Making seed mixes now

With the temperature below zero F and a foot of snow on the ground, it takes quite a bit of optimism to think about spring, but we have faith that it will eventually come. Today we started making our seed mixes, which will be planted after our spring burns are complete.

This past fall we collected seeds from well over 100 species, and plan to get them on the ground in early spring. We should have planted some areas this past fall/early winter, but ran out of time.

For the past six years or so we have prepared a species list in Excel, with columns indicating what habitats each species is found in. The habitats include dry, dry-mesic, open savanna, closed savanna/woodland, wet-mesic, and wet. Some species grow in more than one of these habitats, so they are added to more than one mix. A small part of this spreadsheet is shown at the bottom of this post.

We calculate what percent of each species will go in each habitat type, and then start making the mixes. If a species is to be planted in both dry-mesic and open savanna, for instance, then it will be divided between those two mixes. The whole procedure is more complicated than that, but this gives the idea.

At the end of the work, we end up with a set of large bags for each habitat type. After all the mixes are made, the bags are hung in the barn until spring.

In the spring, when we start to plant, the first thing we do is pour all the bags of a given seed mix out on the concrete floor of the barn and mix thoroughly. Then add sawdust and go out and plant.