Saturday, May 15, 2010

The first thing that I did was to check on the condition of the first colony of Inland Oats [Chasmanthium latifolium] that I planted last week. I am happy to report that these plants are healthy and are growing. They have put down roots in the sandy soil.

Bolstered by this success, I cleared a 200 square foot area that was covered with Japanese Stilt Grass and planted additional plugs of Inland Oats as well as dozens of plugs of other native grasses, including Indian Grass [Sorghastrum nutans] and Side Oats Grama [Bouteloua curtipendula]. I also started a colony of wild Lupins [Lupinus perennis].

Here is a patch of invasive Japanese Stilt Grass - the "Before" picture:



And here is the "After" picture:



A number of Wine Berry bushes were removed and replaced by native Blackberry bushes:



After much weed pulling and planting, I spent one hour walking the stream bed, removing trash and debris.



I found the usual bottles, cans and plastic bags along with a bike tire and a flag poll.

I cleared litter from about 1500 feet of the stream on this day, from Grenoble Street to the bidge: