Tag Archives: prairie planting

Nachusa prairie planting #133

Posted on February 11, 2021 by Grassland Restoration Network blog

This Fall we began the process to turn a retired agricultural field into a mosaic of wetlands, wet prairie, mesic and dry prairie. Below are the photos and maps of this work. At the end is a link to the … Continue reading →

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The Timing of Prairie Seeding Matters!

Posted on January 23, 2020 by Grassland Restoration Network blog

By Julianne Mason, Restoration Program Coordinator, Forest Preserve District of Will County Here is a strong visual example of how the timing of prairie seeding matters.  A former agricultural field in Will County, Illinois was seeded with rather diverse mixes … Continue reading →

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Planting prairie #97 with the full monty

Posted on November 28, 2019 by Grassland Restoration Network blog

By Bill Kleiman, The Nature Conservancy The photo above is from this season of  a 2010 planting, our 97th at Nachusa Grasslands.  There is a lot of gayfeather and white indigo. Harder to see are the thimbleweed, coreopsis, lupine, various … Continue reading →

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Lesson learned: Plant all species you want on year 100 on year 1

Posted on January 3, 2014 by Grassland Restoration Network blog

A generation ago it was said that to plant a prairie you start by planting a “matrix” of rough and tough native plants to make the soil ready for the more finicky plant species to be added years later.  These finicky, or … Continue reading →

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Lesson learned: Plant a high diversity of seed by starting early

Posted on December 20, 2013 by Grassland Restoration Network blog

To create diverse prairie, you not only need a lot of seed weight per acre but you need a lot of different species of seed.  We start harvesting in May and go into November. The photo above was taken in spring from … Continue reading →

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Sometimes we wait

Posted on July 10, 2013 by Grassland Restoration Network blog

By Bill Kleiman Recently I wrote how it could be a good thing to use a tractor applied boom spray across a failed restoration to return it to grass. But there is the other way too, waiting. Fourteen years ago we … Continue reading →

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