 x 20 foot plot. A small amount of dried vegetation did not burn in a couple of small areas. Estimate-97% of cover burned off.
November 5, 2001
Randy Schindle, a DNR Forester, examined the 20x20 plot, identified several forbs. He recommends that the plot be burned just as it is greening up, since there is significant fuel and lawn sod is still evident in areas. Overall, the test plot looks to be in good condition.
October 31, 2001
I did not do a second mowing. Pulled tallest weeds in September. Black-eyed Susan types of blossoms from July through September. Some other prairie plants seen. Heavy crabgrass in some areas. Little evidence of native grasses.
June 15, 2001
First mowing. Lambs quarters 10-12" high. Mixture of other weeds. In April I hand weeded a lot of dandelions from the western half of the plot. There may have been a slight amount of herbicide drift on the north end from the adjacent cornfield. Some plants in plot unidentified. Spring has been very wet.
October 16, 2000
Seeded. Compacted soil by rolling an empty pressure tank back and forth over it and by walking on the site.
I obtained seed for this plot from Feder's Prairie Seed Co. in Blue Earth, MN. The species list and amounts are listed below.
| Species | Name | Percentage | Andropogon gerardi | Big Bluestem | 25% |
|---|---|---|
| Sorghastrum nutans | Indian Grass | 25% | Bouteloua curtipendula | Side Oats Grama | 18.75% |
| Schizachyrium scoparium | Little Bluestem | 18.75% |
| Elymus canadensis | Canada Wild Rye | 9.375% |
| Panicum virgatum | Switch Grass | 3.125% |
| Species | Name | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Dalea candidum | White Prairie Clover | 8.33% |
| Liatris pycnostachya | Prairie Blazing Star | 6.25% |
| Ratibida pinnata | Yellow Coneflower | 6.25% |
| Amorpha canescens | Leadplant | 6.25% |
| Zizia aptera | Heart Leaf Golden Alexander | 6.25% |
| Zizia aurea | Golden Alexander | 6.25% |
| Rudbeckia hirta | Black Eyed Susan | 6.25% |
| Solidago rigida | Stiff Goldenrod | 6.25% |
| Astragalus canadensis | Canada Milk Vetch | 6.25% |
| Heliopsis helianthoides | Ox-Eye | 6.25% |
| Eryngium yuccifolium | Rattlesnake Master | 6.25% |
| Aster laevis | Smooth Blue Aster | 6.25% |
| Verbena stricta | Hoary Vervain | 6.25% |
| Echinacea angustifolia | Narrow Purple Coneflower | 6.25% |
| Liatris ligulistylis | Meadow Blazing Star | 4.17% |
| Coreopsis palmata | Prairie Coreopsis | 2.08% |
| Potentilla arguta | Prairie Cinquefoil | 2.08% |
| Monarda fistulosa | Wild Bergamot | 1.04% |
| Galium boreale | Northern Bedstraw | 1.04% |
| Echinacea angustifolia | Narrow Purple Coneflower | 5.26% |
| Verbena stricta | Hoary Vervain | 5.26% |
| Tradescantia ohiensis | Ohio Spiderwort | 5.26% |
| Coreopsis palmata | Prairie Coreopsis | 5.26% |
| Ratibida columnifera | Long Headed Coneflower | 5.26% |
| Zizia aptera | Heart Leaf Golden Alexander | 5.26% |
| Penstemon grandiflorus | Large Flowered Penstemon | 5.26% |
| Amorpha canescens | Leadplant | 5.26% |
| Cassia fasciculata | Partridge Pea | 5.26% |
| Dalea candidum | White Prairie Clover | 5.26% |
| Dalea purpureum | Purple Prairie Clover | 5.26% |
| Liatris aspera | Button Blazing Star | 5.26% |
| Liatris punctata | Dotted Blazing Star | 5.26% |
| Potentilla arguta | Prairie Cinquefoil | 5.26% |
| Aster ericoides | Heath Aster | 5.26% |
| Asclepias tuberosa | Butterfly Milkweed | 5.26% |
| Rudbeckia hirta | Black Eyed Susan | 5.26% |
| Caeanothus americanus | New Jersey Tea | 5.26% |
| Rosa arkansana | Prairie Rose | 5.26% |
Winter set in early. Site covered by 14-20 inches of snow the entire winter. Frost did not go very deep due to snow insulation. Temperatures were somewhat colder than usual for this area (Zone 4--southern Minnesota).
October 11, 2000
Third tilling. Still fairly dry.
September 25, 2000
Second tilling. Some live grass noted. Had about � inch of rain several days ago. Soil moisture is moderate. Still easily dry enough for tilling.
September 17, 2000
Hand-spaded the northwest corner (5'x5'=25 square feet), worked in about 2 full wheelbarrows of sand. This area will be experimental for the "dry prairie mix" plants. Removed several dozen substantial dandelion taproots from this area. Watered entire plot for about 1 hour; soil condition was very dry. No rain since initial tilling. No weed seeds have germinated yet.
September 10, 2000
Initial tilling from sod; 20' x 20' plot. Soil condition: dry. Soil is black loam. Next shallow tilling due September 24th.
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