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The fall harvest usually refers to food, like apples and pumpkins. In the prairie, however, it has a different meaning. While Native Americans may have used some prairie plants for food, today a prairie harvest means collecting seeds.
Prairies are natural areas that have few or no trees. Instead, grasses and wildflowers blanket the ground. While prairies once covered most of southwest Wisconsin, today they have all but disappeared. In order to create more prairie areas for people and wildlife to enjoy, landowners and conservationists must plant it from seed.
Many suppliers sell prairie seeds, but for low budgets, hard-to-find species, or to supplement a purchased mix, collecting is the way to go.
Seed collecting locations include wild prairies, previously planted prairie, or seed production beds and fields. It is best to find seed that originates as close to the new restoration site as possible. This is to ensure the plants used are appropriate for the area and adapted to local weather conditions.
In large areas or seed production fields, machines called seed strippers are a good option. These machines can be attached to an ATV and use a large cylindrical brush to sweep seeds off plant stems.
Seeds are usually collected by hand. Hand collecting takes time, but it is the best option in areas that are difficult to access, are easily damaged by machines, or have widely scattered target plants. Hand collecting is selective, allowing collectors to avoid weeds. For some species, running a cupped hand up the stem will result in a handful of seeds. Other species need the entire seed head cut off.
Timing of seed collecting is important. Hundreds of different plants can grow in prairies and produce seed at different times of year, from late May to early November. Some plants hold on to their seeds for a long time, but some lose them quickly, creating a short window of opportunity for collection. For example, violets have capsules that burst open and scatter the seeds. Timing can vary from year to year depending on weather.
Those hundreds of different plant species produce a wide variety of seed shapes, sizes, and textures.
Some are large discs, like the compass plant, while others are so small they resemble powder, like Culver's root. Compass plant has about 650 seeds in one ounce, while Culver's root has 750,000. Some seeds are round and hard, like those of the aptly named marbleseed plant, while some are soft, like the cottony seeds of thimbleweed. Illinois tick trefoil has very sticky seeds that are easy to get off the plant, but not so easy to get off gloves and clothing. Plants like asters, goldenrods, and little bluestem grass have fluffy seeds, allowing the wind to carry them away.
Because many wild prairies are small and many prairie plants are rare, seed collecting has its own code of ethics. Rules of collecting include: always ask permission, do not collect from sensitive areas or small stands of rare plants, take no more than 50 percent of the seeds in a stand, plant seeds properly so they are not wasted, and walk lightly to avoid trampling plants.
The way the seed is processed, stored, and planted is also very important to a successful prairie restoration, but collection is the first step. Seed collecting is easy to do, a great way to see a different side of prairies, and a great way to enjoy fall weather. Volunteer opportunities are available with groups like The Prairie Enthusiasts and The Nature Conservancy. For more information, contact Katie Abbott, coordinator of the Military Ridge Prairie Heritage Area project, at (608)935-2791 x134.
Katie Abbott is the project coordinator for the Military Ridge Prairie Heritage Area, a coalition of partner organizations and agencies working to manage the local grassland and aquatic ecosystems, maintain an economically viable agricultural landscape, encourage compatible recreation, and integrate the latest science. She helps landowners find ways to manage and protect their land. Contact her at 935-2791 x.134 or katie.abbott@rcdnet.net.