tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-201378124228558245.post7031352177918891183..comments2024-03-28T17:07:55.110-07:00Comments on Strategies for Stewards: from woods to prairies : The Last Prairie Plant StandingStephen Packardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01811489977185760340noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-201378124228558245.post-71115986243662610242017-08-22T04:51:21.506-07:002017-08-22T04:51:21.506-07:00nice postnice postAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00357933460302060158noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-201378124228558245.post-7284792080218250892015-05-21T21:34:43.698-07:002015-05-21T21:34:43.698-07:00I grow many plants outdoors in shallow seed starti...I grow many plants outdoors in shallow seed starting trays (<2 inches) in a gravel type media which makes plants particularly vulnerable to frost heaving. After snow melt or a frost I am always going around and pushing the growing media surrounding heaved up plants down into the seed tray and pushing adjacent media into the hole to cover exposed roots. Frost heaved plants usually recover fine as long as they have not been left out in the drying late winter/early spring sun for too long.<br /><br />The above being said, I do not think the problem Tom has observed is actually due to frost heaving. I grow a number of shallow rooted plants, like Cypripediums, in soil with no other species. I do this because plants tend to grow better without competition. Even without plants with fibrous roots providing added soil strength my established shallow-rooted plants do not have any problem with frost heaving.<br /><br />I did have a problem similar to the one Tom mentions this April when the big tornado destroyed much of Rochelle and Fairdale. That storm was so violet that it eroded away the top soil deep enough to exposed the crown and much of the roots of my Cypripedium reginae plants. I noticed this the next day and covered them again with soil. They are now growing well.<br /> <br />In contrast, areas of the garden where I had put down mulch did not have a problem with erosion. I mulch with shredded deciduous tree leaves from my yard. In the past I used wood chips and these are still under the shredded leaf mulch. My problem with wood chips is they tend to float away during very hard rain events. Mulch that interlocks (like shredded leaves or fibrous woodchips) is needed to prevent a lot of the mulch from being washed away. The only problem with shredded leaves is they decomposed rather quickly and need to be reapplied yearly. Since you are restoring this area to prairie I would suggest mulching with prairie hay to slow down those damaging rain drops.James McGeehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12813312887957290703noreply@blogger.com