On January 30th a great group of volunteers joined us to sow native wildflower and grass seed at Mill Pond Natural Area! We have just entered the fourth year of this long-term restoration project, thanks to funding through a Consumers Energy Foundation grant.
Many of these native seeds are either very small or very light. For a better distribution of seed, we first mixed them with sand which acts as a carrier. Then we spread the seed/sand mixture by hand into areas where CWC volunteers and staff have previously removed invasive trees such as common buckthorn. In many places, these invasive plants were so thick that nothing was growing underneath them. Planting native seed gives us a chance to help determine what eventually grows in those areas.
Why are we planting in the winter? Many native seeds need to experience a period of cold before they will grow. This process, known as stratification, ensures that the seeds will not germinate too late in the growing season for the young perennial plants to survive a winter.
The seeds we plant now will start to grow in spring or summer, depending on the species, and will experience a full season of growth before they have to face winter. As we go through cycles of freezing and thawing over the rest of the winter, these seeds will eventually find themselves in firm contact with the soil and maybe even work into the surface of the soil through the process of freezing and thawing.
Keep an eye out for upcoming work sessions as we continue to remove invasive species on this property! Volunteers are vital to this ongoing project and we are so grateful to everyone who joins us on these workdays. You can find upcoming volunteer opportunities by visiting our events page here.
