Sunday, May 26, 2013

Mulch It Update

A couple weeks ago, I shared Blooming Prairie's woodchip mulch experiment with readers, and I'm back again with great news! Woodchip mulching seems to have many more added benefits!


Most days I spend an hour or two walking the prairie pulling weeds and ultimately, discovering more and more about relationships within our world. Not only does wandering the property help me manage it effectively, but it provides me with exciting sites, sounds and smells. I highly recommend exploring one's own backyard, local park, or any space for that matter. One never knows what he/she might find!

Take a look at what I came across when I went picking a few weeds up front on the large woodchip mulched area...

...it takes a good eye to spot these! I'm surprised I didn't damage any of these little guys, as they are incredibly well hidden.


The nest of an unidentified species of bird. The eggs were small, less than an inch long, and I didn't see any sign of a mother. Anyone know to whom this belongs?!?!

Most Iowans are familiar with the next bird, Charadrius vociferous. Spotting this nest was tough, but the mother bird definitely made me aware that her nest was somewhere close. Man, these birds are loud!

 There you have it. Woodchip mulching created bird nesting habitat for us out on the prairie. These little guys will have plently of insects, grubs, bugs and seeds to eat, too, when...IF they hatch and grow larger! I can't wait!

Thursday, May 16, 2013

The Butterflies Return


I've seen four swallowtail butterflies today, but I couldn't get close enough to identify the species because I can't fly nor did I have my glasses on. Darn. I think I know what they're after, though. Prairie plants, especially this one...

Golden Alexander (Zizia aurea) is the black swallowtail's(Papilio polyxenes) host plant which means this butterfly lays its eggs on the plant, and when the larva emerge, they feast! What a cool sight to see! I do recall last year's potted plants getting beat up, but I never once took those fat caterpillars off...


...We will continue to transport some of these little guys to Farmers' Market, and more than likely, they will host butterflies. YES!!!


Thursday, May 9, 2013

Finally, Some LIFE!

 In the last week we've gone from snow storm to...  


 ...lots of life! It's been so refreshing.

Sunday, May 5, 2013

Downtown Farmers' Market on SATURDAY, MAY 11th

It's been a long, hard spring around these parts. 
Who would disagree?!? 
Friday, May 3rd, 2013  Carlisle, Iowa
This year, we witnessed many deaths. A few of our potted plant species didn't tolerate the cold, wet days earlier last month, and we're not counting on all of them making it through the snow last week either! We even saw a goose couple loose their nest that sat in the middle of our pond after the water filled the pond overnight. 

However, the elements will not stop us from attending the Des Moines Downtown Farmers' Market 

Join us this Saturday, May 11th, 2013, 7 am-12 noon. We'll bring potted plants, bare root, and custom butterfly, hummingbird and rain gardens! Stop by and learn about prairie through our literature, Jewels of the Prairie posters, and LIVE NATIVE PRAIRIE PLANTS! If the weather ever warms, maybe a butterfly larvae or two will appear, too!  

MULCH IT!

As we tend our prairie crops, one of our team's most difficult task is keeping out unwanted plant competitors(WEEDS!). Last year, we tilled another large area of land, and we thought we'd experiment with different mulching techniques. 

Mulching is the act of applying a layer of material on the ground with the intention of one or all of the following: improving soil quality, soil moisture retention, weed growth reduction or visual appeal. A person can use a variety of materials as mulch. Some of the most common mulch choices are organic and permanent like bark chips, leaves, and grass clippings. Other temporary barriers include man made products like landscaping tarp or industrial grade, black plastic(very common in large scale, organic fruit and vegetable farming). 

Since we happened to have a large amount of wood chips on hand, we chose it as our mulch.  Unfortunately, as most wood chip mulchers might already know, it doesn't take long before grasses and other undesireables make their appearance through even a thick layer, so we decided to add an extra twist to our mulching adventure. Late last summer, we mulched almost an acre using two similar techniques that had very different results! 


Pictured above are three separate growing rows. Each measured roughly 4.5ft wide and 80ft long. In between each row is a two foot space used as a walking path. From left to right we have the corner of our control row that received no mulch, the middle row that received 4-5inches of wood chips directly onto the soil, and the third row which a layer of cardboard was placed onto the bare soil and then 4-5inches of wood chips on top of the cardboard. The entire area was lightly weeded before all of the applications, but many cool grass seeds and other large plant seed heads were visible as we layed the mulch. The walking paths received 3 inches of mulch directly onto the soil.

As you can see, the cardboard was a remarkable difference maker in this weed inhibiting experiment. There were a few plants growing in the walking paths of the cardboard-mulch areas, and a handful of little  guys on the rows themselves, but not nearly as many as there were growing in row two, the direct mulch to soil area.

Our next organic mulching experiment might involve the use of large amounts of leaf matter as a barrier. The worms would really like it, and I think certain nutrient loving plant species would thrive here as well!

PERSONAL BLAB:

I don't hate the strong, fast growing, quick to reproduce species of this world, but since I'm in the business of nurturing the growth of specific("GOOD") species and not others, I discriminate. Such discrimination is a headache most days, and I sometimes question if these native beauties of the tallgrass really even need much of my help anyway, as they HAVE competed without human intervention for a very very very long time.  However, if only one tenth of 1% of native Iowa tallgrass prairie remains, then helping certain slow growing food sources of butterflies, birds, and other animals germinate, grow strong, and move on out into a new yard or field just as quickly as they were removed from these spaces is moral, and I am good just like my best friend, Laura, implied in the tenth grade when we played Native American naming rituals, and she bestowed upon me the name Sarah Good Girl. :) (Laura called herself Laura Lots-o-Beaver.)