"Spring Planting" in Summer
Fermilab's annual prairie seed planting--a project to restore 660 acres with wild grasses and flowers--achieved a milestone recently.
A record 40 acres were seeded June 16-17 in a third annual planting. Nine acres were planted last year and eight in 1975. Four volunteers working were: Tony Donaldson, Accelerator Division engineer, and chairman of Fermilab's Prairie Restoration Committee; Richard Kujath, farm crew member; John Sandberg, son of Burt Sandberg (Accelerator); and Dr. Robert F. Betz, professor of biology, Northeastern Illinois University and one of the originators of the project.
According to Dr. Betz, about 450 pounds of seeds from about 30 varieties of prairie grass and 24 wildflowers were sowed.
Main varieties of seeds set in the ground were Indian grass, big and little bluestem, switch grass, purple prairie clover, compass plant, purple dock, Indian quinine, and purple and yellow cone flower.
A special tractor-drawn planting machine--a Nisbet Seed Drill--was loaned by Morton Arboretum. The machine enabled planters to fill 10 furrows simultaneously.
The seeds had been collected at Morton Arboretum, Lisle, at the Gensberg-Markham (Ill.) prairie and other plots, in October by 150 volunteers. After winter storage of the seeds, volunteers were again enlisted in February to clean and stratify the grain, removing stems, sticks, stones and other debris at an all-day "seed-cleaning bee" in the Kuhn barn. Kernels were then bagged, dampened and refrigerated until "spring" planting. Preceding the planting was an April controlled burnoff of previously planted areas and plowing of areas to be seeded to eliminate weeds.
Another project milestone is in the making, Betz said. For the first time, plans are to harvest seeds from the Fermilab plot--by hand--this fall. Also, volunteers will again collect kernels at the arboretum and Markham. This summer, a combine is being adapted so that seeds may be mechanically harvested in the fall of 1978. Tentatively, a fall planting will also follow an autumn seed harvest Betz said.
According to Betz, an estimated 100 pounds of seed per acre may be gleaned mechanically. "This will enable us to plant 100 acres at a crack," Betz said. He added that as the Fermilab plot becomes more self-sustaining volunteers will be tapped to collect more exotic species of plants.