Thorn Creek Native Seed

posted: Nov 3, 2008

The nice weather last week gave us time to harvest the remaining western aster.
First, we used vacuums hooked up to a generator to collect as much seed as possible.

Then we used a power scythe to mow down the remaining plants.

Next we carried the plants into the shed and laid them on a tarp to dry for several days. Once completely dry we stuffed the plants into bags in preparation for thrashing and cleaning. During the drying process lots of seed fell from the plants onto the tarp which we vacuumed up. After all of this there is still a lot of seed hanging on to the stems. The thrashing process should separate these seeds and allow us to clean the seed. Another challenge of this plant is that each seed has a feathery awn attached to it which aids in wind dispersal of the seeds. This pappus must be removed in order to clean the seed. Vacuuming the seed sometimes thrashes the seed enough to remove this awn. The material that has not been vacuumed will be thrashed in a modified chipper which will hopefully remove the seeds still attached to the branches and remove the awns form the seed.

posted: Oct 22, 2008

In continuation of our seeding efforts this fall we used a Truax no-till drill seeder last week to add some of our home grown wildflower seed to CRP ground. This drill was built to accommodate the variable sizes of our native seed and allows us to seed into established grass stands. Grant, Brian, and Jess (our WSU student helpers) helped Jacie and Wayne with the seeding one fine fall afternoon.

We seeded about 10 acres in strips and islands of seed. Seeding this way allows us to continue to control broadleaf weeds as needed. After a time these plants should gradually spread out from their strips and islands through their own seed dispersal and rhizomatous growth.

With the remainder of the afternoon we spread more mulch on disturbed sites and throughout the CRP land. It was great to move so much of the mulch out of the shed and back out onto the land as we keep creating more mulch with our seed cleaning!

posted: Oct 17, 2008

With the temperature dropping and the days getting shorter we are moving the plants we have left in containers to overwinter them. Our hope is to get good survival through the winter for planting and sale of these containers in the spring. Our plants are in several different sizes of containers from 1 gallon pots to 10 cubic inch tubes.

In order to protect the gallons from the elements we have partially buried them on Paradise Ridge. This allows for their roots to be insulated and they can receive moisture and hopefully insulation from any snow cover that we have.

We loaded the rest of the containers into the back of the 1 ton truck and moved them over to the granary on Thorn Creek. Some of the smaller tubes will be transplanted into 1 gallon pots. We will water all of these a few more times and then just let them sit out over the winter. We may stack foam around the perimeter of the plants for insulation. Placing anything over the plants just attracts and provides cover for mice so the plan is to leave them uncovered.
Let's hope for a good winter and a successful hibernation!

posted: Oct 14, 2008

The vibrant yellow, red, orange, pink, and purple colors of spring and summer have mostly faded on Paradise Ridge and have been replaced with the more subtle brown, yellow, and green hues of autumn. I enjoy these changes but a bit of color is always welcome and that is why working in the Palouse Prairie is so rewarding.

Fortunately for us we have snow bank to snow bank blooms. In the fall MOST of the plants have set their seed and are dormant but a few such as the prairie gentian (Gentiana affinis) are still in bloom. Pictured here is the prairie gentian in full bloom a couple of weeks ago followed by the progressive fading of the vibrant blue to brown as the seed develops.

This is one of our clues that lets us know when the seed is ready to collect. At Thorn Creek Native Seed Farm one of our goals is to have seed available from plants that will bring color from early spring to late fall. Other late blooming plants are Missouri goldenrod (Solidago missouriensis) and western aster (Aster occidentalis). Not only do these plants give color for us to enjoy but they provide habitat and food for insects and other wildlife right into the winter months. Which is a very good thing!

posted: Oct 10, 2008

Right now we're splitting our time between the plot, the ridge, seed cleaning, and developing seed mixes. On the plot we're harvesting western aster (Aster occidentalis) and Lewis flax (Linum lewisii) while waiting for the Missouri goldenrod (Solidago missouriensis) to be ready. Also, with winter fast approaching we are preparing the plot by mowing down the remaining plant material, draining the drip lines, seeding more rows, mulching, and other basic winterizing activities. Fall is an excellent time to plant and seed these natives in prepared sites AND in their natural setting so we are also charging ahead with some restoration seeding on the ridge. We have several disturbed sites on the ridge where we are broadcasting grass seed and mulch. The spots we are focused on are areas where downed trees, snow banks, or weed removal have left open sites with less vegetation. These sites are excellent spots for weeds to gain a foothold and so we are attempting to preempt new invasions with these re-seeding efforts. With all of this work to do before the snow flies we are lucky to have the help of a few Restoration Ecology students from Washington State University. They have already helped immensely. Jacie and I especially appreciate the fact that we don't have to carry all of the seed and mulch ourselves!