Jwill’s Backyard Prairie

[jwill1776]

We burned this section of prairie less than a month ago



After some needed rain things have started to green up

Bergamot



Lupine



Golden Alexander



Cup Plant



Canada Rye



Prairie Spider Wort maybe?



Purple Coneflower



Not sure on this one, any ideas?



And of course my arch enemy



Last year I identified 7 different grasses and 31 forbs in the acre patch, that is about half of what I seeded three years ago, we will have to see what new flowers show up in 2014.

 

[2ndHand]

How large of an area did you burn? Photo's are great!! - thanks for sharing...;)

 

[jwill1776]

How large of an area did you burn? Photo's are great!! - thanks for sharing...;)

We burned about 3/4 of an acre, the other quarter acre is an upland dry area that has not built up enough fuel to carry a flame yet.

 

[2ndHand]

Burning a prairie is a skill I don't have - nice job!...For my comfort level, I need at least a foot cover of snow before burning brush piles. I have a 1/2 acre that we will be seeding with a wild flower mix bought from Welter's - this will be our first year trying a wildflower mix.

 

[Deer Kar]

Great pic. I too am scared to burn but ? Was thinking of asking the local fire department if they would ever consider burning it for me as a training exercise or something along those lines? I have a few areas that really would benefit from it.

 

[CrazyEd]

Looks like the one labeled as prairie spider wort might be pale purple coneflower.

 

[jwill1776]

Finally figured this one out, Heart Leaf Golden Alexander’s. The prairie is greening up nicely. I’ll have to get some more pictures.

 

[jwill1776]

2nd annual burn yesterday.







I had the job as fire starter





My Jr. Fire Marshals



pan>

 

[CrazyEd]

Looks awesome!

 

[Bowsnbucks]

Always good to have the Fire Marshals' help !! I'll bet they were happy to be out there with Dad, too.

How did your field hatch out with plants & forbs after the last burn ?? Did the desired things sprout ??

 

[jwill1776]

Always good to have the Fire Marshals' help !! I'll bet they were happy to be out there with Dad, too.

How did your field hatch out with plants & forbs after the last burn ?? Did the desired things sprout ??

2014 turned out to be a good year after last years fire, I identified 8 different grasses and 44 species of fobs. New forbs that were not identified previously included Prairie Onion, Blue Wild Indigo, White Wild Indigo, New Jersey Tea, Cream Gentian, and Joe Pye Weed. Burning continues to promote forb development and minimize cool season species.

From spring through the fall there is always something blooming out there and new to look at, it makes for a good outdoor classroom when trying to teach my girls something about nature.