maintenance

 

pond bridge ~ 10AP21-01

pond bridge ~ 10AP21-01

The first task every spring is to repair the driveway. When clearing snow, large rocks (that somehow float to the surface) get hung up on the blade behind the tractor and are strewn on either side of the expanse of crushed rock. (There are fewer and fewer each year.) And small rock, that spills over the sides of the driveway, has to be raked back onto the driveway. The larger rocks, once *picked*, are being placed along the sides of ditches that can get intense water flow for brief periods in the spring each year.

fire, west yard ~ 10MR28

fire, west yard ~ 10MR28

 

fire, west yard ~ 10MR28-07

fire, west yard ~ 10MR28-07

Spring arrived early and was both dry and very warm. We were very happy that the yard, inside the dike, drained quickly and evenly this year. The various bridges and Culverts thawed ahead of or along with the melt; there were no torrents of water like in previous years. This was partly attributable to the fact that, over the course of the winter, most snow had blown away; little of it collected in the yard.

There was enough thatch in the west yard that we were able to burn it for the first time. And we got a good burn. But, for the purpose of weed control, burning at the end of March was much too early. We will wait until the beginning of May next time; when dandelions, et cetera, are coming up.

 

west yard; bulrush edging ~ 10AP21

west yard; bulrush edging (north side of *bridge*) ~ 10AP21

The softstem bulrushes in the wet portion of the west yard did very well last year. What started out as three tiny clumps of mostly root in 2007 had become a stand that was easily 6 m X 4 m. We decided that we had to contain them or they would take over that part of the region. This involved cutting 30 cm wide strips of scrap galvanized siding and, after splitting the soil with a spade, pounding the metal sheets into the ground. A task that is slightly easier to accomplish than it sounds.

next, of course, is WEEDING!

 

docks ~ 10MA31

docks ~ 10MA31

Most of April and the early part of May were both dry and warm, although oftentimes too windy for yard work. As soon as we could get on the yard, after spring snow melt, we started weeding. But, just as all the cool season plants started coming up in earnest, the weather changed. While still warm, it rained at least every other day, sometimes several days in a row, during the last two weeks of May; this included a couple of overnight thunderstorms that each dumped 30 mm of rain in the second week. We were unable to get on the yard and alien plants do exceptionally well with lots of moisture. Some of the docks reached 60 cm in diameter. Hundreds of dandelions appeared, some sprawling to 50 cm wide. In some areas alfalfa and red or alsike clover completely obscured the desirable plants coming up underneath them.

 

west yard ~ 10MA31-02

west yard ~ 10MA31-02

 

nursery ~ 10MA31-02

nursery ~ 10MA31-02

 

east ditch ~ 10MA31-01

east ditch ~ 10MA31-01

The nursery — which is sort of on hold / still being developed — became completely overgrown with dandelions, docks, alfalfa, clovers and smooth brome. Elsewhere on the yard, two grasses spread like crazy. Unfortunately they are both, as it turns out, introduced:* Kentucky bluegrass, Poa pratensis and slender salt-meadow grass (aka European alkali grass), Puccinellia distans. (Two years before we were told by a native plant consultant that the Kentucky blue grass was native, so we mistakenly let it spread.) Meadow foxtail spread around the west yard, even filled in parts of the sedge meadow; our attempt to reduce its spread last year — we removed all of the seedheads — did not work. There was easily four times as much of the alien grass as the year before. It was joined by dandelions, the two grasses mentioned above, and common plantain. The two small lawn areas in the west yard, where we sowed blue grama grass, filled in with docks, dandelions, and meadow foxtail along with a re-emergence of quackgrass. The same thing happened on the slope of the dike in the front yard which had blue grama mixed with some needle and thread grass along with a few wildflowers. The north end of the east ditch was almost solid red or alsike clover. The small patch of lawn over by the pond was similarily overgrown with plants other than the blue grama grass which we seeded there: foxtail barley, dandelions, docks, and various clovers.

We tried some alternative methods for eliminating undesirable plants. Last year we used acetic acid but it had no effect at all on treated plants. This year I used a propane torch in a few areas. Everything that was burned grew back right away. I sprayed bleach on dandelions in the west yard; it killed the plant but the flowers persisted and still set seed. Unfortunately using bleach on the numbers of weeds we have to deal with is not a good idea: It will, over time, raise the salinity of the soil; chlorine combines with sodium in the ground to form salt.

 

weeding; sedge meadow ~ 10MA31-01

weeding; sedge meadow ~ 10MA31-01

In the end we were back to digging where and when we could and we decided to try an overgrazing approach with the meadow foxtail. Coleen, for the most part, diligently plucked most of the grass from the ground. This often resulted in the removal of some roots and rhizomes, but, except for preventing most of it from sending up seedheads, this approach did not impede spread of the grass.

 

covered patches; west yard ~ 10MA31-01

covered patches; west yard ~ 10MA31-01

Then we tried another approach: We covered patches, where almost exclusively undesirable plants were growing, with thick layers of flax straw. Some grasses grew through the thick layers of flax but clover did not; however, silverweed (a native) did. We have since learned that pulling weeds out of the soil isn’t the best thing to do because it leaves a bare patch of soil for new weeds to germinate in.

Since non-chemical treatments have not worked (or have deleterious effects), since we cannot dig everywhere (especially when seedlings are coming up), since laying flax straw works to cover patches that are mostly alien material but not for areas that have a high percentage of native plants, and since our hands and backs are sore from weeding (and making the soil bare is a bad idea), we resumed using chemical herbicides, albeit reluctantly. There seems to be no other way to get rid of the weeds that appear in and around the many native plants that are growing on the yard. For example, digging out a patch of clover that has spread through an area will take ninety percent, if not all, of the desirable plants with it. Removing expanses of Kentucky bluegrass or meadow foxtail by digging does the same (and it makes for bare soil). However, the application of chemical herbicides requires considerable care. Most native plants are especially vulnerable to chemicals; even the slightest overspray will take them out, too. As well, application of herbicides generally requires more than one carefully timed treatment and some plants are impervious to them.

some good news

 

babbling brook ~ 10MA31

babbling brook ~ 10MA31

Once we cleared weeds in some areas we discovered that a lot of native material was still there and most of it was flourishing. Blue-eyed grass showed up all over the yard. Yellow woodsorrel spread by the babbling brook; so did blue grama grass, junegrass, plains muhly, and marsh muhly; yellow coneflower, ascending purple milkvetch, northern bedstraw, and pygmyflower, along with a prairie crocus that put on quite a show in early April.

 

west yard ~ 10AU08

west yard ~ 10AU08

The west yard filled in with a variety of sedges and rushes: green bulrush, cosmopolitan bulrush, baltic rush, bald spikerush, common spikerush, and several others for which we don’t yet have names. (Although we later learned that one of the rushes is called flattened rush and is alien. ) They are joined by: tall mannagrass, Nuttall’s alkali grass, northern reedgrass, sloughgrass, sweet grass, many-flowered aster, black-eyed susan, blue vervain, some kind of buttercup, yellow coneflower, philadelphia fleabane, Canada goldenrod, Missouri goldenrod, field horsetail, Indian hemp, marsh hedgnettle, marsh marigold, meadowrue, ascending purple milkvetch, swamp milkweed, seaside arrowgrass, silverweed, water parsnip, southern water plantain, wild iris, wild mint, yellow star grass, western snowberry, prickly rose, red osier dogwood, common hop, and indigo bush. While quite spotty, much of the blue grama grass, that was sown in both lawn areas, is still there — even after the trauma of weeding around the young sprigs — and the bunches that are two years old are getting bigger.

 

back yard; shoulder ~ 10MA31

back yard; shoulder ~ 10MA31

In the back yard, in two small locations, we have: blue grama grass, fringed brome, wild bergamot, philadelphia fleabane, wild strawberry, shrubby cinquefoil, kinnikinnick, and wild black currant.

 

front yard ~ 10AU08-01

front yard ~ 10AU08-01

In the front yard there are: blue grama grass, big bluestem, little bluestem, fringed brome, foxtail barley, indian grass, junegrass, fowl bluegrass, needle and thread grass, Nuttall’s alkali grass, shortawn foxtail, golden Alexanders, Canada anemone, many-flowered aster, smooth aster, western silvery aster, three flowered avens, black-eyed susan, blue-eyed grass, yellow coneflower, gaillardia, harebell, hoary puccoon, Canada goldenrod, Missouri goldenrod, showy goldenrod, stiff goldenrod, entire-leaved groundsel, gumweed, helenium, prairie lily, common milkweed, Canada milkvetch, narrowleaf hawksbeard, northern bedstraw, autumn onion, peppergrass, yellow evening primrose, pussytoes, prairie sage, silverweed, narrowleaf sunflower, oxeye sunflower, Flodman’s thistle, yarrow, yellow goatsbeard, riverbank grape, dwarf false indigo, and western snowberry.

 

east yard ~ 10SE13-04

east yard ~ 10SE13-04

The east yard is still largely unplanted but some native species are growing there: big bluestem, foxtail barley, indian grass, fowl mannagrass, tall mannagrass, Nuttall’s alkali grass, prairie cordgrass, northern reedgrass, sloughgrass, witchgrass, many-flowered aster, smooth aster, white panicle aster, blue vervain, Canada goldenrod, giant goldenrod, Indian hemp, prairie sage, silverweed, Flodman’s thistle, yarrow, beaked sedge, common spikerush, and wolf willow.

 

pond ~ 10JN14-03

pond ~ 10JN14-03

Around the pond, many native species spread since we started some small bunches and quite a few appeared spontaneously: foxtail barley, tall mannagrass, Nuttall’s alkali grass, prairie cordgrass, common reedgrass, northern reedgrass, sloughgrass, many-flowered aster, white panicle aster, blue-eyed grass, blue flag iris, Canada goldenrod, Indian hemp, nodding beggartick, seaside arrowgrass, silverweed, smartweed, southern water plantain, water horehound, water parsnip, wild mint, green bulrush, softstem bulrush, common cattail, baltic rush, bald spikerush, needle spikerush, beaked sedge, and prairie rose.

 

highway and east ditches ~ 10SE13

highway and east ditches ~ 10SE13

And the following are growing in the east and highway ditches: foxtail barley, tall mannagrass, Nuttall’s alkali grass, prairie cordgrass, common reedgrass, Canada anemone, many-flowered aster, white panicle aster, duckweed, Canada goldenrod, Indian hemp, ascending purple milkvetch, common milkweed, swamp milkweed, northern willowherb, red samphire, prairie sage, gumweed, silverweed, southern water plantain, narrowleaf sunflower, water horehound, yellow evening primrose, softstem bulrush, common cattail, and prairie rose.

Though still somewhat sparse in many areas, we have around 120 species of native flora growing on the yard so far. We have also noticed an increase in native species — both the number of species and plants — growing in the vacant lots and ditches around the site, plus along both sides of the railroad tracks to the west.

 

seed collecting ~ 10SE08

seed collecting ~ 10SE08

 

little bluestem (smooth aster) ~ 10SE15

little bluestem (smooth aster) ~ 10SE15

In early September we returned to the Tallgrass Preserve and Agassiz Trail to see what was still in bloom and to collect seed in the vicintiy. During our travels we noticed clusters of purplish (from a distance) grasses growing in the ditch along Highway 75, about seven km south of St. Jean-Baptiste. When we finally stopped and checked them out, we discovered dense stands of little bluestem that stretched (in patches) for four or five kilometers. Interspersed with that delightful grass are scratch grass and either fowl mannagrass or switch grass plus a number of wildflowers. We also made a trip along Highway 330 to the west of our property. Every year we discover more species in the ditches on either side of that road.

 

seed collecting ~ 10SE19

seed collecting ~ 10SE19

Overall we found and collected seed of 43 species, including some that was gathered in our yard; they are listed on our seed collection page. As with everything else this summer, rain frequently prevented us from collecting seed. We may try again in October. We also have photos of 38 add­itional species of flora. Already posted are pages for shortawn foxtail, needle & thread grass, scratch grass, slender wheatgrass, sticky asphodel, hairy false goldenaster, New England aster, western silvery aster, white panicle aster, false dandelion, closed gentian, upland white goldenrod, entire-leaved groundsel, water horsetail, Indian breadroot, brook lobelia, fringed loosestrife, Canadian lousewort, swamp lousewort, ascending purple milkvetch, dwarf milkweed, showy milkweed, nodding beggartick, northern willowherb, pale comandra, prairie crocus, common selfheal, northern bog violet, water horehound, yellow star grass woolgrass, and Buxbaum’s sedge. Plus green bog orchid was added to the orchids gallery page and 23 image/data pages are in the works.

meanwhile, back on the yard

We have been mowing the outside of the dike regularly every summer. This is intended to reduce the amount of weed seed blowing over the rest of the yard; we planned to do the same until we are ready to start planting the region. But, at the beginning of this summer, the garden tractor wouldn’t start and soon after both hand mowers quit.

In mid-July, Doug Friesen, a retired mechanic and friend of Coleen’s Mom, came out to look at the equipment. He ascertained that something in the electrical system of the garden tractor was in need of replacing but — because we didn’t have a circuit tester — he couldn’t determine which part was the problem. I later bought a tester but we were short on funds this year and could not afford a new battery which was needed to do the tests.

 

lawnmower ~ 10JL27-03

lawnmower ~ 10JL27-03

Doug advised taking the fuel assemblies apart and blowing them out on the mowers. “There’s usually some crud in there,” he said. I followed his instructions and managed to get one mower working. But, it didn’t work for very long. Some time later we were driving through Morris and stopped to check out what an acquaintance had on offer at a yard sale. Among the items were several mowers. Dave told me he buys mowers from people and takes them to a guy in town for servicing. “Usually all he has to do is put in a new spark plug and some oil and they work fine. People never put oil in their mowers!” he said. I had put oil in the mower I was using but apparently not enough; when I put in more the old machine worked.

Earlier, I mowed most of the front of the dike with the intermittantly working hand mowers and a weed eater. Grass, clovers, dandelions, alfalfa, and Canada thistle were knee high on the rest of the dike when the mowers quit. And there was a lot of sweet clover close to waist high. When it reached shoulder height, I used the blade on the compact tractor to flatten the vegetation on the east, north, and west sides of the dike.

 

cutting weeds ~ 10JL09

cutting weeds ~ 10JL09

In the meantime, Coleen hand cut tall weeds that were growing in areas where native plants are also growing. In the photo to the left she was over the culvert from the east yard where it drains into the highway ditch; prairie cordgrass and Indian hemp were growing there spontaneously. She also cut sow thistles, docks and sweet clover* growing in the lawn areas of the west yard and on the slope in the front yard.

 

mowing ~ 10AU08

mowing ~ 10AU08

By the end of the first week in August everything previously mowed grew back. Much of the flattened portions remained flattened, however, I decided to mow from the middle of the back (north side) of the dike all the way round to the southwest corner of the front (south side). This was slow going — the flattened portions were an extra challenge — but, in spite of dodging days when it rained, two thirds of the dike was mowed by the middle of August and did not really need to be mowed again, fortunately.

Mowing this region hasn’t slowed the spread of weeds (such as dandelion and Canada thistle) on it; if anything mowing is helping them proliferate. However, most sources on native planting advise mowing high in the first few years to eliminate weeds. Our current mowers cut grass, et cetera, about 8 cm high which is too short. Even though what is growing on the outside of the dike is not native yet, cutting vegetation at about 15 or 18 cm will allow for thatch to build up and hopefully reduce things like dandelions. Dense thatch will make it possible to burn the region periodically which reduces the number of plants like alfalfa.

Assuming we have a budget to work with next year, we will either repair the garden tractor and adjust the height of the mowing deck so we can mow higher or get a rotary cutter for the compact tractor, one which will allow us to mow high (about 15 or 18 cm).

Sisyphus

 

grading dike ~ 10JL09

grading dike ~ 10JL09

 

soil erosion; west yard ~ 10SE13

soil erosion; west yard ~ 10SE13

The summer wasn’t all about mowing. We continued weeding in the front and west yard and the east ditch as best we could. However, wet weather impeded progress and many undesirables did exceptionally well with all the extra moisture. It’s demoralizing to say the least. On a few of the dry days I moved soil that had washed down the slopes of the inside of the dike back to the top of the dike all around the yard. A month or so later a couple of heavy rains moved the soil back to the bottom.

 

spraying weeds ~ 10SE19

spraying weeds ~ 10SE19

 

Canada thistle & clover ~ 10SE19

Canada thistle & clover ~ 10SE19

Just about every weed species that we have seen on the yard put in an appearance on the east side of the pond. They were all flattened with the rear blade on the tractor in mid-August, but because there wasn’t much grass growing with the forbs they pretty much all came back. Canada thistle and clover were especially bad. We decided to spray them all with glyphosate, including the untilled corner of the field to the east which was dense with thistle; a truly frightening sight. As well, portions of the west yard were spot sprayed: mostly meadow foxtail and clovers that had been sprayed earlier in the summer but persisted. Dandelions, Canada thistles, and quackgrass coming up on the insides of the dike were also sprayed. This task, like so many others, was spread out over a couple of weeks because of either wind or rain.

 

obedient plant; seedling ~ 10SE25

obedient plant; seedling ~ 10SE25

 

meadowsweet; seedling ~ 10SE25

meadowsweet; seedling ~ 10SE25

Seedlings, started in the spring, took a long time to reach sizes that seemed likely to survive. Many were potted up mid-sum­mer. When we planted them out, in late August and early September, we added a mixture of peat and sand in the hole and mixed it with the soil using a hand cultivator.

Our previous success rate was about 30% when planting out seedlings. The soil here is quite dense, often times close to pure clay about 10 cm under the surface. So we decided to soften it up a little for the newcomers. The new planting technique (and perhaps using larger plants) seemed to work; just about all of the seedlings were doing well by late September.

the learning curve is leveling off

Keeping areas to be seeded, especially slopes, *black* for a year (or more) was a bad idea for this site. It is an open invitation to wind blown seed and, this being such an open site, a lot of weeds accept the invitation. It also makes the soil prone to erosion. The never-ending weeding, in which we fell behind again this year, along with keeping areas *black* indefinitely are starting to feel like Sisyphean tasks. We may have found a solution, though, to both problems: Flax straw.

west yard ~ 10SE13

west yard ~ 10SE13

About 30 bales of flax straw, not yet put down on paths, were used to cover a portion of the dike in the west yard. The bales come apart in layers, like floor tiles, that vary somewhat in thickness. We overlapped them halfway, making for about a 13 cm thick layer of dense flax straw. As the photo above illustrates, this layer of straw worked to prevent soil erosion. Elsewhere we have seen layers of flax straw prevent plants like clover from growing. If it ever stops raining this year we will again move the eroded soil back up the slope then cover the exposed area and the top of the dike with straw. What we don’t get done this year we will finish next year; hopefully.

Eliminating alien plants and getting native flora started are two separate problems. In areas where we are weeding, we are starting to use the removed weeds to cover the bare spots and will make use of flax straw for the same purpose in future. Leaving soil bare ensures propogation of undesirable plants. While most native plants, already growing on the yard, are self-propogating, so little of the seed we have sown has germinated. It appears that frost seeding from the previous winter has failed; none of the seed germinated this year. Coleen received an email, some time ago, from Marcie O’Connor in which Marcie said that frost seeding — her prefered method — doesn’t produce results the first year; that everything germinates the following year. So, maybe we will be pleasantly surprised next year.

The front and west yards are filling in with native plants. Spotty though it is, blue grama grass is returning and spreading in three of four areas. The south and west sides of the pond are filling in with primarily native species. From what we have seen in our travels, once planted with native flora this site will be somewhat weed resistant.

 

meadow blazingstar; plugs ~ 10JN12

meadow blazingstar; plugs ~ 10JN12

Shirley Froehlich sugggested plugs during our lengthy conversation en route to and from Regina. They appear to be the way to go; especially since we are able to water the entire site (bit by bit) if need be. Planting plugs into the soil while leaving the straw in place may actually help the plants to survive as the straw will retain moisture. Yet, aside from the cost for a thousand plugs a year, we will have to hire one or two people to assist us with planting them out.

While we have three unused bays in the garage that could be converted into a greenhouse to start plugs, we don’t have money for this. In the meantime, we set up a couple of seed bunkers in part of the unused nursery for starting plants from seed.

nursery ~ 10NO18

nursery ~ 10NO18

 

seed bunkers ~ 11AP28-02

seed bunkers ~ 11AP28-02

In late October / early November, we covered most of the nursery with a thick layer of flax straw. We left an opening at what would be the driest part in the spring. We then put down sheets of galvanized siding as a “floor” and built up the sides with railroad ties for two rudimentary cold frames. We planned to add seeded plug trays when they were ready during the winter and spring.

This has been a year of experimenting and talking with others and observing what they do. We learned a lot and are grateful for all the input and help we received from the people we encountered. We also realized that this yarden is going to take longer than we anticipated, much longer. We want to see the yard fully planted now more than when we started. But we need help. This Project is too much work for one and a bit persons.

Robert G. Mears

November 2010

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