November has been a surprisingly busy month so far!\u00a0 I thought things would slow down after we finished our SOS collections for the year and the last plants at the PMC were harvested.\u00a0 However, I have quickly learned that\u00a0fall means fall planting, which is\u00a0no small undertaking.\u00a0 With limited staff and seemingly limitless tasks to complete before it gets too wet out, the past few weeks have been a whirlwind.<\/p>\n
Across our 100+ acres, we have been putting in\u00a0many different field trials, research plots, and demonstrations while planting cover crops in the bare spots.\u00a0 Additionally,\u00a0we are planting\u00a0seeds to grow out for the BLM and other agencies.\u00a0 This includes\u00a0many rows of seed that came from\u00a0SOS collections.\u00a0 After doing many seed collections this summer, it’s interesting to\u00a0see the other half of the process where collected\u00a0seeds are planted and grown out.\u00a0 No one has experience\u00a0working with\u00a0many of the native\u00a0species we are asked to grow, so a lot of work goes into figuring out our approach.\u00a0 We compare a\u00a0plant to similar species, test out different treatments, and\u00a0ultimately\u00a0try to\u00a0determine the feasibility of producing more seed.<\/p>\n
When we have moved to the actual planting stage, the process is more complicated than simply putting seed in the ground.\u00a0 We have to determine where we can plant a collection while maintaining a large enough separation distance from other plantings of the same species.\u00a0 We have to determine when to plant and what equipment to use.\u00a0 We look at what percentage of seeds\u00a0actually\u00a0germinate to help determine our desired seeding rate.\u00a0 We then calibrate our seeding equipment to match our seeding rate.\u00a0 After all of those steps, we\u00a0are finally able to plant the seed.\u00a0 In some cases the actual planting is the easiest and quickest step in the process.<\/p>\n
My tractor driving skills are still rudimentary at best, so I used a device called a Planet Junior for my plantings.\u00a0 A Planet Junior is a walk-behind seeder.\u00a0 As the seeder gets pushed forward and its wheel spins,\u00a0seed is fed through a hole and\u00a0drops to\u00a0the ground.\u00a0 It’s a small and straightforward device that has proven to be quite useful for us.\u00a0 After planting some clovers, a few grasses, and many, many cover crops with this device, I now consider myself an expert seeder.<\/p>\n
I finished planting the last item on my list today, so now all I can do is wait and hope everything grows!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
November has been a surprisingly busy month so far!\u00a0 I thought things would slow down after we finished our SOS collections for the year and the last plants at the PMC were harvested.\u00a0 However, I have quickly learned that\u00a0fall means … Continue reading