A New Start for an Old Field
Raisin Cluster Land Stewardship Workshop – Saturday, August 14, 2010, 10 AM to Noon
16866 WellWood Road, Tipton 49287 (Manchester Township, Washtenaw County)
Woody provided us with a nice description, and pictures, to explain how he is tackling two small fields on his property that had been overtaken by invasive shrubs since they were last farmed several decades ago.
Woody's New Field
I have a contract with the Soil Conservation District to install prairie grass on two fields – 2.7 acres and 4.5 acres, one field per year. This year I planted the smaller field.
The process started last summer with removal of all the woody invasives, primarily autumn olive, but also some native trees and shrubs: walnuts, ash, popular and sumac. Early last fall, when much of the field was still green, we sprayed the herbicide glyphosate (commonly known by the brand name Roundup). This killed many of the existing perennials. Early this spring, the field was burned to remove debris that would interfere with the next steps. A second spraying of herbicide was done after the seeds from last year’s annuals had sprouted, to eliminate competition with the planted seed. Next, the seedbed was prepared by discing, dragging with an old section of fence, followed by cultipacking (a cultipacker is a wide implement that creates shallow furrows in the soil for the seed to rest in). I had ordered $1,700 worth of prairie grass seed and native forbs (flowers, etc) of a genotype local to southern Michigan. We planted these by using a hand-cranked broadcast seeder, and finished with a final cultipacking run to press the seed into the soil. Problems encountered included getting the herbicide strength correct and seeding later in the season than was optimum. All in all it has been a satisfying experience, but will truly be rewarding when I see the field full of native grasses and flowers.
