Rewilding My Lot

The mid-height prairie grass area is developing quite nicely. There are established populations of Little Bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium), Indiangrass (Sorghastrum nutans), Sideoats Grama (Bouteloua curtipendula), and Gulf Muhly (Muhlenbergia capillaris). There is also some intruding Curly Mesquite (Hilaria belangeri) from the Thunder Turf grasses nearby, which I have allowed to stay until now. However, for this project I am removing the Curly Mesquite clumps that I can identify (by seed head, leaf shape, height, or location) to make room for a new grass: Purple Threeawn (Aristida purpurea).

I have seen Purple Threeawn at Headwaters at the Comal. It’s a relatively short (1-2 feet) bunchgrass that is good for erosion control. Three long bristles (awns) grow from the tip of each flower, hence the name. I think this is what these are:

I have some seed that I harvested at the Headwaters (with permission!), and also another packet that I bought from Native American Seed. There is rather a lot of seed for the small area that I have, but it was the smallest packet available.

Here is a “before” picture of the prairie grass area. It’s more or less triangular in shape with Gulf Muhly in the foreground, a mulch berm to the left, and Thunder Turf to the right and behind.

I removed some Curly Mesquite, which grows in small clumps. It’s a good native grass, part of the short Thunder Turf mix nearby, but in this particular area I want to grow a few taller prairie grasses.

That left several areas with bare soil.

When I opened up the pack of Purple Threeawn seed, it was in a tangled mess.

I mixed it with soil to try to get a better distribution, which is when I discovered how “sticky” this seed is — it clung to gloves, clothing, and even skin.

I sprinkled the seed mix onto the bare areas of the prairie grass zone, added a few more handfuls of soil, and then lightly watered it. Hopefully there will be germination before any major wind or rain event carries the seed away. Here’s some seed on the damp ground.