"What a package of potential a seed is! Most of the prairie seeds I harvested weigh almost nothing but contain the genetic plans for a future.” JAN GRAINGER Volunteer Steward Nachusa volunteers and stewards collect 125+ seed species for both new and field–overseed plantings. Seed collection begins at Nachusa around mid–May and continues through the first week of November. This year 100 new acres will be planted to prairie and about a dozen stewards will overseed 150 acres or more on various newer restorations. How much seed is needed to plant 100 acres to prairie this fall? About 5,000 pounds!!!! |
Equipped with buckets, bags, scissors and clippers, stewards and volunteers walk through the fields searching for mature seed. Harvesting seed by hand is time–consuming and labor intensive, but there are advantages. Some seeds are on tiny plants close to the ground and located on rocky slopes. The only way to harvest these is for collectors to crawl on their hands and knees to pick each seed individually. |
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