Native Seeding Experiment

December 2016

Project:  Try to find an easier way to kick start desirable native plant establishment and regeneration.

I found a company that sells tree and shrub seed.  It is called Sheffields out of New York.  I put in an order for the following species:

Red Osier Dogwood
Elderberry
Raspberry
Black Raspberry
Pin Cherry
Chokecherry
Golden Currant

What I am trying to replicate is simple disturbance and regeneration.  I fired up the chainsaw and went to work creating pockets of sunshine where there were no signs of desirable trees and plants.  The primary species I was cutting was tag alder.  There is no shortage of tag alder.

 

One thing that was interesting about this part was, when you're cutting, you look at every single stem around you.  I don't know that I've ever looked that closely at every single tree, large and small, in an area.  I found quite a bit of desirables in each spot that I was able to save/release.  In this spot (the one from the sled pic above) I found over 30 small fir trees waiting for a shot of sunlight.

That made each spot take a little longer than just walking in and mowing everything down.  But a little care and precision getting the other stuff to the ground made claiming good trees a hell of a lot easier than planting and caring for new trees from scratch.

Once I had my spots all sorted out and mowed down, I got to work mixing my seeds with a small portion of crushed lime.  This was necessary as most of the seed quantities I bought could fit in a tablespoon.  Once it was mixed up, I simply broadcast the product right into the middle of those brush piles.

My hope is that by selecting native plants, charging the bank with new seed, adding sunlight, and eliminating competition, I may get enough establishment to kick start a seed-producing amount of plants from which the critters can take over the dispersal work.  I'll simply follow with the chainsaw.

The reason I tossed it into the brush pile, is that I hope the pile will provide protection long enough for these new seeds to germinate and outrun the appetites of the deer.

3/19/17

No major update here.  What I did do was add a healthy shot of lime to these areas.  I wanted to get this down before spring green up started.

7/9/17

Species I'm considering for this coming winter: 

Nanking cherry
American plum
Apple - Ranetka
Apple - Antonovka
Wild black cherry
Buffaloberry
American cranbery
Nannyberry viburnum
gray dogwood
Mountainash
Serviceberry
Thimbleberry
white pine
black spruce
balsam fir

6/5/18

Still no sign of what I planted coming up, but I didn't get to look closely either.  But there are some very cool things happening.  In the "GC" area for example, there were lots of small black spruce and balsam fir seedlings under the canopy.  They're now getting their second season of full sun, and are responding nicely.  There is also a good crop of ash browse coming up and the deer are enjoying that too. 

Black Spruce

Ash regrowth

Balsam fir

Black spruce

Black spruce

8/1/18

Whether what I planted comes or not, the diversity and thickness of what comes from opening the canopy has been fantastic.  Flowers, balsam fir, black spruce, tall grass, ash sprouts, hazel brush, and all packed into solid 4-6' solid cover. 

4/18/2021