Day 238
Another good problem to have relates to the restoration of our big backyard. It has been amazing to see how the land has changed. After the first year of treatment, it was encouraging to see many invasives replaced by native plants and flowers. During this second of treatment, the explosion of color and plants has been remarkable. Anyone who visits the land or drives by is sure to see what a difference it makes. It is quite easy to tell what parts of the area have been treated and what have been left under invasive control.
Treating the land by removing invasives allows for any native seed bank to thrive. Many native seeds can survive for many, many years. However, if they don't have access to the sun, soil, and water they need to grow, they'll just bide their time. In areas where invasive grasses and plants are dominating the landscape, there is usually a native seed back waiting to come to life underneath. This is exactly what we are seeing in our big backyard. In the last few months, we have seen so many plants we hadn't seen before and this is sure to continue as we continue the treatment process. There are undoubtedly many more native seeds ready to burst open when more reed canary grass (RCG) is killed off. In fact, we are seeing such a resurgence of native plants, any seeding we will have to do in the future is minimal. This is great news for the land and our bank accounts as seeding is one of the most expensive aspects of this type of restoration project.
Our land was historically a wetland. However, about a century ago, the land was altered to attempt to utilize it for agriculture;l usage. Ditches were created to control water flow and keep some land drier so that it could be farmed. This is a very common practice and this method along with other forms of developments are all what restoration professionals call disturbances. Any time land is altered from its native, natural state, it is considered disturbed. Disturbed land is prime land for invasive species takeover.
Disturbed land is exactly what we have.
