Fun in the Cold

When I was planning how to accomplish the best restoration possible on the Huggett land, a 20 acre parcel that was seeded last fall, I tried to incorporate the lessons that I had learned on past attempts. The base seeding was done with a Truax drill, a much improved choice over the John Deere no-till drill that had been used on the 100 acre seeding in 2018. I was able to be on site during the seeding, giving me some confidence that a good job was done. I used a higher seeding rate to hopefully achieve full cover in a shorter time. I obsessively patrolled for Canada thistle , hoping to keep it from getting a foothold, trying to eliminate individual plants. All this was at best only partly successful because of a hot, dry summer before our deluge began in mid-August. So, finally, a positive lesson I had learned was that until you have established plants, with the grasses beginning to create a sod, it is very worthwhile to add additional seed. Thus, a fall topdressing of the seed that I gathered this past year would be a valuable exercise. And so that was what I was doing last week as a cold front blew through.

It wasn’t horrible out there. It was right at 30 degrees, snowing lightly and the wind was bearable, not the howling banshee that it often is in early December. I had been out with a friend a couple weeks earlier and we had covered the whole site spreading seed by hand. Some of the seed I wanted to spread was unavailable, however, being stored at another friend’s, and I wanted to spread that as well. The restoration site is not accessible if we get much snow, being half a mile down a dirt trail from the nearest maintained road, and while it would have been fine to save some seed to spread next spring, I prefer to let nature do the work through the winter overcoming seed dormancy. Thus, last week, I went to get the rest of my seed, and when I finished the three hours of hand spreading I was cold, tired, hungry and very satisfied with my day. How much fun can an old guy have without being around grandkids? This pretty well maxes it out for me.

Tangentially, I found that one interesting thing was how easy it was to identify where soils changed from xeric to mesic. The light color on all the hills is from yellow foxtail residue. As you come to lower ground where moisture relations are kinder to plants and soil that has eroded from the hills accumulates, it becomes dark, which is the residue of tall waterhemp, both species being common weeds. Here’s another look at what I saw when I was out throwing seed around.

Another related tangent: a couple days ago I drove to South Dakota State University campus in Brookings to visit Professor Lora Perkins. She has developed a project growing many species of native wildflowers from seed, learning the best methods of handling and propagation. This is the second time I have contributed material to her project and I brought down about 10 containers of seed from different forb species, several of which would be new to her efforts. Much to my delight she traded me back two envelopes of seed derived from material I had originally contributed, as well as another species that I occasionally find in my prairies that I have been unable to gather, but can now spread next spring. As I hope to begin my own project of growing wildflower seed Lora is an extremely valuable source of information for me, as well as great fun to visit. Some of seed I gathered and that Lora grew has even become integrated into landscaping at SDSU by a young horticulturist I happen to know, Tanner, who was friends with my daughter when she was in graduate school at SDSU. South Dakota society is a small and cozy place and these sorts of connections are common, but still a source of fun and satisfaction. Next spring Lora said she will give my wife and me a tour of her plots and show us what is growing in her greenhouse, and maybe we will look up Tanner. and see where our contribution to beautifying the campus has been planted. It’s a good life if you don’t weaken, with rewards around every corner.

Species List for 100 Acre Restoration

First, as I have often attested, the 100 acres is far from a homogeneous prairie restoration. There are areas of various floristic complexity through the field, most notably there are 25 acres on the east side which is almost a pure stand of grass, devoid of wildflowers. This area was nearly bereft of seed from the original 2018 planting, and grew up to a solid stand of Canada thistle. I then topdressed it in 2019 with a mixture of grasses. Subsequently, this area was sprayed with herbicide in fall of 2019 and 2020 to kill the thistles. Though some thistles have begun to grow back, I am beginning to spread some forb seed to establish a wildflower presence. Thus this list mostly concerns the other 70-75 acres, particularly 40-50 acres of rolling gravelly hills on the west side which adjoins the native pasture where Dakota skipper butterflies have been found. After the common name I give the scientific name, as common names vary. The species are grouped by an exceedingly subjective measurement of relative abundance. Most of the species that I list as abundant are primarily derived from purchased seed, though often supplemented by gathered seed, with some notable exceptions I will point out. At the end of the list of species that I have found in the restoration is a second list of species that were planted that I have not yet Identified, but that I still expect to find. Though there about 45 species that I planted and have not yet found, the second list only includes 12 species, as many of the 45 species were spread in such low quantities that it is unrealistic to expect that I will ever see them. With all the disclaimers and qualifiers out of the way, here goes:

Species which are very common, most of which were in the original mix of purchased seed which was seeded by the Conservation District. Almost anywhere on the better 70 acres of the restoration you will find all these within 100′ or so:

1.Yarrow, Achillea millifolium

2.Canada milkvetch, Astragalus canadensis

3. Cudleaf sagewort, Artemisia ludoviciana

4. Fringed sagewort, A. frigida

5. Big bluestem, Andropogon gerardii

6. Sideoats grama, Bouteloua curtipendula

7. Blue grama, B. gracilis

8. Downy painted cup, Castilleja sessiflora (almost entirely from a handful of very tiny gathered seed)

9. Tall cinquefoil, Drymocallis arguta (same note as above, except it was from a larger quantity)

10. Canada wildrye, Elymus canadensis

11. Black samson, Echinacea angustifolia (I have obsessively, and perhaps unsustainably, gathered this. It was the one wildflower that all sources agreed upon as an important source of nectar for the Dakota skipper butterfly, it is common on my prairies, it is easy to gather as the seeds stay in the heads for many weeks and it is an iconic prairie plant to me.)

12. Blanketflower, Gaillardia aristata (Though I spread some that I gathered, most is from seed purchased which was grown in Colorado. This has meant that the population is actually dropping because the genotype lacks the proper components for cold hardiness.)

13. Maximillian sunflower, Helianthus maximilliani

14. Prairie junegrass, Koeleria macrantha

15, Wild bergamot/Horsemint, Monarda fistulosa

16. Shell leaf/Showy penstemon, Penstemon grandiflorus

17. Western wheatgrass, Pascopyrum smithii

18. Yellow coneflower, Ratibida columnifera

19. Gray headed coneflower, Ratibida pinnata

20. Black eyed susan, Rudbeckia hirta

21. Missouri goldenrod, Solidago missouriensis (though I spread some seed of this, both gathered and purchased, I think most of this blew in and seeded itself down on its own)

22. Little bluestem, Schizachyrium scoparium (Andropogon was so much easier to spell before they changed the genus. That’s a very nerdy botanist’s lament)

23. Indiangrass, Sorghastrum nutans

24. Golden alexander, Zizia aurea

25. Common milkweed, Asclepias syriaca

26. Purple prairie clover, Dalea purpurea

27. Slender wheatgrass, Elymus trachycaulus

28. False sunflower, Heliopsis helianthoides

29. Green needlegrass, Nassella viridula

30. Stiff goldenrod, Oligoneuron rigida

31. Slender penstemon, Penstemon gracilis (yet another small-seeded species where a small amount of gathered seed thoroughly colonized the restoration)

32. Foxglove penstemon, Penstemon digitalis (This species was neither gathered nor purchased but came along as a mistake or a contaminant of the purchased seed mix; a happy accident.)

33. Heath aster, Symphyotricum ericoides (Again, it would be much simpler if the generic name was still Aster.)

34. Switchgrass, Panicum virgatum

35. Silky aster, Symphyotricum sericeum

36. Canada goldenrod, Solidago canadensis, This should really go in the following group because it is only found in the mesic to wet mesic areas on perhaps 10-15% of the restoration.

37. Gray goldenrod, Solidago nemoralis

38. Hoary vervain, Verbena stricta

The following group of species are more widely scattered than the first group. They may be common in areas and absent in others, or just widely dispersed. They all have populations which should allow easy cross pollination, and if they are competitive they might be common in the future. Many of these are species primarily or exclusively from gathered seed.

39. Leadplant, Amorpha canescens

40. Groundplum milkvetch, Astragalus crassicarpus

41. Pasqueflower, Anemone patens

42. Thimbleflower, A. cylindrica

43. Prairie onion Allium stellatum

44. Rose milkweed, Asclepias incarnata

45. False boneset, Brickellia eupatoroides

46. Fox sedge, Carex vulpinoides

47. Unknown wetland sedge, Carex sp.

48. White prairie clover, Dalea candida

49. Showy tick trefoil, Desmodium canadense

50. Northern bedstraw, Galium boreale (I am seeing much less of this during the summer of 2022. Withholding judgement for now.)

51. Prairie smoke, Geum triflorum (Opposite comment to above. These arbitrary classifications are based upon 2021 observations, and I have seen far more this year. Almost should lift it a category.)

52. Stiff sunflower, Helianthus pauciflorus (Ditto to above comment. Lots more pauciflorus in 2022, plus the rhizome effect.)

53. Porcupine grass, Stipa spartea (This was all from gathered seed, and as it is a terrible pain in the ass to spread I am very satisfied that we got a decent catch.)

54. Hairy goldaster, Heterotheca villosa

55. Alumroot, Heuchera richardsonii Quite a few to begin, but decreasing, probably because it was from ill-adapted seed. Lots in adjoining prairies, so I will try to increase.

56. Dudley’s rush, Juncus dudleyi

57. Unknown rush, Juncus sp.

58. Prairie lettuce, Lactuca biennis

59. Great blue lobelia, Lobelia siphilicata

60. Dotted gayfeather, Liatris punctata

61. Rough gayfeather, L. aspera

62. False gromwell, Omosmodium molle

63. Evening primrose, Oenothera biennis (This was everywhere the first two years, but has found a harder time reseeding itself as the sod forms.

64. White penstemon, Penstemon albidus (Another species that is increasing, probably seeding itself in. Should probably go into the first group.)

65. Prairie ragwort, Packera plattensis

66. Prairie rose, Rosa arkansana

67. New England aster, Symphyotricum novae-angliae

68. Smooth blue aster, S. laeve

69. Sky blue aster, S. oolentangiense

70. Aromatic aster, S. oblongifolium

71. Blue vervain, Verbena hastata

72. Prairie violet, Viola pedatifida

73. Heart leafed golden alexander, Zizia aptera

74. Pennsylvania cinquefoil, Potentilla pennsylvanica (This was a forb I didn’t expect to see, as I gathered very little, but it has been surprisingly successful.)

75. Blue eyed grass, Sisyrinchium campestre

The next group on the list are species of which I saw only a few plants this year, less than 10. I certainly don’t claim to be friends with every plant on the entire 100 acres, but I spend a lot of time out there, so I am confident that they are uncommon. While I hope (and expect) that there are more individuals of these species, it is a source of satisfaction whenever I find a new one.

76. Slender milkvetch, Astragalus flexuosus (One of the big successes of 2022. May need to pop this up a notch.)

77. Canada anemone, Anemone canadensis (I am surprised that I haven’t seen more of these as a fair amount of gathered seed was spread, though it is always possible that most of my gathered seed had insect predation)

78. Nodding onion, Allium cernuum

79. Field pussytoes, Antennaria neglecta

80. Whorled milkweed, Asclepias verticillata

81. Anise hyssop, Agastache foeniculum, (I saw this the last couple years, but have found none this year. This might have been lost.) Update: Saw several blooming late summer 2022

82. Yellow sundrops, Calylophus serrulatus

83. Kalm’s brome, Bromus kalmii

84. Chickweed, Cerastium arvense

85. Flat topped aster, Doellingeria umbellata

86. Scarlet gaura, Gaura coccinea

87. Downy gentian, Gentiana puberulenta (This was another great surprise. Downy gentian doesn’t make good seed until October, and I have invariably gathered it after cold weather, making me uncertain about seed viability. I was very happy when my friend Ben found two blooming this fall, and I have hopes to see more next year.)

88. Sawtooth sunflower, Helianthus grosserserratus (2022 update: quite a few blooming along drainageways, perhaps 20 or 30)

89. Fringed puccoon, Lithospermum incisum (This was fun to find because I put no seed out on the restoration of this, but there are plenty of plants on the prairie bordering the restoration.)

90. Grooved yellow flax, Linum sulcatum (This is an annual that can be very common or absent in my nearby native prairies. Two years ago I saw quite a few in the restoration, but because of a hot, dry June last year I saw none in my native prairies and only one or two in the restoration.)

91. Prairie turnip, Pediomelum esculenta (This, to me, is the most evocative, iconic plant of my nearby prairies, and I was ecstatic when I found two this summer. I continue to carefully plant some, and hope to see more in the future.)

92. Meadow rue, Thalictrum dasycarpum (This is another increasing species, I saw several colonies building along the runs.)

93. Western spiderwort, Tradescantia occidentalis

94. American vetch, Vicia americana

95. Ironweed, Vernonia fasciculata

96. Mountain mint, Pycnanthemum virginianum, (This is another of the species which is finding its place in the restoration. This will probably be moved to the category above.)

97. Standing milkvetch, Astragalus adsurgens

98. Early figwort, Scrophularia lanceolata

99. Prairie larkspur, Delphinium virescens

100. Needle and thread, Stipa comata

101. Flodmans thistle, Cirsium flodmanii

These are a few species I saw the first year of the restoration, but not since, likely because the seed source population wasn’t as cold tolerant as was needed.

102. Butterfly weed, Asclepias tuberosus

103. Partridge pea, Chaemecrista fasciculata

104. Prairie coreopsis, Coreopsis palmata

105. Illinois bundleflower, Desmamnthus illinoencis

106. Wild mint, Mentha arvensis

So that’s the list as well as my memory and poor botanical skill allows. But I will add a list of species that I hope to see in the future because of : 1) The amount of seed that I spread of that plant, 2) It might be there, but I haven’t walked by when a flower or seedhead was out, 3) that I hope to see because I am still adding seed of that species, or 4) I have missed because I am blind and clueless.

1. American sloughgrass, Beckmannia syzgachne
2. Tall dropseed, Sporobolus heterolepis
3. Prairie sandreed, Calamovilfa longifolia
4. Prairie cordgrass, Spartina pectinata
5. Plains bluegrass, Poa aristada
6. Bluejoint, Calamagrostis canadensis
7. American licorice, Glycyrrhiza lepidota
8. Joe Pye weed, Eutrochium purpureum
9. Wood betony, Pedicularis canadensis
10. Rattlesnake root, Prenanthes alba
11. Textile onion, Allium textile
12. Nutalls violet, Viola nutallii
13. Wood betony. Pedicularis canidensis So that’s it for now. Might there be more in the future? Certainly, but I will also likely lose some on the less common species to the vagaries of climate and the inevitable difficulties of reproduction. However, I may be counter-intuitively aided by the terrible soil of much of the site. A common complaint of practitioners of prairie restoration is the loss of forbs as they are out-competed by grasses. This is less likely on the xeric half of my project which carries the most diversity because the gravelly soils will not allow the grasses to create a thick sod and there is likely to always be some room for new seedlings. This will be aided by the planned disturbances of fire and grazing. And if I am fortunate I will get to reevaluate for many years. I will likely update this list at the end of the 2022 field season.

Postscript:

While I have already added several species earlier in 2022, here are recent additions from late July through early September:

1. Virginia wildrye, Elymus virginicus, A grass more common in moist woodlands, it is establishing along the drainageways
2. Northern plains blazing star, or prairie blazing star, Liatris ligustylis, This is very closely related to Liatris aspera, listed above, and may even hybridize with it, but it appears I have a few of both.
3. Prairie blazing star, Liatris pycnostachya
4. Harebell, Campanula rotundifolia
5. Yellow avens, Geum aleppicum
6. Panicled aster, Symphyotricum lanceolatum
7. Prairie dropseed, Sporobolus heterolepis
8. Prairie cordgrass, Spartina pectinata
9. Prairie sandreed, Calamovilfa longifolia
10. Bottle gentian, Gentiana andrewsii
11. Joe Pye weed, Eutrochium maculatum
12. Unknown white flowered aster, Symphyotrichum sp.
13. Green milkweed, Asclepias viridiflora (from spring transplants)
14. Ball cactus, Coryphantha vivipara (again, from transplants)
15. Slim leafed milkweed, Asclepias stenophylla (transplants)
16. Spotted bee balm, Monarda punctata, This is a sister species to wild bergamot, Monarda fistulosa, and I thought it was just an atypical example until I saw several. I am not sure where they came from.

September 20. 2022 update: I feel that I have forgotten a couple, but this makes 122 species found on the restoration, far more than I ever imagined, and wonderfully satisfying. Additions are still possible – finding the bottle gentians was a thing of chance while investigating other issues, and I hope to add a few more species through transplanting over the next couple years. Also, notice that I got several hits from my list of species I expected could show up. So that is likely it for 2022, though I will add if needed.

March 26, 2024 update: I have edited and added comments on some of the species listed above, and below I list a few additions from last year, as well as a couple we are transplanting this spring.

1. Culvers root (Veronicastrum virginicum) A single plant which I was shocked to see and ID.
2. Wolfberry/Snowberry/Buckbrush (Symphoricarpus occidentalis) A small, common native shrub which found its own way in.
3. False indigo (Amorpha fruiticosa) Ditto the previous comment.
4. Sand sage (Artemisia campestris) A somewhat weedy biennial which seeded itself in.
5. Curlycup gumweed (Grindelia squarrosa) Again, ditto the previous comment.
6. Oval leaved milkweed (Asclepias ovalifolia) Transplant from Dave Ode seed.
7. Unknown milkvetch (Astragalus sp.) Was given a mislabeled packet of old seed by my friend Dr. Arvid Boe which still needs clarification.
8. Showy goldenrod (Solidago speciosa) See note for Canada goldenrod above.
9. Plains Muhly (Muhlenbergia cuspidata) I found a few plants in the adjoining pasture to dig for Arvid; he grew them in his greenhouse space, and then we gave seeds to Dr. Lora Palmer to grow for seedling plugs to transplant. Anyway, I have some in the restoration now.

That’s all that I can remember for now though I am likely missing a couple. That brings the total found to 131 species, of which perhaps 8-10 aren’t there anymore and another 8-10 are there in very small numbers. Surveying is one of the many priorities I have this summer (2024) and I hope to do a total rewrite this fall or winter. I know that I have a few other species in the 20 acre Huggett restoration which I will document this summer and also list this fall.

The New Restoration – Progress

When I was planning for seeding a 20 acre patch of restored prairie last fall I wrote a blog post entitled “The New Restoration”, detailing what my ideas were to make this new project a wonderful prairie restoration by incorporating the lessons from earlier work. This I tried to do, and the restoration was seeded in early November of 2020, with a base mix put in by the local Conservation District with a Truax drill, and a significant amount of gathered seed spread over the top, broadcast both with a spinner spreader and by hand. Immediately after completing the seeding I had a big surgery, a laryngectomy, to which I lost my entire winter in recovery and therapy. So it was with great anticipation that I went to the field in late April, but all I saw coming up were areas of thick cheatgrass. This was a bit disappointing, but not really unexpected considering the history of the field. Cheat is crazy competitive, so I lined up the neighbor to spray Roundup to kill the cheat before any of the seeds from the restoration seeding germinated. My hopes ran high.

As the spring progressed, a very dry winter turned into a very dry spring and early summer, so I was patient until we finally had a good rain in early June. What appeared after the rain was not a carpet of prairie flowers, but a thick carpet of yellow foxtail, a weedy, annual grass. Weeds are certainly expected in any restoration, and at first this didn’t concern me very much, but as June progressed I became more worried. The foxtail was extremely thick, to the point of precluding all other growth over most of the field, and it was dry enough to wonder how any new seedling could compete with the annual grass carpet. In droughty soils which are often planted to wheat this foxtail seed bank is a common phenomena; the lack of competition in mid-late summer from a thin (because of the poor soils) maturing wheat crop almost invariably allows foxtails to proliferate and make lots of seed right before the wheat is harvested. I could have attempted to combat this by fallowing the field for a year before seeding the restoration and attempting not to allow any weeds to go to seed, thus hoping to limit the amount of weed competition the subsequent year. However, that is not an easy task, as life always seems to find a way, so I now had a decision to make. Very little of my planting had yet germinated, as I only saw a few cool season perennial grass seedlings; but new seedlings of many species are very cryptic, and I might have more out there than I thought.

I decided to trust 40 years of agronomic experience and to have another herbicide application made, this one specific to grasses, and to hope that the perennial grass seedlings that I knew I would be killing (primarily wheatgrasses and green needlegrass which had germinated in the June rain) would be replaced by plenty of brothers and sisters later. The application would spare any dicots, whether weeds or wildflowers, so this didn’t affect my plans to mow the restoration twice later in the summer. My hopes were still high, but tempered with the realization that I was killing some plants that I didn’t want to kill. And the summer sped on.

Or at least it sped on for those who enjoy warm, sunny days at the beach. If you are a farmer, or a seed hoping to germinate, the endless days of sunshine and 90 degrees were a millstone around the neck, a trial to be endured. While this was certainly not a drought of historic proportions, it was damned hot and dry. The wheat crop withered, the pasture grasses turned brown and it was looking like a bad year for my restoration to be starting. I remember going up and down the hills in early August and searching in vain for seedlings that I was responsible for seeding. While I was confident that many of the seeds would be there for next year, I still would have felt much better had I felt I was achieving some cover over the erosive hills. I was starting to regret my second herbicide application, and my hope was wavering.

Any average hides the fact that it is simply the mathematical mean of what might be wildly disparate inputs, a mean of extremes. And so it was this year. When the year ends the records will show a rainfall total for 2021 slightly above average for the 130 years that measurements have been taken. In that average year almost half the rain falls from May 1 through the end of July. This year we had less than half our average rainfall during that period, but then almost 300% of our average precipitation during August, September and October, normally drier months. Any rainy spell is often casually referred to as a “monsoon”, but the term refers to a specific phenomena of moisture flowing on winds induced by the differential heating of land and water. The rising air caused by the heating of the ground draws in cooler, moisture-laden air from over the ocean. The Indian subcontinent famously has the summer monsoon (My daughter was married in Goa, on the west coast of India, in July several years ago, and it was as if the gods were dumping buckets from the heavens. It wasn’t like the thunderstorms that I was accustomed to; it was more like a direct transfer of those buckets being lifted from the Arabian Sea to our west, and then pouring out as a warm, if overwhelming, shower to rinse away the sweat that dripped from our bodies in the incredible humidity), but the southwest United States has a monsoon as well, and sometimes the winds bring those rains as far as South Dakota. When that contribution was added to an abnormally busy traditional late summer rain regime we ended up with almost 20″ of rain in a little over three months, much more rain than we had received in the previous 12 months. What were the effects of all this water?

What had been a wasteland was transformed into a nursery. Of course, not all the plants were desirable, as the pictures all show; the sun shines and the rain falls on saint and sinner alike; but by early October I could find at least a couple native perennial seedlings per square foot almost everywhere I went. In the meantime I had already ordered a supply of seed, primarily grasses, to blend with all my gathered forbs to “salvage” the restoration. Though I have so far been unable to get much spread I still have hopes for an opportunity. However, if I am unable to get to the field because the grass trail I use to access it is blocked with snow I will feel that there is already a fine start to the restoration. I believe in redundancy, and to waste some seed on the areas which are well stocked with young plants in order to help areas less well stocked will feel fine.

As always there is a bit of “cherry picking” to make sure the prettiest pictures get in the blog, but there are a lot of new seedlings that germinated during the wet spell that began in early August. Dormancies of all kinds had undoubtedly been overcome, and I just hope that there was sufficient time for those seedlings to establish crowns so they can overwinter. The main reason for seed dormancy is so that seedlings don’t start too late in the fall, but rather wait for the next spring, and it is possible that some started too late this fall. So if I am able I will broadcast another batch of seed this week and some of those will perhaps be there ready to germinate as reinforcements next spring. And once more, as I enter my 67th year, I also will await spring. As I get older and accumulate more physical ailments the waiting becomes more poignant, the anticipation sharper and the coming of new life in April sweeter. Every season is more likely than the last to be the final time I can envelop myself in the prairie and be at home. But mindfulness demands my attention to the arc of this year, to November of 2021, and so I will try to finish it on a high note with the accomplishment of spreading the additional seed. Perhaps I can even find an opportunity to wander a bit in the hills before the weather shuts me down. It will make the waiting easier to know that I didn’t waste November.

POSTSCRIPT: Today (November 19) a retired friend came out to help me topdress seed. We walked repeatedly up and down the field and hand spread mixtures of purchased and gathered seed across the 20 acres, each of us walking perhaps five miles trying to do a good job. Though I am sure we missed some areas, with the help of a 15 mph crosswind I think that most of the field got some additional seed. A flock of horned larks was certainly interested in the new food source, but I have very high hopes that some of that seed will evade their grasp to germinate next spring and summer and add depth to the restoration. I am very tired and sore this evening and very happy.

I Get By With a Little Help From My…

Not a terribly creative title to steal from the Beatles, I know, but I have decided that I need to buckle down and get some thoughts on the blog. My last post was written just before I hosted a gathering of eight conservation professionals at my restoration for a field day and brainstorming session. There were three biologists from the South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks Department (GFP), the rangeland specialist for the South Dakota Cooperative Extension Service, and employees for Audubon Dakota, Ducks Unlimited (DU), The Nature Conservancy (TNC), US Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and my partner in this venture, Ben who works for Pheasants Forever (PF). What surprised me a little was the depth of interest and knowledge from some of the participants. Most were prairie nerds, just as I am, and really dug into what was out there.

Selfishly, I was most interested in what I could learn from the collective experience of the participants, of course. Secondarily I hoped to deliver the message that the site is available as an example of what can be done with marginal farmground. I put together some maps and handwritten summaries of the project history and goals, similar to what I put into my last blog post, and off we went on walkabout.

The main questions I wanted to explore were:

1. How seriously should I pursue Canada thistle control?
2. How should I go about augmenting forb diversity in areas lacking diversity? This is especially true in areas where I have had to apply Milestone herbicide to thin out thistle patches.
3. Ideas on burning.
4. Could my restoration be used as the basis of a “learning group” of prairie enthusiasts? (That name is already used for an organization in Wisconsin, but as long as I don’t capitalize it I feel it is fair game to use as a descriptive phrase)

The first question was the most trenchant, as I hope to do some spraying of thistle patches in the next couple weeks as opportunity allows. Not sure how the picture will translate, but here is what at least 2-3 acres of the restoration looks like.

The consensus of the group was simply to go easy. As far as I could tell, none of the participants were purists, and most had personal experience with handling thistles in restorations, including the use of Milestone herbicide. There were a couple comments along the lines of “You call this a bad infestation?” However, I had made the choice of showing them the best of the restoration, and we didn’t spend much time in areas with dense thistle patches. That was probably the right choice, considering time constraints, but it skewed their view of my restoration. In effect, they think it is better than it really is. I have several areas that I know the thistle patches are thick enough to preclude growth of the native vegetation, and I think I need to respond to that. However, my thoughts before the gathering were to hire the farmer who rents my land to apply Milestone as a broadcast application over 2-3 areas with the worst thistles on perhaps 20 acres. This would mean that close to half the restoration would have been treated with herbicide in the past two years. Rather than do that I am now planning to use my ATV to spot treat. This will provide much more control over what is treated and probably mean that no more than a couple more acres of the restoration will receive herbicide. This decision became even easier when I found two species growing along the draw next to some of the thistles I had been planning to spray, Great blue lobelia (Lobelia siphilitica) and Canada tick-trefoil (Desmodium canadense). Though a great many forbs have tolerance to Milestone, as I have seen this summer, there is no doubt I will be eliminating species (such as the lobelia) that I don’t want to eliminate in areas where I spray. I have known all along that I would be living with thistles and I just need to make my peace with it.

The second question, that of adding more forbs to forb-deficient areas, is a thornier one, because there are several layers to reaching an answer for a particular site. First, quite simply, is whether more forbs are necessary. Of course I would like a hundred species every damn place I look, but we go back to the concept of ecosystem services. Are more species needed to deliver the services I desire. More is better than less, but we are talking expensive plants here. The success rate of establishment into a three year old planting will be poor and seed will be expensive, whether in the actual cost of purchase or in the time it took to gather. And as long as I have other more receptive areas to seed there is an opportunity cost. Seed spread in one spot obviously can not be spread in another spot. Other factors to consider are whether I have a good grass sod building which will make it difficult for new seedlings to establish, whether I should burn or graze before (and perhaps after) I spread seed, how much I am willing to spend and whether I have, or am likely to treat with Milestone. Over-analysis of a question tends to lead to inaction, not something that suits my personality, but neither do I want to waste a lot of money and time beating my head against a wall.

Here, again, there seemed to be a consensus. Even in areas where it looked like there was room for more seed there might not be. Much of the action in the prairie occurs below the ground. The roots of the various species are doing battle and doing their damndest to lock up as much of the turf under the surface as possible to support what goes on above the surface. Right now I have 20 acres that were seeded last fall that still has a great deal of biotic space to colonize. That is where I should put my resources. I spread a little forb seed in the area of the 100 acre restoration that had been managed to control thistles earlier this year. I will probably purchase some seed of some species which are tolerant of Milestone (which was sprayed there last fall) and spread some more as an experiment, and try to be happy with what I have on the rest. The decision might be different in three or four years if I see forbs being out-competed by the grasses and forb populations and diversity declining in the heart of the restoration.

The third question, regarding burning, was quite immediately relevant because the summer’s drought (which has ended in the 5 weeks since the field day) had opened up the restoration to emergency haying, and one of my renters has cattle, so I was faced with the decision on whether to hay the entire 100 acres or whether to leave some forage standing to burn next spring. The decision is complicated by the fact that because of the drought, the gravel hills with the best forb diversity to manage didn’t have enough biomass to make haying worthwhile or to carry a fire next spring. It is fair to say, however, that every conservation professional I have met loves to burn prairies. Fire is fun, and the short term results oflten tend to be dramatic and very satisfying. My renter with the cattle cut about half of the restoration, including the most productive soils, for hay, and then cut a fire break around the rest. We will attempt to burn the remaining area next spring, realizing that part of it may not carry a burn. It is very possible that it will mean burning on a couple different days, or at least re-starting the fire if it reaches a point where it burns itself out. In native prairies a major goal of fire is often to set back cool season invasive species of grass such as brome and Kentucky bluegrass. While I have a little of those two grasses establishing, a larger short term goal on my restoration will be to discomfit a different invasive species, wormwood sage (Artemisia absinthium). This might mean a different timing for the burn as wormwood grows very early in the spring. It will be incumbent on me to get my resources together so that there is some flexibility in getting the fire done right.

The fourth question, concerning the use of the site as an educational tool, has no immediate answer, and we didn’t spend significant time in discussion at the field day. Really, it has two parts. First, is this a good site to elicit discussion and to provide examples of what can be done with the land? I think it is premature to answer that in full because so much is in flux. The restoration, after three years, is really not yet grazeable, though it might be next year. The new 20 acres is just a weed patch, and will still look like just a weed patch next year. The fencing which will allow rotational grazing is not yet complete. A work in progress is a candidate for a good teaching tool, but it seems to me it will be better in another year. The second part is tougher. I am turning 66 with health issues and an inability to speak. It will be difficult for me to “manage” an educational farm. I hope to have conversations with a wide variety of people to explore the possibilities both in how the site might be used, and who will develop/lead/promote events and tours at the farm. In other words, this was a good introduction to several people who I can have further discussions with to consider the possibilities.

All in all it was a very good day. I brought some sandwiches and food, and a good time was had by all. We saw the best of the restoration, we went to a couple problem areas, we looked at my new restoration and I was very impressed with the quality of the conversation. Everyone there seemed to think it was time well spent and contributed thoughts and ideas. I think that it will be the start of several valuable and enjoyable relationships and many good discussions. In the end I think that what I am doing is a good thing, but I am not pretending to present any grand model for conservation on a working farm, so I need to have fun with it too. Mission accomplished.

Postscript: About a month after this gathering one of the participants, Josh Lefers, who works for Audubon Dakota emailed to ask permission to come out with two coworkers to see the restoration. I happily invited them and had a great time showing off my work, with some very interesting discussion. The visit was made even sweeter because one of the participants, Juli Bosmoe, had just stood up for my daughter Diane at her wedding. Already progress on goal number four listed above, and a fun morning. Life is pretty sweet some days.

Not All Plants Are Created Equal

One of my primary hopes for the restorations I am doing is to extend the reach of the native species that I have growing in my relict prairies in the hills of northeast South Dakota. Without getting too deep into the biological scrum that is inherent in the concept of a species, it is obvious that the plants that I have growing in my prairies are not the same genetics as the plants that I grow from purchased seed. They are the same species in the sense that they will cross pollinate with the plants grown from purchased seed, but the phenotype, the physical representation of the plant as it grows and develops, is different. In some cases, such as the blanketflower that was in the CRP mix I purchased three years ago, they are very different. I looked back at the seed tags and saw that the seed came from Colorado, at least 600 miles away, for crying out loud. I was too naive when I began this process to even realize this was how the business worked, though in retrospect I should have been asking more questions. This certainly doesn’t guarantee that the Colorado blanketflower will die soon, or that it can’t contribute to the ecosystem services I hope the restoration accomplishes, but it brings up some thorny issues.

First and foremost, is whether they will live. Selections on most wildflowers/forbs and even many grasses are made to appeal to gardeners, not restorers. That means it is almost inevitable that the selections came from more gentle, forgiving environments than my prairies. Exhibit A is below:

These pasques were blooming, and at least trying to pollinate, on a 35 degree day. While it had been warmer several days before, raising the soil temperature enough to stimulate initiation of spring growth, the highest air temperature for four days was 40. They don’t look very impressive, but I wonder if pasques growing from purchased seed would be out blooming and trying to pollinate. While on the whole it was a very easy winter, there was a ten day stretch in February when temperatures failed to get above zero, with minimal snow cover. What effect will that have on my blanketflowers from Colorado? Am I likely to lose a chunk of my original seeding? I don’t know, but will begin to find out very soon as soil temps rise.

While survival is paramount, I also wonder about the timing of bloom matching the timing of pollinator activity, the possibility that cross pollination back to my native forbs may actually produce maladapted seed, and even the introduced plants’ compatibility with the local microbial community. Marissa Ahlering, with The Nature Conservancy, has presented the idea that climate resilience may be enhanced by seed sourced from outside the local community, as opposed to the accepted wisdom of only using locally sourced seed, but she was suggesting incremental changes, not adding seed gathered or selected from 600 miles away. Ultimately the real question is what seed will further my long term goals for the restoration.

It is fair to now ask where I am going with this. The seedings are done and any additional seed will come from seed I gather. Why beat the topic about the head, so to speak? Well, I am afraid that as long as I am alive nothing will ever truly be completely finished. There are many tangential paths to follow.

The next part of this story begins with a very interesting visit to an old friend a week ago. Dave Ode was the State Botanist for the South Dakota Department of Game, Fish and Parks for many years, and has an incredibly broad experience in the conservation history and needs in South Dakota. He has chosen as a retirement project increasing seed from selections from a number of the native milkweed species in South Dakota. His house in the country is ringed by small plots of these milkweeds, growing out the seed. I was very interested because I have already been gathering some seed from my three year old restoration, spreading it over the 20 acres that I seeded last fall, and even letting my friend Ben gather some to sell. What changed how I viewed the project, however was a simple descriptive phrase that Dave used, that he was growing “Foundation seed”. Foundation seed is a common phrase in the agricultural seed industry designating the original stock to increase seed from a new, discrete genetic selection. Foundation seed implies that the particular genetics is of a quality to be increased so that it could be widely planted. A farmer doesn’t just plant wheat. The farmer plants wheat of a particular variety that was selected for certain qualities and increased from Foundation seed.

We didn’t get too deep into Dave’s thought process, but I think that he was concerned that in the huge push to plant milkweeds in support of monarch butterflies, a lot of ill adapted seed was being planted. Several of the species that Dave is growing are completely unavailable from commercial vendors, and all was collected from native sources in South Dakota that he has documented. I need to have him elaborate more on the potential avenues for distributing the seed, but what he has told me so far implies that he feels the needs are large enough and varied enough that it is not necessary to worry about it too much. He mentioned several parties he had been in contact with regarding distribution of the seed he grows, and when I left he gave me small amounts of two species of milkweed to use in my restoration. I now wonder if I shouldn’t treat them as foundation seed and use them for plots to further increase availability.

And that brings me back to my prairies, my restorations and my plans for the year. I had already talked to my friend Ben about starting some seed plots of gathered seed, primarily as a potential income source. Now I am thinking a little bigger, in effect establishing my own foundation seed enterprise. What species will I concentrate on and what properties will I look for? Well. I won’t overthink it. If there is a species that is difficult to access it will be a candidate, and its ability to thrive in the environment of my prairies is the property that I value. Maybe the seed will only be used by Ben and me, but maybe there will be others interested in seed from this geography, from this sort of site. Maybe I have something to offer that part of the restoration world that is working to bring back prairies in a circle around where I live.

If I were interested in doing a restoration at Jamestown, North Dakota or Brookings, South Dakota or perhaps even Alexandria, Minnesota, I know I would be interested in slender milkvetch seed sourced from a collection on my prairies in Day County. This is one of many species of forbs in my prairies that cannot be purchased. Perhaps I can facilitate their availability for others This is potentially a large project, far more than I would ever be able to accomplish myself in my diminished physical state, but I am not alone. I already have some potential partners. But first I have much to learn.

Postscript: I wrote the first draft of this two days ago. Today I returned to the restoration to look around and see what had begun growing. Well, not too damn many of my blanketflowers are growing. Blanketflower is not a long lived species but I still didn’t expect to find 90% of the plants dead. I think my Colorado plants got a little stressed during the February cold spell and gave up. The restoration was awash in blanketflower blooms the past two years and perhaps I will have a new crop from all the seed that has dropped. I think that convinces me that blanketflower from my native prairies is going to be one of my Foundation seed choices.

The 2021 Plan

The last post was the picture from above, flying at 30,000 feet and looking at the farm across both space and time. That’s fun to do, and necessary as a starting point, but ideas need to lead to actions. Most of the actions I want to take in 2021 are already baked into the cake, so to speak, that I began with previous seedings, so that is where we can begin.

First, there is still work to be done on the restoration that was seeded in June, 2018. While I am not planning to spread any more seed on that restoration, I am certain that I will be tempted to supplement thin areas. There is enough native species growing and producing seed now, however, that seeding may be as simple as gathering on one side of a hill and scattering what I gather on the other side of the hill. I have documented about 90 species so far on the 100 acre restoration, and some of them were already producing significant amounts of seed last year. I expect to see more this year. Mostly, though, I will spend my time spot-treating biennial and Canada thistles with herbicide. It will not be possible to eliminate thistles on the restoration – I would spend a lot of money and also eliminate most of my native forbs. However,I would like to thin patches enough to keep allelopathic effects in check and to allow native species to establish completely. While herbicide application is not a very palatable management choice I am afraid that I need to risk some damage to some forbs in order to allow many others to establish and colonize. Two or three acres of actual herbicide treatment can go a very long way if I am resolute and judicious with spot treating.

Another reason why I will be unlikely to spread new seed on the older restoration is that I am likely to obsessively gather and purchase seed to topdress additional seed on the 20 acres that were seeded last fall. I do need to be a bit careful, as I have gathered a lot of seed the past three years. For most species that is not a problem because it is impossible to gather a high percentage of their seed production; the problem is that it is difficult to gather much at all before the seed drops, blows away or the plant senesces and rolls away. For a few species, however, notably black samson (Echinacea angustifolia) and groundplum milkvetch (Astragalus crassicarpus) it is possible to harvest almost every seed. This summer I need to gather the seed in a more conservative manner on such species, leaving more on the landscape.

Something that would help that goal would be access to other native seed sources. As it turns out there is a 70 acre mesic prairie that adjoins farmland that I have consulted on for many years located about forty miles southeast of where I live. I was walking in that prairie last fall when a vehicle with Minnesota license plates drove up. The young gentleman was an employee of Prairie Restorations Inc., a business that has a long history of planning and implementing restorations in Minnesota. They had been contacted by the landowner, who lives in the Twin Cities, to give a bid on performing a prescribed burn on the prairie. While it is a long way to drive to gather seed, fire can stimulate spectacular seed production that might provide a bonanza worth the drive, and I may need to contact the landowner to receive permission to gather.

Another task I hope to accomplish is to expand my soil carbon sampling project. So far I have seven sampling points providing baseline measurements in the 100 acre restoration and adjacent cropped ground. I hope to expand that to take samples in the new 20 acre restoration and adjacent fields. The task is made more difficult by the soil type, a very thin glacial outwash soil. I may have to settle for 12-18″ samples because the gravel and stones that underlay the topsoil make deeper sampling useless. In any case I will figure out a protocol that fits the site and get more information.

On a different front, I entered into a contract with Ducks Unlimited (DU) to help fence the restorations so that I can use cattle to help achieve my goals. This summer two new pastures will be created, both combining some native prairie with some restored prairie, a total of a little over 100 acres. This will create a potential grazing system of four paddocks, totalling about 170 acres. If you then add the grazing of cover crops and crop residues on adjacent farm fields it should be possible to have a unit providing well over 200 Animal Unit Months (AUM’s), or almost enough for a 40 cow herd for a six month grazing season. The 20 acres that were seeded last fall won’t be ready for any grazing until 2022 or 2023, but the assistance from DU runs out on June 30, so we begin on 12000′ of fencing soon.

Finally, my dream for many years was to have a retirement business purchasing land to restore and implement conservation practices on, much as I have done with my home farm. My health issues have put that dream out of my mind the past couple years as I realized there is a valid reason that 65 is considered a reasonable retirement age. Physical infirmities limit one’s abilities to take on new projects. That has changed because of my recent surgeries. While I am still a used up 65 year old guy, I am now a used up 65 year old guy with more energy. The results of the surgery have not only greatly reduced my susceptibility to pneumonia, they have also provided more consistent ability to get oxygen, and thus more energy and stamina. This means more and higher quality sleep and also better aerobic capacity. I am exploring different possible partnerships and collaboration, both with used up old farts like myself who can provide experience and perhaps capital, and with young conservation professionals who provide the youth and energy that I lack. We will see; perhaps I can flesh out some ideas in a future blog post.

That’s what is on my plate in 2021. I have begun preparations on all of the tasks I listed, and spring is here, or at least the geese and ducks think so. Over the last few days we have received over three inches of rain on what was very dry land. When it warms up we will see if I have the time, energy and good health to accomplish these goals and to kick off the 10 year plan with a flourish. I need to – it won’t get any easier. And I will close with the first wildflower of the spring, a picture of a pasque flower that I took before Easter, the earliest I have ever seen them bloom.