Prairie cuts mow time

By Dean Shipley

Staff Writer

Rex Garrett was tired of mowing. Coupled with that weariness was shelling out money at nearly $4 per gallon to fuel the mower.

So he decided the one-plus-acre portion of his corner lot of grass at Old Springfield and Brighton Road had to go. In September 2011, systematically he marked off an L-shaped area and saturated it with herbicide. Then with assistance from the Madison County Soil and Water Conservation District office, Rex and his wife, Becky, transformed the area into a mini-prairie. It is currently in bloom and drawing passersby to the roadside to give it a closer look.

In the spring of 2012 they consulted Julia Cumming about having the prairie warm season grasses (Little bluestem, dropseed and side oats grama said Mike Retterer, soil and farm bill wildlife biologist) sown into the spot of the fall’s grass kill. Becky Garrett said the sower, on a John Deere tractor, drilled the seeds into the ground and was cautious to keep the machine within the boundaries.

With the seeds sown, Garretts proceeded to augment the area with several pounds of a wildflower mixture purchased online from a Vermont-based provider. They and their daughter-in-law, Karina Garrett, filled three five-gallon buckets with the seed, mixed with “play sand,” and literally cast with their hands it onto the area.

Then they just left its fate to Mother Nature and any moisture she could provide. This year that hasn’t been much.

They were told in advance to not expect to see much growth in the first season of planting.

By July it was time for a visit to Michigan and the Garretts took off.

Upon their return two and half weeks later, their prairie had indeed grown to a level which they described as “astounding.” The warm season grasses are growing well and the wildflowers have bloomed and brought forth brilliant orange, red, yellow and blue blooms.

“I didn’t expect it to look this nice,” Becky Garrett said. Now she wishes she’d bought double the amount of wildflower mix.

“It’s pretty,” Rex Garrett said. “I can’t wait to see it next year.”

This year he’s cut his mowing considerably. He said what used to be an eight-hour job is down to two.