Pages

Thursday, March 08, 2012

Burning the wet prairie

We've had such a mild winter - almost no winter at all - that I was concerned my annual burning of the grassy prairie garden at Federal Twist would damage early emerging plants. In past years, burning could be done as late as the end of March. Not this year.

Grasses on the bank need to be burned before new growth emerges.
All it requires is a methodical approach, burning only one plant or group of plants at a time, a running hose nearby, proper clothing to give protection from flying ash, and stable, hard-soled shoes to allow nimble movement and a convenient method for stomping out small flames.

The same bank in flame.
Apply fire to the base of a grass using a small propane torch and in a few seconds the flames leap high and the temperature shoots up to well over a thousand degrees. That's just a guess, really, but at times I need to stand back at least 15 or 20 feet to avoid being burned. The heat is enormous and could quickly cause serious injury or worse.


Here you can see the hot gasses throwing flame into the air. You dare not let this touch you or your clothing. Fortunately, it's over in a few seconds. I definitely do not recommend the inexperienced try to do this.


It's the quickest way to clear the garden of old growth for the coming year. I finished the one acre main garden in less than two hours, then the front in about thirty minutes.


After the burning, the garden is essentially gone for a few weeks. At first it's a blackened field of debris. Now some heavy rain would be a blessing to wash the ashes into the ground.


This weekend I'll get help to cut the remaining standing remnants with a weed trimmer ...


... clean up the fallen tree limbs and branches ...


... then wait for spring to come.

That's about it for major maintenance in 2012.

Oh, there's coppicing of the willows to be done before the end of the month.

17 comments:

  1. THE way to return it all back to the ground. I know how those grasses whoosh up in flames.
    It must add to the lift one gets as new growth emerges later, after taking it to a singed nought.

    Now here's the truth - I would actually really enjoy burning the garden!

    How many years have you been coppicing the willows? Are they growing good usuable 'wands' now?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I do look forward to it every year and, after a little additional clean up, will take a while to admire the nothingness. "Whoose" is a good descriptive verb for the sound the burning grass makes. The only willows I have that make straight rods are Salix koriyanagi 'Rubykins'. After a year they have grown very long, limber, straight stems that I understand are frequently used for basket making in Japan. I do have several very large ones to hide a part of my deer fencing that have only had annual pruning, but I think I will coppice them this year lest they become overgrown tangles. The downside is I'll have to look at that eight-foot-tall deer exclusion for a year. I don't use the 'wands' other than to make more willows.

      Delete
  2. Burning, as either a force of nature, or through human intervention, has been happening on my own continent for thousands of years. On the face of it, a tough call, but for the sake of longevity and revival, priceless.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Faisal,

      I remember Billy Martin, in his Vista lecture in London, referring to the "fire stick" culture of the native people in Australia (I heard it by podcast). Apparently this happened for millenia, and changed the Australian landscape forever (as I understand it). I'm sure you know the native Americans essentially created and maintained the vast prairies in our Midwest by burning them. I'd like to learn more about the history of the practice in Australia.

      Delete
  3. James,
    How did you keep the fire under control and protect the small trees, boxwoods etc? I used to have huge brush fires in my garden in Peterborough. The houses are so close together, that I only did them with about a foot of snow on the ground.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Michael,

      I tend to plant the large grasses individually or in small groups, and the larger, less easy-to-burn perennials in between. I also try to keep the shrubs grouped and, to the extent possible, remote from the grasses. Then I "spot burn," and don't move on to another burn until the first one is extinguished. It does help to have a snow cover on the ground. Even with precautions, some shrubs suffer. I think I may have lost a small Inkberry holly yesterday. That flaming grass on the bank was the largest burn, but there's nothing at the top of the bank so it essentially self-extinguishes. Now that I'm thinking about it, I do give a lot of thought to burning strategy, but it comes so naturally I'm hardly aware I'm thinking through the process.

      Delete
  4. This is one garden chore my son would gladly assist with. Too bad it would be totally illegal here and would illicit a quick response from the fire dept.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. If your son likes fireworks, I'm sure he'd enjoy this. There are advantages to living in the woods. I certainly won't try burning the garden in Brooklyn.

      Delete
  5. Interesting to see a burn done so far east and of a small prairie within a woodland setting. I don't envy you your hillside of grasses - they can get really tricky with fire.

    We're trying to restore prairie to much of our little 10 acre patch here in south central Kansas and have burned several times. (Here is the first of several posts from last spring, talking about our burn last year: .) It always amazes me to see the fresh plant life emerging so quickly from the blackened ground! After our severe drought last summer, though, I don't think we're going to do it this year. There's always next spring!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It's relatively easy to control such a small burn. Your burns sound like they're much larger, and that would certainly daunt me. By the way, your link to your posts didn't come through, so please resend them if you can. I'd like to see them. Yes, it's amazing how much vegetation can emerge from the bare earth by mid-summer. From nothing to tons of biomass in only four months.

      Delete
  6. Whoo hoo! The ultimate form of 'natural' garden maintenance. Impressive. Now I wish I didn't live in the City . . .

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Thomas. I may make the "natural approach" sound too simple. Now I need to put on waders and spend two hours cleaning out the pond! Much less fun ...

      Delete
  7. Whoa...that is dramatic! I can just imagine the sheer panic on the faces of my neighbors if I tried that!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Scott, I can't do it in Brooklyn either. I've noticed that you have a Brooklyn in Portland. I'd be interested to hear that story.

      Delete
  8. Everyone needs a little drama in his/her life. Guess you'll have to get yours in another way :).

    ReplyDelete
  9. I've often had days of wanting to burn down my gardens. How satisfying it must be to actually get to do it once a year! (This is so late, but I spent most of March on vacation and am just today catching up with your wonderful posts.)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I've grown to look forward to it every year. After winter, when the garden is looking really ratty, just burn the thing down.

      Delete

LinkWithin

Related Posts with Thumbnails