November 5, 2020, was a perfect day for burning our prairie. We’d enjoyed several days of dry weather, and had our fire permit. We just needed a bit of breeze.

On that gorgeous day we burned the labyrinth, the backyard prairie, and our savanna…….and then we struck a match into our newest prairie. With the help of Linn County Roads and Air Pollution Departments, Pheasants Forever, the Monarch Research Project, UNI, and Sustainable Landscape Solutions we had prepared the soil and killed the weeds last May. Then we broadcast a native seed mix containing 82 species.

Prairie’s slow to start. We didn’t expect much this first year and ended up with lots of crabgrass.   It grew to about 8” and dried out nicely. A slow fire removed most of it,  allowing sunshine to warm prairie plants beneath. We expect a resurgence of delightful plants next spring and summer.