PROJECT SUMMARY:
12.4 Acre Permanent Meadow on New Deal Nurseries'
Farm (2003- )
[Background
tile: florets of Big Bluestem Grass (Andropogon
gerardii).]
[Contact us about this project.]
[Seed lists for this project.]
[Map of planted area.]
[Watch
this page as years pass for a history of the
meadow's development.]
In
August, 2003 a mixture of grasses, rushes,
sedges, and forbs was planted in a wet to moist
meadow area of the 151 acre New Deal Nurseries
Farm in Roosevelt -- one of the farms preserved
and resold by Fund for Roosevelt, Inc. using the
New Jersey Planning Incentive Grant farmland
preservation program with the support of the
Monmouth County Agriculture Development Board.
This permanent meadow area was created in an
agreement with the property's new owner.
Native,
warm season grasses are planted to be dominant in
the northern, dryer (upland) 8 acres (approx.) of
the 12.4 acre meadow. A mixture of facultative
wetland flowers, sedges, rushes, and grasses
dominate the southern, wetter remaining acres. A
zone about 20 feet wide at the interface between
the upland and wetland acres was planted with
both seed mixes. [The map, below, was prepared by
Bob Swain (Dawson Corporation).]
Accounting
for neighboring livestock. The meadow is
planned to be next to areas of pasture or
hayfields; therefore, plants were selected that
would not be dangerous to livestock should they
seed themselves in the pasture or hayfields.
Accounting
for fire tolerance. Since prescribed burns
are being considered by the property's owner in
order to maintain the meadow, we selected a grass
mix to be naturally adapted to fires. The wetland
plant mix (although to be planted in an area in
which prescribed burns may not be used)
includes species of which about 85% are tolerant
of fire in the cooler wetland soils.
Native
to New Jersey. No plants will be additions
to the native flora of New Jersey, although some
will enrich known local biodiversity.
Introductions
to Roosevelt: Some of the forbs that are
introductions to Roosevelt may have been present
here once, but were extirpated by deer. We will
have to see which of these survives the present
planting.
Funding:
Funded by FFR based on generous donations from
Mr. Michael Winchell, a principal of New Deal
Nurseries, LLC.
Source
of seed: Ernst Conservation Seeds
Seed
mix design:
| Warm
season grasses (WS) - Creative Habitat
Corporation |
| Facultative
wetland mix (FW) - Ernst Conservation
Seeds mix 122 (modified) |
| Alteration
to FW mix and additional forb selection -
Rod Tulloss with aid of Calvin Ernst |
Preparation and planting:
| Dawson
Corporation |
| Fund
for Roosevelt, Inc. |
| Peter
Nurko |
Date of cutting of existing
vegetation by rotary mower: week of
August 4, 2003
Date
meadow planted: week of August 11,
2003
.
|
