The Ghost Plant

We discovered the white milkweed I call "The Ghost Plant" in July of 2007. It produced one flower in 2007 which resulted in one seed pod. I collected the single pod on October 11, 2007.

There were 195 seeds in that 2007 pod. I gave most of the seeds to a variety of people with no obvious result, so in February of 2009 I planted the seed I had remaining in pots in my basement. I had 16 germinate and after "mother-henning" them all summer I have 12 that survived their first growing season. I planted six of them in the ground, put 5 asleep in my basement and gave one to a colleague.

In 2008 the plant again produced 1 flower, but for unknown reasons no seed pod formed.

In 2009 I found the plant when is was just forming its buds and I tried to keep tabs on it all summer as it went through its life cycle. As you can see from the photos, this year it formed multiple pods almost immediately upon setting seed. It was really exciting to see four fully formed pods in August. I am told one milkweed flower producing four mature seed pods is a rather rare event. The question was---would these pods survive the ravages of weather, insects and possibly human interference to reach maturity? The answer was, yes. On October 1, 2009 I squeezed each pod and all four popped indicating they were ready to collect.


The four seed pods produced by "The Ghost" in 2009 had a total of 465 seeds. I have begun to distribute the seed to individuals who will propagate this plant and share it with others.

The question that remains is---Will the new plants produce white flowers? We won't know that until the plant goes through its life cycle.

The most important question is---What is this thing?

The consensus, of those who have examined the plant up close, is that this plant is a white variety of Purple Milkweed. The leaves, flowers and pods all resemble Purple Milkweeds, so the relationship is pretty strong, but only time and the work of people who grow this beautiful plant will give us the answers.

WILDLIFE WATCHING----Getting Ready for Winter

Millions of Americans spend a lot of time wildlife watching. This interest encompasses everyone from the hunter looking for that "Big Rack" to the house bound persons watching the butterflies and hummingbirds flitting around their garden. Whether it's birds, lnsects, mammals, reptiles or amphibians, we humans seem to have a facination with the other creatures that share our space.For most of us, bird watching is the easiest and least expensive. You don't need to do a lot of traveling unless you really want to and the great thing about this is, that these beautiful creatures come visit us at our homes. Some like the Cardinals, Chickadees and Blue Jays are with us year round, while others are summer residents and still others only stop for a short visit on their trip to North or South.Birds need food, water and cover if they are to survive their visit to your space.

Since humans have arrived in North America, we have developed the land to suit our needs with out much thought given to the original inhabitants.

The truth is that if natural habitat does not exist on your property, you will have to create it, if you want birds and other creatures to visit. Native trees, shrubs, grasses and wildflowers are what you need to attract the greatest variety of birds. These plants are the food sources and cover plants these creatures have evolved with over thousands of years and will provide the greatest benefit for both you and the birds.

Putting up a bird feeder is pretty easy and you will get visitors in a relatively short time. To protect your investment in feeders and seed you need to develop some strategies to keep other creatures from eating what you are providing for the birds.

On average I have 12 to 15 furry rats (better known as Gray Squirrels ) in my yard every day during the winter. They are fun to watch, but can be very destructive to the expensive bird feeders we buy to feed our feathered friends. Squirrels are very intelligent and are great problem solvers. I have discovered the best solution to Squirrel problems is prevention.

I have 3 suggestions.

ONE: Put your feeder on a metal post at least 8 to 10 feet off the ground.

TWO: Position your feeder at least 15 to 20 feet from the nearest tall tree or building so they can not jump to the feeding station.
THREE: Always place a metal baffle on the pole right below the feeder---don't use a plastic one, they will chew it. Don"t bother with a "Squirrel-proof" feeder---they have them all figured out.

Water is always a problem for wildlife in the winter. I have tried several things with limited success. This past winter I was very pleased with my current effort. I bought a heater for a cattle watering tank at Tractor Supply and installed it into my shallow water garden.

It works great, even at zero temperatures. The birds visiting my feeders drink at this site all day. Squirrels and deer also visit this spot for a drink. This device turns on when the temperature gets near freezing and keeps an area about 3 to 5 feet wide ice free.

It is my opinion the most valuable item you can provide for wildlife in the winter is not birdseed. It is beef suete. I buy it in hunks of 10 to 13 pounds at a butcher shop. I cut it up into small pieces and stick the extra in the freezer for use later. It costs about 30 to 40 cents per pound and it is a lot cheaper and better for the birds than the "cakes".
If you make a feeder use 1/2 inch hardware cloth---Pileated Woodpeckers will destroy smaller mesh. Also make it secure from raccoons and bears.

If you want wildlife to visit your habitat, besides food and water, you must provide some kind of cover. As demonstrated by the first photo ,there are creatures "out there " who will eat your invited "friends". Predation is a natural process and is part of the ecosystem we find ourselves in. However, in modern suburbia and around most building in this country we humans have planted a lot of green concrete (lawn) which provides no food or cover for the thousands of creatures once found there.

Simple Solutions---

ONE: Plant native wildflowers, grasses, shrubs and trees---they survive better and are part of the native creature's normal habitat. I have planted about 100 Hemlocks on my 6 acres and so far they have survived current threats. Around feeders they should be pruned to make them bushy. Other fruit bearing native shrubs also can provide some cover but in winter evergreens work best.

Unmowed meadows of native wildflowers and grasses provide both food and cover all winter. Some people think they are messy, but I think they are beautiful.

TWO: Make brush piles next to feeders and then sprinkle seed over the pile. It will give the Juncoes and White-throated Sparrows a place to dive into when the Sharp-Shinned Hawk shows up. You can always move the pile when Spring comes if you need to.

Seed Collection

Late Summer and Fall are the best times to collect native wildflower and grass seeds. It is not an easy task, because we are often in competition with other creatures who find the seeds we seek appetizing; and we also are at the mercy of weather conditions that often hasten seed dispersal---thistles and milkweeds are good examples.

To be a good collector you have to be a good observer and persistnt. I have some suggested procedures you can follow if you would like to begin to collect native plant seeds for your landscape or to share with others. Based on my experience and observations the following suggestions will assist you in collecting good quality seed and will give you improved chances for success.

ONE---Always carry a roll of pink or orange marking tape and when you see a plant blooming or a good site for collecting, tie a piece of the tape to the plant or a nearby conspicuous piece of vegetation. Plants often fade after blooming and other fill the void, making their location hard to find.

TWO---Check your selected sites on a weekly basis once the plant has stopped blooming. Each plant is different. Some set seed and mature quickly, while others take months. As you work with them you will soon discover the best approach to get the best seed.

THREE---Determining when to collect can be tricky. Usually a brown seed head indicates maturity, but not always. If the plant has a lot of seed heads or pods I will remove one and crush it---if the seeds are brown, dark, hard they are most likely ready to collect. I have discovered that if you split a milkweed pod open while it is still attached to the plant, green seeds will continue to mature, but if you remove the pod while green, the seed may not be any good. Patience is a necessity.

FOUR---To be a good collector, you must follow good science. ALWAYS use PAPER bags to collect and store your collected seed heads.Be sure to label the bag with the NAME of the plant, DATE collected, LOCATION and the name of the COLLECTOR. Most of the time a lunch bag works best for collection. If the seed heads are wet, you must dry them or they will very quicky get moldy and the seed will be destroyed. Spread them in cardboard trays in the sun or next to your furnace. Once the seeds heads are dry, store them in paper bags in a dry mouse and bug-proof container until you are ready to proceeed with cleaning. Over the years we have often done our cleaning in the winter time well after the collecting season is over.

FIVE---Cleaning seed is often a good social event---a lot of volunteers sitting around doing a relatively boring set of tasks but with lots of time to discuss plants, politics, the weather
and the latest gossip. This may or may not be a draw for volunteers to join in. Strangely enough the volunteers that I work with don't seem to mind the tedium. Each plant has to be cleaned differently. Some seeds just easily fall out of the heads once they are crushed, while others have to be pounded into submission.

SIX---The final stage of seed preparation is separating the seed from the chaff. We use screens with different mesh sizes. Some seeds are microscopic, while others are quite large. Sometimes the seeds has to be screened a number of times before they are clean enough to use.

SEVEN----Seed storage is very inportant. You do not want to lose the seed after many hours of hard work. Once the seed is clean and dry I have found it can be safely stored in Zip-lock bags. Some people prefer small paper bags, but that leaves the seed vulnerable to bugs, etc. Be sure to label each bag with the name, date collected, date cleaned, location of the original plant and name of the collector. For small amounts of seeds a 3x5 card and a snack zip-lock works best.

Now is the time to start collecting , if you have not already begun.

Those of you who have meadows should take a look at them soon for current candidates for collection. Black-Eyed Susan, Ox-Eye Sunflower and Wild Bergamot are ready in many locations and should be collected soon.

I have been collecting seeds since August and I find new sites just about every day.

We already have at least 5 potential meadow sites for seed from this season, so we need to get started.

Seed collection at Middle Creek Wildlife Management Area will begin on Thursday October 1, 2009. We will collect at least once a week through November---other dates will be announced.

We meet at the Visitor Center at 9 am and work until noon or so. The best equipment is a good pair of leather gloves and hand clippers. Snacks and drinks will be provided.

Come join the fun and learn something in the bargain.

OAKS

I love oaks. I live on 6 acres dominated by oak trees. They are tall, beautiful and majestic as they lift lobed-leaves to the heavens seeking the sunshine they need to survive. Each Summer and Fall their acorns shower down on us as the squirrels cut them from the stems and drop the empty hulls to the ground below.

I appreciate the oaks most of all in the winter for the warmth their wood provides as it burns in my wood stoves. The red oaks are the best fire wood trees in the forest. The grow straight, tall with only a few branches and provide a wood that is easy to cut and split. We have used a wood stove for our primary heat source since 198o. At least 9o % of the wood I have burned over that time was from red oaks.Oaks are the most ecologically valuable tree in the woods as well.

Besides the squirrels other creatures such as deer, bears, turkeys and the various rodents that call the oak forest home gain much of their food from the acorns and brouse oaks provide.Posted by Dick Brown

Planting Native Wildflower and Grass Neadows

This is the time of year when we start collecting our native wildflower and grass seed in preparation for a new planting season either this Fall or in the Spring/Summer of 2010. The seed will be stored in paper bags until we have time to clean it.

Once the seed is cleaned it will be combined with other seeds in a mix. A mix is a combination of seeds that are appropriate for growing in a particular place. The plants in these mixes are usually prairie plants that are native to Pennsylvania and have lived here for thousands of years, so they have adapted to the growing conditions that exist in this part of the Country. Some are common such as the milkweeds and goldenrods, while others are rare and are only found in special places.

We have planted these plants in meadows at Middle Creek Wildlife Management Areas and sites in Lebanon, Lancaster, Huntingdon, Cumberland and Wayne Counties. We are able to collect seed from established meadows to plant new ones, so we can increase the populations of the plants from one year to the next. With each new site we create habitat for the native plants as well as the insects, birds, mammals and other creature that can use these areas for food and cover.The mixes can be for a wet site, a dry site or a wet/dry site( an area that has wet and dry soils)

Some plants like Cardinal Flower does best when its "feet" are wet while others like Butterflyweed need dry, well drained locations. Whenever possible we try to plant the seed where it will have the best chance for success. I have supervised the planting of native meadows (gardens) from a site as small as 15 X 15 feet to as large as 2 acres.

The procedure is rather simple. After the mix is completed it is combined with sand and water. The meadow site is divided into a grid with about 2500 square feet (about 1/17th of an acre) in each section. After thoroughtly mixing seed, sand and water the mix is broadcast by hand by volunteers. The bucket of mix is divided in half. The first half is sown in one direction over the site. The second half is sown in a perpendicular direction to the first planting movement to give the best distribution of the seed over the site. After the seed is planted seed to soil contact needs to occur so it will stay in place and germinate. This can be done with a garden rake, a roller, a cultipacker or a similar piece of equipment.

Large meadows of several acres are usually planted with a drill designed for planting native grasses and wildflowers.If you would like to plant a native wildflower/grass meadow on your property, let me know. I will have seed for small areas (up to 2 acres or less), but if you want to plant a larger area you will need to buy the seed and it can be pricey---$1000 to $1400/acre (This is why we collect in the wild).

It may cost to begin, but the rewards will last a life time.


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Green Concrete

We are surrounded by Green Concrete. It is found in parks, playgounds, people's yards, schools, corporate headquarters and college campuses throughout America. It encircles our homes in small towns, rural areas and the big cities.

So how do we humans react to Green Concrete? What else? We turn it into a money making proposition. We pay to have it "installed"; we fertilize it to make it greener; we buy water to keep it green; we spend MILLIONS of dollars for toys to keep it in its place; we use MILLIONS of gallons of oil and natural gas products to maintain it and then complain because it makes us work TOO hard.

The modern American landscape is covered with Green Concrete. We raise 40 million acres of it ( you can call it lawn, I prefer green concrete) every year. Have you tried eating the grass in your yard lately? Right , it tastes awlful. Guess what, nothing eats it unless you import sheep or cows. Oh, I take that back---Canada Geese love it and you can find lots of poop as evidence.

The only thing more sterile than the American lawn is concrete or blacktop. If a "weed" or "bug" appears we spray it. We add fertilizer to make it greener. We water it when it gets dry and complain when we have to mow it.

Why not "plant" green astroturf?---it stays green, needs no water or fertilizer and you never have to mow it. Damages from lawn maintenance: The fertilizers and sprays pollute our water ways; the fumes from the mowers create air pollution; the fuels and chemicals used to maintain it are mostly derived from fossil fuels; the noise is annoying and damaging to our hearing; watering lawns is a waste of precious water; turf absorbs very little runoff from rain storms; and worst of all, almost nothing can use it as a home.

So, I say look at your landscape and eliminate some of your lawn. Replace it with native trees, shrubs, wildflowers and grasses. The changes will amaze you. You will get insects, birds, mammals and other creatures visiting you and enjoying the habitat that your work has created.Join the native plant movement.

Your world will thank you.

To Learn more---Send an e-mail to dickbrownnpan@gmail.com

Natural Area program in South Londonderry Twp. Leb. Co. PA

In 2007 the supervisors of South Londonderry Township established an Environmental Advisory Council (EAC) to provide input for the Township on environmental issues. Also the EAC was charged with coming up with a program to protect the natural areas of the Township.

In 2008 the Natural Area Committee of the EAC came up with guidelines for designating a property as a Natural Area. A brochure was produced and is being used to educate the residents of the Township on the value of this program.

There are two basic goals.

The first is to encourage residents to preserve and protect the woodlots, wetlands and meadows that have native vegetation and are providing food, cover and habitiat for the creatures found in this area. This municipality is a mixture of rural areas and suburbia. Most residents want to retain the "country" feel of the area and this program provides residents with a mechanism to work toward preserving the beauty of the community



The second, is to assist citizens who want to move away from green concrete (lawn) and wall paper flowers, shrubs and trees (alien plants that look good, but provide little benefit to wildlife) to a landscape of native wildflowers, grasses, shrubs and trees. The creatures living here need native plants for food and thrive when they have undistrubed habitat to raise young. Native landscapes reduce our carbon footprint and provide habitat for the butterflies, birds and other living things that we enjoy seeing on our properties. Native plants require less energy, eliminate the need for pesticides, are better adapted to the local climate and generally cost less to maintain than the usual American yard of lawn and non-native flowers, shrubs and trees.



In 2008 nine properties totalling about 40 acres were designated as Natural Areas within the Township. In 2009 we hope to continue to add more properties to the program .



You can download a copy of the Natural Area brochure by going to the Township's website listed under Websites---Native Plant information . The document is located under "Boards" and EAC.





I am chairman of the EAC, so if you have any questions feel free to contact me.