Friends of Nachusa Grasslands
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​Stop 6 —​ Prairie Planting

​The Nachusa crew planted these twelve acres back to prairie on November 29, 2010. For decades prior, farmers had planted corn and soybeans here. The last field of corn was harvested in October 2010; then the corn stubble was burned in preparation for the new planting.
 
Nachusa Grassland plantings are super ‘rich’, each planted with 125+ species at a high rate of pounds of seed per acre.

How many pounds of seed do Nachusa stewards plant per acre?
Bill Kleiman, Nachusa Grasslands Preserve Manager says, “It takes a lot of seeds per acre to make sure an area fills in with native plants, not weeds. Planting seeds too thin is a common cause for poor results. In a new planting that was a former row crop field, we are planting 40 to 60 pounds per acre.  We don’t clean our seed, so perhaps 40% of that bulk weight is chaff. The bottom line is this is a lot of seed per acre.”
 
This particular field was planted with 50 pounds of seed per acre, for a total of 600 pounds.
 
How many species does a steward sow in a new planting?
Bill Kleiman says, “Plant in year 1 all the species you want in year 100”. Nachusa stewards plant not only the tough native plants like indian grass, bee balm, yellow coneflower, and big bluestem, but also all the finicky or conservative species like birdsfoot violet, lead plant, pussytoes & shooting star.
 
This planting included 134 species. Cody Considine, Nachusa’s restoration ecologist, describes the day of planting: “Heather Baker, Kim Schmidt and I planted the area using the three antique gravity box seeders, pulled by the Big Red Truck, the Green Truck, and the Little Red Truck. We planted in concentric circles, starting clockwise with the first pass and counterclockwise with the second pass. Some seed still remained and a random cross–stitching pattern was used. The seeders were set all the way open. As the last seed hit the 
ground it started to rain. The rain was a perfect way to end the day. It was steady but not overpowering. The precipitation was not fast enough to wash the seed away or cause uneven seed distribution; instead it cemented the seed to the ground. The soil condition changed from dry and loose to moist and firm, locking our precious payload in the ground.”​

​As a final touch, in 20–degree weather, seasonal crew members Heather Baker and Kim Schmidt “hand–planted” acorns, hazelnuts, hickory nuts and plum pits.
 
What about weeds?
Nachusa stewards have discovered that there are only about 8-9 exotic weed species that can spread exponentially on the open soils of a new planting such as this one. These include white and yellow sweet clover, red clover, parsnip, Queen Anne’s lace, Canada thistle, bull thistle, etc. Stewards walk back and forth over the acreage with herbicide backpacks spraying out these problem species during year 1 and year 2.
 
WALK INTO THE PLANTING. In a square yard, how many different species can you spot? Stewards hand–collected the seeds of these species from May through November. The seeds are then dried on racks, run through a seed processor, blended into mixes, and then broadcast over the acreage with a tractor seed spreader as soon as the corn is harvested.

Stop 7 — Wetland

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  • Home
  • About Friends
    • Mission and Leadership
    • Endowments
    • Heritage Heroes Initiative
    • Friends Annual Reports
    • Newsletters >
      • PrairiE–Update (email)
      • A Prairie Calling (print and digital)
    • Friends Annual Meeting 2022
    • Commenting Policy
  • Plan Your Visit
    • Hours & Parking
    • Directions and Map
    • Visitor Center
    • Teacher Resources
    • Pet Policy
    • Public Bison Tours
    • Bison Viewing
    • Hiking >
      • Hiking Guidelines
      • Hiking Destinations
      • Stone Barn Savanna Tour
      • Visitor Center Trail
      • Scavenger Hunt
    • What's In Bloom?
    • Autumn on the Prairie
    • Exploring Nachusa Grasslands on Your Own
    • Things to Do
    • Places to Eat and Stay
    • Local Sites to Visit and Explore
  • Donate
  • Calendar
  • Volunteer
    • Volunteer Opportunities
    • Thursday and Saturday Workdays >
      • Workday Signup
      • Volunteer Workday Safety Protocols
      • Workdays – November to February
      • Leader Workday Safety Protocols
      • Steward Workday Tips
    • Stewardship Teams
    • Workday Email List
    • Steward Login
  • Stewardship
    • Nachusa Stewardship
    • Restorations
    • Planting Histories >
      • Stewardship Unit Planting Histories
      • Planting Histories in Chronological Order
    • Stewards and Staff
    • Groups and Committees
    • Available Units
    • Controlled Burns
    • Prescribed Fire Recruitment
    • Restoration Publications
    • Stewardship Resources >
      • Weekly Top Picks
      • Seed Collection Guides
      • Invasive Plant Management
      • Invasive Identification
      • Monitoring
      • Links & Resources
  • Science
    • Science at Nachusa Grasslands
    • Science Grants >
      • Science Grants 2023
      • Science Grants 2022
      • Science Grants 2021
      • Science Grants 2020
      • Science Grants 2019
      • Science Grants 2018
      • Science Grants 2017
      • Science Grants 2016
      • Science Grants 2015
      • Science Grants 2014
      • Science Grants 2013/2012/2011
    • Science Symposium 2022
    • Science Symposium Abstracts >
      • Science Symposium Abstracts 2019
      • Science Symposium Abstracts 2018
      • Science Symposium Abstracts 2017
      • Science Symposium Abstracts 2016
    • Potential Research Topics
    • Scientific Publications
    • Testimonials >
      • Dr. Holly Jones
      • Dr. Nick Barber
      • Kimberly Elsenbroek
    • Science Videos
    • Become a Community Scientist >
      • About Community Scientists
      • Butterfly Monitoring
      • Calling Frog Monitoring
      • Dragonflies & Damselflies
      • RiverWatch
  • About Nachusa
    • General Info
    • Prairie Smoke Annual Reports
    • Plant Inventory >
      • Common Names
      • Genus Species
    • Animal Inventory >
      • Amphibians
      • Birds
      • Bison Bison >
        • Bison
        • Bison Babies Broadcast Videos
      • Fish
      • Insects
      • Mammals
      • Other Arthropods
      • Reptiles
    • History
    • Jobs
    • Hunting
    • Geology >
      • Geology Part 1
      • Geology Part 2
      • Geology Part 3
    • 30th Anniversary Memories
    • Websites of Interest
  • BLOG AND MEDIA
    • Nachusa Blog
    • In The News
    • Photo Gallery >
      • Spring Photos
      • Summer Photos
      • Autumn Photos
      • Winter Photos
      • Visitor Photos
    • Submit Your Photos
    • Videos
  • Contact Us / FAQs