Take a walk with me through the prairie......

Are most of the plants you're documenting one's that occurred naturally? What percentage of these were planted?

BenAllgood said:

Are most of the plants you're documenting one's that occurred naturally? What percentage of these were planted?

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Ben, look back at Post #22 and you will see everything that I planted. If a plant isn't shown there, then it came from the seedbank.

One exception would be chicory. Some of the pictures I show of chicory are near my plots where I planted it. However, on some farms that I've been on, the wild chicory is very prevalent in the seedbank, and its a major prairie plant.

Native Hunter said:

Ben, look back at Post #22 and you will see everything that I planted. If a plant isn't shown there, then it came from the seedbank.

One exception would be chicory. Some of the pictures I show of chicory are near my plots where I planted it. However, on some farms that I've been on, the wild chicory is very prevalent in the seedbank, and its a major prairie plant.

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Thanks Steve. I didn't know if maybe there were some more introduced after the initial seeding in areas. The sheer diversity you get is phenomenal, especially considering it was just fescue fields before. I don't have a great amount of fescue on mine, so it gives me hope for my fields to see what you've achieved.

Could we ride on the tailgate of the truck? All this walking is tiring.


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dogghr said:

Could we ride on the tailgate of the truck? All this walking is tiring.

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An old mountain man like you should be able to walk about anywhere. Plus, you have the advantage of not getting chiggers or ticks. But, if you get too tired, my neighbor has a donkey we can borrow for you to ride...….

Let’s continue our walk. Today we will look at:

• Dayflower (various species grouped together)
  
  
• Purple Conflower
  
  
• Goldenrod (various species grouped together)

Facts about Dayflowers in general

• There are several different species of Dayflower in the US, and all of them are very preferred whitetail deer browse. For our purposes of deer managers, we can consider them the same as far as wildlife value.
  
  
• The seeds of Dayflowers are eaten by various birds – including quail and dove.
  
  
• Dayflowers can be annuals or perennials. One introduced species (Asiatic Dayflower) has been known to be invasive in some areas, but I have never seen that myself.

Pic of Dayflower (Commelina communis)



Facts about Purple Coneflower

• This is a beautiful plant that adds beauty to the prairie.
  
  
• It will do better at spots where the soil has been disturbed.
  
  
• Deer don’t browse this plant, but it is used by a host of insects, and some birds eat the seed.

Pic of Purple Coneflower:





Facts about Goldenrod:

• There are several different species of GR, and the wildlife value of them are all about the same; however, the taller species can provide better cover for deer.
  
  
• The tallest species is Canada Goldenrod, which I have seen grow nearly 8 feet tall.
  
  
• It stands well in the winter providing good cover late in the season.
  
  
• A great number of insects us the plant.
  
  
• Deer and Rabbits will browse the plant, but it isn’t high preference; however, I have read that it becomes a high preference in the early winter. I cannot confirm or disprove this. If any of you have feedback, I would love to hear it.

Pics of Goldenrod: (Note: The second pic shows goldenrod in a low spot mixed in with Jewelweed.)

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Tip of the week. Don’t mow your fall planted wheat next summer unless you get weeds and need to mow. Your deer will enjoy the heads of wheat when they mature. Take care and we will walk again soon.

Let’s continue walking, and today we will look at the following plants:

· Seedbox
· Spanish Needles
· Smooth Vetch

Photo of Seedbox



Facts about Seedbox:

· Good bee plant and moderately preferred deer browse in summer.
· Not an aggressive plant and not overly abundant

Photo of Spanish Needles



Facts about Spanish Needles:

· Ring-Necked Pheasant, Bobwhite, Wood Duck, and many other birds use the plant.
· The foliage is sometimes eaten by the Cottontail Rabbit and to a lesser extent sometimes browsed by deer.
· The barbed awns of the seeds can cling to the fur of passing animals and the clothing of humans; in this manner, the seeds are distributed far and wide.

Photo of Smooth Vetch




Facts about smooth vetch:

· Smooth and hairy are much the same. Both are good wildlife plants.
· Moderately to highly preferred deer browse.
· Seed can remain viable in the seedbank for many years.

Well, that’s about it for today. I’ve come to one of those spots that you just have to set down on the ground and soak in the surroundings. Don’t go to sleep – we will walk again soon.

Beautiful pics today. I love vetch. Also I have disbursed some of those clinging seeds. Amazing the variety of flowers, shrubs, grasses, seeds, and methods that our Creator blessed us with. May we preserve it!

lakngolf said:

Beautiful pics today. I love vetch. Also I have disbursed some of those clinging seeds. Amazing the variety of flowers, shrubs, grasses, seeds, and methods that our Creator blessed us with. May we preserve it!

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Amen brother.

Love that picture! But if I sit on the ground in a place like that, the chiggers will eat me alive!!!

I dislike Spanish Needles. I have had them in my plots and they are a pain to terminate.

deer patch said:

I dislike Spanish Needles. I have had them in my plots and they are a pain to terminate.

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I don't have any problem with it in food plots, but I do have a problem with Perilla. It wants to start growing in my plots at the time I'm ready to walk away from them in the fall. I hate that stuff.

Sorry I was slow walking and just now catching up! I’ve got plenty of Goldenrod as I manage it for my screenings. As you said holds up in winter weather at 6-8 feet tall. Sure lot easier and free compared to PIA EW. Deer don’t eat it that I’ve seen but it’s great pollinator for insect use.

Side note if one wants to control it , mow late September and it will disappear for years.

On the vetches. I have plenty of several types that self planted. Simply selectively mowed my managed fallow fields late Sept. I’ve almost have too much of it. Deer can’t keep up. Free food.


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And all of that free nitrogen Fixed by vetch is a great bonus as well.

Today we will look at the following three plants:

· Mist Flower
· Old-Field Aster (aka Frost Aster)
· Perilla (aka Beefsteak Plant)

Photos of Mist Flower





Facts about Mist Flower:

· Good insect flower but not browsed by deer or rabbits

· Flowers in the fall and usually not a very prominent plant

Pic of Old-Field Aster (AKA Frost Aster)



Facts about Old-Field Aster

· Very desirable insect plant

· In a publication by the University of Tennessee, it was a high preference browse plant for deer.

· I have noted that preference is higher when plant is young and tender, before it flowers in the fall.

· I just noticed this plant flowering recently – about mid September

Photos of Perilla (aka Beefsteak plant)





Facts about Perilla:

· This plant is an annual which is a bad Fall food plot invader.

· Strong smell and not eaten by deer. It starts growing in food plots when I want to quit working in them. It is a nuisance plant.

· In a prairie, I only see it at the edges in deep shade under cedar trees.

More to come in a few days. Next time we may look at some grasses.

How do you tell fleabane from old field aster?


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Hoosierhunting said:

How do you tell fleabane from old field aster?


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As a general rule, the fleabanes that grow in my area will bloom from spring to mid summer and the old-field aster will be later on toward fall. However, if you really want to tell the difference, the best way is to look beneath the flower. Where the flower joins the stem, there will be several layers of scaly bracts on asters while fleabanes have only one.

Plenty of Aster in my fallow fields. Never seen deer browse it. And you right of Beefsteak. Fall plant too late to manage. Good ph and Boron helps inhibit it.


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dogghr said:

Plenty of Aster in my fallow fields. Never seen deer browse it. And you right of Beefsteak. Fall plant too late to manage. Good ph and Boron helps inhibit it.


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Yea, the Beefstake gets back under the cedars at the edge of the plots where it is acid and shady. Even though you may kill the ones out in the plots, those hiding under the cedars make plenty of seed for the next year. Probably not a plant that I hate worse than them. Seed always seems to come in from somewhere every year.

Okay guys, all of the warm season grasses have now made their seed heads for the year, so we will look at a few of them this week. Let’s looks at the following ones today:

Indian Grass
Big Bluestem
Switchgrass

Pics of Indian Grass:





Facts about Indian Grass:

· This is a tall and desirable NWSG for my area.

· The only drawback is that it bolts late in the season and will only be about chest high until it bolts. Once it bolts, it can be 7 to 8 feet high.

· On my farm it bolts about Labor Day.

· Beautiful

· It stands the winter well here, but I have heard that in areas of heavy snow it won’t stand as well as Switchgrass.


Pics of Big Bluestem:





Facts about Big Bluestem:

· This is the tallest of the NWSGs on my farm. It can get 8-9 feet tall.

· It bolts after Switchgrass but well before Indian Grass. Even before it bolts, it will give decent cover and be taller than Indian Grass.

· This grass flops worse than any of the others in winter. Mine will “lodge” and not completely flatten. Through December the cover will still be okay, but by February, it will pretty much be down.

· If mixed with goldenrod and other weeds it will stand better in the winter.

Pics of Switchgrass:





Facts about Switchgrass:

· In my opinion, this is the best NWSG for cover. I have CIR Switch, and it stands the winter extremely well.

· It is the first to bolt in summer, and it will be providing good tall cover before it bolts.

· I hear stories of this grass being aggressive and taking over stands, but I haven’t seen that. Indiangrass seems to be more aggressive than switch here.

That's it for today guys. Walking is fun, but sometimes there is other work to be done. Happy trails until next time: