[To see photos and stories of this prairie in other years, go to the links on the main Buffalo Ridge Prairie page.]
We did several small projects here this year.
In the spring, Mike mowed some of the areas with the thickest Indian Grass – especially along the path. It doesn’t reduce the grass cover in the long run, but it makes it easier for us to see the flowers during most of the growing season. By the end of the summer, the grass is tall and flowering again and we have to look harder to see the end of the season flowers.
I collected seeds from Northern Bedstraw and Wood Betony and threw them down in those thick Indian Grass areas. Both forbs are partly parasitic, so I’m hoping they’ll reduce the vigor of the grasses.
At the far south-west end of the prairie I cut and treated aspen sprouts, then later I foliar sprayed a different group of aspen sprouts. There are aspens growing along the edge of the woods, and I’d like to keep them from invading the prairie. I’m experimenting with which method to use, and which herbicide.
At the north end of the prairie I cut and treated a large area of small aspen sprouts – more experimenting.
3/3/2022
3/13/2022
4/29/2022 After mowing Indian Grass
6/6/2022 Indian Paintbrush and Golden Alexanders
6/13/2022
6/16/2022 Northern Bedstraw, White Wild Indigo, Prairie Phlox
6/20/2022 Northern Bedstraw, Common Spiderwort
6/26/2022 Prairie Phlox, Northern Bedstraw
7/16/2022 Yellow Coneflower, Culver’s Root, Monarda
7/19/2022 Oxeye, Monarda, Culver’s Root, White Wild Indigo
8/19/2022 White Gentian
8/20/2022
8/21/2022
9/19/2022 This is when it starts to get harder to see the flowers in between the flowering grasses.
9/21/2022 Indian Grass along the path
9/26/2022
9/30/2022
10/3/2022
10/23/2022
11/14/2022
12/4/2022
