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Bring Back Prairies

@bringbackprairies

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Doing what I can to increase prairie ecosystems here on my little piece of land McHenry County, IL

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Haven't had much time or energy to post lots of garden stuff recently! But I have been obsessed with the little prairie patch I started a few years ago...it's still got some blank spots and the prairie dropseed matrix needs to fill out more, but lots of forbs are looking fantastic. Liatris (L. pycnostachya) with orange butterfly weed (Asclepias tuberosa), the nodding wild onion (Allium cernuum) bloomed this year for the first time, as did one royal catchfly (Silene regia) that I've been trying to get established for years! 😍 Seeing this small garden buzzing (quite literally) with pollinators is an absolute joy. I added a few rattlesnake master (Eryngium yuccifolium) and purple hyssop (Agastache foeniculum) that will hopefully take off soon too!

#plantnativeplants
#sleepcreepleapistrue by @bringbackprairies

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2 months ago

Guys...I think I may have a problem... 🤣

Got most of this planted this weekend, but the tender herbs and veggies (tomatoes, peppers, basils, oregano) still have to hang out in the cold frame.

One actual problem is I think my big tray of seedlings has damping off, a fatal fungal issue. It hasn't happened to me in a few years but it sucks and would seriously dent my lettuce harvest.

On the bright side, lots of natives from local sources! I really filled out a shady part of my front garden, and made important additions to the sunny prairie bed I started last year. All still works in progress, and fingers crossed I can thwart the bunnies, but I'm excited to see how these all settle in!

#vegetablegardening
#nativeplantgardening
#plantsofinstagram taken in Crystal Lake, Illinois by @bringbackprairies

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5 months ago

It's been another weird spring, but is there any other kind in the Chicagoland area? I was waiting for more consistent soil temps above 50 degrees, but decided to roll the dice before missing out on more of the growing season. Finally got the first lettuce seedlings planted plus carrots, peas, and cilantro seeds. The rest of the lettuce and spinach seedlings will go in soon, fingers crossed this doesn't backfire on me! The strawberries are blooming and taking the temperature roller coaster in stride, so maybe??

Winter sowing was partially successful...my Dodecathean medea seeds (shooting stars) are doing well, so we'll see how well I can transplant them out of those old Gatorade bottles. I broke down and got basils and oregano plants the other day because I cannot grow basil from seeds, apparently. Three years of failed seedlings now 🙃

Oh yeah, and I have a few natives to plant, as you can see in that last pic. Big weekend coming up!

#vegetablegardening
#nativeplantgardening
#whycantigrowbasilanymore
#plantsofinstagram taken in Crystal Lake, Illinois by @bringbackprairies

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5 months ago

Seed starting for real! My viability test run at the end of last year was great (more on that in a minute), but it's time to start this year's stuff for real. I like to plant my cool-season crops in late April or early May, which is 8-10 weeks away. So yesterday I started two types of broccoli and two loofah varieties. The loofahs will not be planted out till it's legit warm outside, but they need time to grow under lights. I also started all of these in peat pots so they have more space to grow good root systems instead of little plug trays...we'll see if it helps them!

I also started oregano (new for me this year), catnip (Poster is spoiled), and sunflowers (courtesy of @yougotthis_honey !). As for the test run, the seedlings started great then sorta stalled, and some were dying. I took the strongest looking ones and repotted them in those peat pots, and now they're doing better, which inspired this round going straight into the pots.

Lettuce, spinach, basil, and marigolds get started 6 weeks before planting out, so those will be in mid-March! I love the excitement of New plants and a new season!

#seedstarting
#vegetablegardening
#plantsofinstagram taken in Crystal Lake, Illinois by @bringbackprairies

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8 months ago

With everything going on, sometimes it feels downright foolish to post about gardening stuff, but I firmly believe that restoring ecosystems and growing your own food are some of the most effective acts of resistance and just reaffirming of our basic humanity, something these bastards can't touch. So in that spirit, here's my first attempt at winter sowing...

I reused old plastic containers, you'll probably see milk jugs used for this, but we don't drink gallons of milk here, lol. So Gatorades and strawberry containers it is! My first attempts at using a box cutter failed because I cut the Gatorade bottle too far down (pic 3) so there wasn't enough space for roots to grow, and I straight up poked a huge hole in a Tupperware container (pic 4).

After cutting the bottles closer to the top, I added potting soil and native plant seeds...Dodecathean medea, Asclepias incarnata and a couple others. Native seeds often need stratification in winter (mimicking natural conditions, cold and wet conditions to get the seeds ready to germinate). I tried stratifying in my fridge last year but germination rates kinda sucked. So now these are outside in a semi-protected spot on some gravel...we'll see if it works!

#wintersowing
#seedstarting
#nativeplantgardening taken in Crystal Lake, Illinois by @bringbackprairies

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9 months ago

My loofahs sprouted!! All of the test seeds sprouted after five days, so this morning I moved them to the seed tray with seed starting soil. But the catch is that loofahs don't like having their roots disturbed, and all of the roots had attached to the paper towel I had them in. So, there's a non-zero chance they die, but even if that happens, the other seeds I gathered should be viable! 😍

In other fun news, the one holdout batch of New Red Fire lettuce is starting to sprout, meaning that all lettuces are viable too. The 'Nancy' butterheads seem a little skimpy but otherwise, solid results from seed gathering last fall!

#seedsaving
#seedstarting
#loofah taken in Crystal Lake, Illinois by @bringbackprairies

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9 months ago

Seed viability update! After two days, every lettuce variety gathered last fall is sprouting, except for the first batch of New Red Fire that I collected. That makes sense since it was the earliest batch collected (I numbered from first to last collected). I gathered it in late August, which probably wasn't enough time for the seeds to fully ripen, but I'll give it another couple days before calling it.

As for the bags started three days ago, spinach is sprouting! Nothing yet from the loofahs or cilantro, but those are tough seed coats so the wait continues...

#seedsaving
#seedstarting
#vegetablegardening taken in Crystal Lake, Illinois by @bringbackprairies

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9 months ago

Yesterday I started checking the viability of loofah, spinach, and cilantro seeds, and I was about to do the same with the lettuce seeds I gathered last fall. Then it occurred to me, those seeds yesterday have very thick seed coats, whereas fragile lettuce seeds left in wet paper towels are more likely to disintegrate than germinate. So instead, I busted out my regular seed starting setup to test a few seeds from each batch.

Yes, this setup is in my laundry room, nothing too fancy is really necessary. I use moisture-wicking fabric beneath the seed trays, this way I water the fabric and it gets pulled into the soil (seed starting medium, not actual "soil") instead of dousing little baby seedlings. Learned that one the hard way. And it's why I leave the fabric hanging over the edge a bit.

I labeled each batch of seeds with numbers because I gathered several rounds last fall...don't try to decipher my chickenscratch on the envelopes, lol. I marked each batch with those popsicle stick-type things (New Red Fire, Romaine, etc.) with their corresponding batch numbers so I can see any difference in germination rates by batch.

Everything is on a heat mat with a dome to keep in moisture, and the lights and mats are on a timer (key for my forgetful ass). Honestly none of them may germinate but who knows, maybe I'll get lucky!

#seedsaving
#seedstarting
#vegetablegardening taken in Crystal Lake, Illinois by @bringbackprairies

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9 months ago

Got into seed collecting this past fall, so now I'm starting to evaluate the viability of those seeds (if they're bunk I want to know now, before I place this year's seed orders!). I wetted paper towels, moist not soaked, spread a few seeds around, and made sure the top paper towel got wetted too (please ignore my chewed up hands in that video, lol). I placed them flat in labeled ziplocs, left partially open for air flow and sitting on a seed heat mat...we'll see if any of these cilantro, loofah or spinach sprout! Next up, four varieties of lettuce gathered in the fall...

#seedsaving
#seedstarting
#vegetablegardening taken in Crystal Lake, Illinois by @bringbackprairies

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9 months ago

(Almost) last harvest today...ongoing drought and diminished daylight were the initial impetus for me to break down the veggie garden, and an impending vacation was the final straw. I honestly did not want to return to a garden of dug-up potatoes that the squirrels ate, lol. Pulled the last green tomatoes, a few celery plants that didn't get very big...for some reason, celery just stalled. I actually left a few plus a kale plant in the garden beds and we'll just see what condition their condition is in when I get home. You can see how the celery stalks compare in size to a chunky carrot. A couple pounds of Yukon Gold and little russet potatoes, corno del toro peppers that juuuust about ripened, more carrots, and some straggler hot peppers. Along with the other celery and kale, I left cilantro and Thai basil out there, and I'll winterize the strawberries when I'm back. Another interesting year growing food...I'll reflect and write up thoughts soon!
#vegetablegardening
#vegetablesofinstagram
#growfoodnotlawn taken in Crystal Lake, Illinois by @bringbackprairies

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a year ago

Been really into seed gathering this year...I collected lettuce seeds from all 4 varieties (red leaf, green leaf, butterhead and romaine) plus herbs like dill and cilantro. My guess is that seeds are ripe when they're dry and/or have puffy bits that would carry them in a stiff breeze. It's definitely as much art as science, but color, dryness, and whether the plant seems ready to release them have been my clues. Same goes for native seeds..see Dodecathean medea seeds in pics 3 and 4 (not great pics, I know). I marked the dates because I have a feeling many were gathered too early and won't be viable (trial and error, only one way to find out!). Also check out those seed envelopes! Found @nativeseedssearch just looking aroundon the interwebs, the envelopes have space for important info, very easy closures, and it's this cool nonprofit that conserves seeds in the Southwest. Their varieties won't grow here, but the envelopes are fantastic and not shit bought on Amazon!
#seedsaving
#nativeplants
#vegetablegardening taken in Crystal Lake, Illinois by @bringbackprairies

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a year ago

Ugly pictures incoming...establishing new natives in this bed has been a challenge, mostly because the bunnies eat almost everything. I can't even blame them...my yard is the only one in a half-mile radius that isn't doused with pesticides and poison, there's lots of natives, veggies, clover in the grass, plants in general...they'd be stupid NOT to hang out here. But, it means I have to keep trying plants they don't want, and you can see in pics 2 and 3 that nodding wild onion (Allium cernuum) and a few yellow coneflowers (Ratbida pinnata) fit the bill. I'm adding more prairie dropseed (Sporobolous heterolepis) and some rattlesnake master (Eryngium yuccifolium) to *hopefully* get established before winter sets in...see my rather pathetic attempt at chicken wire to keep them out. They don't eat milkweed or liatris (the messy stuff done flowering near the fence) so I do have hope!
#nativeplantgarden
#nativeplants
#plantsofinstagram
#whybunniesithoughtwewerefriends taken in Crystal Lake, Illinois by @bringbackprairies

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a year ago