| In 2000 it was mowed twice, and in 2001 prairie plants were
well established so that no further mowing was done. However, there
were still some annual weeds, wild parsnip, and several patches
of Canada thistle. Wild parsnip was hand-pulled and the thistle
controlled by mowing.
A good controlled burn was carried out in March 2002 and the prairie
responded well. Excellent growth of prairie grasses and forbs occurred
in the summer of 2002, making this an excellent source of seeds
for further planting. It has been burned annually thereafter, although
in 2006 the east side was not burned. Eventually it will probably
be burned on a three-year burn cycle, but plans are to continue
annual burning for the near future.
Annual weeds, wild parsnip, and Canada thistle are no longer a
problem.
However, bird's foot trefoil (Lotus corniculata) is a persistent perennial weed that remained a problem. For some years it was controlled by hand-pulling, and although this reduced the infestation, it did not eliminate it. Since 2010 it has been controlled by a special herbicide procedure. Since the stems of a bird's foot trefoil plant grow from a single tap root, the center of this tap root is given a brief "spritz" of 20% Garlon 4 in bark oil. This is all that is required to kill the plant, and damage of adjacent "good" plants does not occur. This procedure has been successful in eradicating bird's foot trefoil, although new plants still arise from the persistent seed bank.
|
