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A site that is one acre or less is large enough to represent prairie flora, but larger sites are more desirable if you want to create several prairie communities and provide additional wildlife habitat. Our goal was to "start small" and expand if possible, depending on available resources including time, money, volunteers, equipment, etc. Back
The ideal spring planting date on a statewide basis includes a two-month period from April 15 to June 15. It is also possible to plant during late September, October, or November, thus allowing the seeds to stratify naturally in the soil. Due to the timing (September) of the decision on the location of the site, our plan was to begin planting seed and root stock in the late fall allowing for natural overwintering The UIS Grounds Crew tilled the acre plot after the existing crops were harvested in late October. Back
A crucial, but frequently slighted, step in planning a restoration is a comprehensive survey of the plant species present on the site. Because of the nature of the site, there were few existing species of plants present on the site except for the crops. However, there were several species of aggressive exotic and native annual and perennial weeds common to Illinois croplands. Although the farmers used herbicides on these weeds during previous growing seasons, we expected to encounter growth of these weeds in the future from generations of leftover weed seed. Back
There are four choices to consider for treatment of the soil before planting, including: Plowing Generally, plowing is an easy, quick way to prepare the seedbed for planting. Plowing in the fall before a spring planting, will kill the perennial weeds, however, if cultivation is too deep, weed seed could be exposed, creating future weed problems. Plowing will lead to a low-quality prairie consisting of mostly dense grasses and few aggressive forb species, however, this method produces noticeable results in only 2 to 3 years. Herbicides Herbicides, such as Roundup, can be used on agriculture fields after allowing the vegetation to grow to a height of about six inches, however, this method is expensive and time-consuming. Using chemicals was not a popular idea among SAGE members during the planning stages of the prairie. Interseeding Interseeding involves planting seed directly into existing vegetation without plowing or herbiciding that vegetation. Interseeding saves the expense of spraying, however, it takes more seed to produce noticeable results. This method results in delayed blooming of species, sometimes taking up to five or more years to produce noticeable results. Interseeded prairies have less dense and shorter grasses, but more diversity resulting in a high quality prairie. Burning Burning an existing prairie before restoring it is a good practice since prairies are fire-dependent communities. Burning would decrease the amount of existing trees on the site while destroying seed of unwanted species of annual plants. Since our site will be cropland, this option was not considered.
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