Berks Native Plant Seed Bank

Berks County Plant list now on Nativeplanthighlights.org

2011-09-25T10:33:00.002-04:00

Mike has put up on the Native Plant Highlights Web site PDF versions of plant lists for Berks County PA. The three versions of the file are sorted by Scientific Family, by Common name and by scientific name with native species first. If you have comments or suggestions about the lists you can comment here or on the list page.

First seed collecting date of the Fall

2011-09-22T09:03:00.002-04:00

The beginning of Seed collecting season is here for 2011!

Where: Union Twp Recreation Area in the meadow plantings.
At the new parking lot off Rte. 724 behind Tim's Ugly Mug Bar.
This lot is accessed from Campbell Ford Road which is also the access to the bar's parking lot.

When: Saturday October 8 at @ 2:00 pm to 4:30 or so. (Rain Date: Sunday October 9th at 2 pm, watch this web site for announcements.

Bring: Hand Clippers, paper bags, insect repellant

We expect to collect seed of Monarda fistulosa (Lavender Bee Balm), Sorgastrum nutans (Indian Grass) , Pycnanthemum species (Mountain Mints), Asclepias incarnata (Swamp Milkweed), plus any other native plants we find in seed.

Contact Mke (mslater at voicenet dot com) with questions or you put you question in a comment for this post.

Berks Native Plant Seed Bank Kick-off Program and planning meeting

2011-09-18T09:07:00.002-04:00

When: Wednesday September 21, 2011 at 7:00 pm

Where: Nolde Forest Environmental Ed. Center McConnell Hall

A short Program by Mike Slater on Collecting seed of native meadow plants and growing them for restoration planting . Followed by planning of seed collecting expeditions, seed sorting/cleaning gatherings, planting of seedlings, and seed sowing activities.

We want to broaden our distribution of seed to include private land owners who want quantities of native plant seed, of know local ecotype, in their landscaping as wee as continue to support local public areas in their efforts to increase native plant communities. Local areas we have worked with include, The Berks County Conservancy, The Union Twp. Recreation Area and a little bit at French Creek State Park.

Native Plant Highlight (A new Feature)

2011-05-28T09:35:00.000-04:00

Native plants and the insects associated with them are my passion. In order to share some of my love and fascination with native plants, I am beginning to assemble information and my pictures on native plants that my wife Jan and I feel more people in our area would enjoy growing in their gardens or habitat restorations. I want the information to be widely available so this blog and web site are where it is going to be. We are growing most of these plants and trying to make them available through local native plant nurseries, local volunteer native plant sales, and Natural history club native plant exchanges. So I hope this will whet the appetites of plants people so when they see our little plant puppies at a sale or exchange they will recognize their potential and desirability and take them home!

I am always learning about native plants which are unfamiliar to me. I know other people interested in native plants have the same experience all the time. Or sometimes I get the opportunity to grow a native I was interested in but didn't have a way to get seed or a plant to grow. I especially like to know the provenance of the plants I am growing, Pennsylvania or Mid-Atlantic States origin is preferable to me since that is where we live, garden and work on habitat restoration. I wasn't always this picky but under the influence of a number of fellow native plant enthusiasts I have been focusing on natives of known geographic and habitat origin.

If anyone has any requests, suggestions or comments, please leave them in the comments section of any post.

Mike Slater

Coreopsis tripteris Tall Coreopsis, will be the first one. It will be up soon.

Discussion of last years seed season.

2010-01-10T20:43:00.000-05:00

For those of you who grew seed from the January 2009 seed workshops how did you do? Please add your comments below. We are thinking about what we can to do this year. Comments and suggestions about the future are welcome too!

Article about the Native Seed Bank in Today's Reading Eagle

2009-03-30T19:33:00.006-04:00

The Article by Tina Ehrig was in the Reading Eagle today

My picture of Coreopsis tripteris was with the article.

update: Here it is since the online article doesn't have the pictures. I don't have the picture of Kathleen sowing seed or I would post that also (that is Tina's photo.)

Upcoming Restoration Projects by the Berks County Conservancy

2009-02-26T11:30:00.012-05:00

The restoration projects which the Berks County Conservancy will be using some of the native seed the Berks Native seedbank volunteers have helped collect, sort and clean.

Spring 2009

Riparian projects:

At Red Bridge, in the Gring's Mill Recreation area, an area approximately 20 x 300' in size,this is a disturbed area not fully covered by earlier restoration efforts. Planting time not yet determined.
At Stonecliffe Park along the Tulpehocken creek an approximately 20 x 300' area. Top soil has been newly spread in the area. Planting time not yet determined.
At Angelica Park an area needs help. It has been sprayed to control invasives. Size? Planting time early spring before normal plants growth begins.

Photos above of Boltonia Asteroides (Aster-like Boltonia) and Verbena hastata (Blue Vervain) are by Mike Slater

Hillside at Alvernia College:

A hill side area 60 x 200' in extent has been distrubed by mechanical activity and then regraded. There will be scattered trees planted with native meadow plants to be seeded in between. Planting probably in late February or early March 2009.

Saucony Creek Area Moist Meadow:

An area of 50' by 200' wwhich has been spraed to control invasives will be overseeded with native meadow grasses and wildflowers. Planting probably in late February or early March 2009.

Kutztown Area Well Buffers:

Several 300' diameter circular vegetation buffers around wells in a moist meadow. The total area to be restored is about 4 acres. Thie area will be planted with scattered trees and shrubs with native meadow grass and wild flower seed planted in between. The area has been farmed for corn up until the fall of 2008.

This area is also may be a good place to put some of the potted plants we are propagating in pots in this first planting year at the site. (Planting plants into an established meadow is difficult due to root competition with the pre-existing plants)

Fall 2009

Riparian areas which will be exposed due to Dam removal projects

Witman Dam near Oley, Planting will probably in November 2009 or later.
Bushong Dam on the Tulpehocken Creek at the confluence with the Schuylkill River. Planting will probably be in November 2009 or later.

Photos above of Boltonia Asteroides (Aster-like Boltonia) and Verbena hastata (Blue Vervain) are by Mike Slater
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Update:
The list of seed from the given to the Berks County Conservancy for planting in the above areas is on the 2009 seed list page.

The Native Plant Network

2009-02-22T18:33:00.006-05:00

I just learned about The Native Plant Network

including the Native Plant Journal
The Journal has some good articles. Iin my quick scan of the issue with the Trillium grandiflorum I found the articles on Trillium propagation were by two people I know, Bill Cullina and Stephanie Solt. The Articles are available electronically (for 2006 and earlier only) so I expect to finad a lot of good reading!

and the
Native plant propagation Database
The protocols are based on large scale harvesting and cleaning but I expect to find a lot of useable information here as well.

The seed list of what we planted at the Union Twp Park last Saturday is up

2009-02-20T18:15:00.013-05:00

The Lists of everything I had in the seed mixes for each plot is here in both PDF and MS Excel formats along with the key map of the planting area at the Union Twp Park.

See the previous post for more information about the planting day.

Asclepias tuberosa, Butterflyweed

Here are the aerial photo maps of the Union Twp Park with the planting areas marked

Planting day at he Union Twp. Park

2009-02-14T19:27:00.016-05:00

We planted the new meadow strip today and It was muddy again just like 2007. About 35 volunteers showed up and slogged through the mud to plant the seed of native plants we had previously cleaned and sorted.

The planting plan I made shows we planted a 900' strip along the edge of the soybean/corn field and a little bit on the edge of the larger 29 acre field.

The main planting area was divided into 18 rectangles 30' wide by 50' long on the west side of the field.

Sections 1-6 and 13-18 and the little bit in the west field, "W" on the plan, received seed of taller plants like Big blue-stem (Andropogon gerardii), Tall coreopsis (Coreopsis tripteris) and Ironweed (Vernonia noveboracensis and V. glauca).

Sections 7-12 were planted with seed of shorter PA native meadow/barrens plants like Little blue-stem (Schizachyrium scoparium), Prairie dropseed (Sporobolus heterolepis) and Stiff-leaved Aster (Doellingeria umbellata syn. Aster umbellatus).

I will put the complete list on line in the next day or so. If any of you who were there today would like to contribute some pictures to post here you can send them to me at: paplantings@gmail.com not at the voicenet address. Thanks to everyone who helped. We can all enjoy watchin things grow and bloom this summer!

Update:
The seed list of what we planted

and

Here are the aerial photo maps of the Union Twp Park with the planting areas marked

Planting seed at the union Twp Rec Area February 14, 2009 at 1pm

2009-01-25T11:48:00.006-05:00

The seed planting at the Union Twp Rec. Area is scheduled for February 14th at 1 pm.

Please tell everyone who is coming that we will need some more buckets than Jan and I can provide. If most of the people who come can bring a plastic bucket for mixing the sand and seed and then sowing from it we will be in good shape.

Directions
Directions and Map

Google Maps of Birdsboro area

Say tuned to this web site if there are weather related issued.

Seed Sowing Workshop January 24th, 2009

2009-01-23T22:59:00.004-05:00

The plant list is here

Map of Birdsboro area

Union Township meadow project enlargement 2009

2009-01-13T21:13:00.002-05:00

The Planting at the Union Twp Rec Area this February will be approximately 25' by 900' along the west edge of the field. The area is drier the the first area along the north edge. Here is the post about the first section of the field.

I plan on using the seed from the list for this planting.

The list is now online

2009-01-13T21:00:00.004-05:00

Hi everyone,

I have just put up the 2008-09 seed list. (The link is also to the right under "Links"
It lists all of the seed Jan and I have collected this year (plus the collecting days at Lancaster County Central Park with Tim Draude). Quite a bit of this seed is in very small quantities which Jan and I will be sowing in pots and growing on to multiply it for future distribution. The seed we have in larger quantities is for sowing in native plantings in the area this year!

There is a column flagging the species I think we should use for the backyard seedbank program starting with the workshop next week.

There are a PDF and MS Excel Spreadsheet fole of the 2008 list and also of a "complete" of plants recorded for Berks County, PA.

I still have some of the leftover seed from 2007 to inventory. There is quite a bit of some things like Indian Grass (Sorgastrum nutans) and some other things which should still have good germination.

Winter Seed Workshops Jan-Feb 2009

2008-12-16T19:32:00.001-05:00

To launch its seed bank project, the BNPSB, will run a series of three winter workshops, January 9, January 23, and February 7, to encourage area residents to become seed collectors, savers and sowers.

The first session, a Seed Cleaning & Sorting Workshop, will be held indoors at the Berks County Agricultural Center, January 9 at 10 a.m.. Mike and Jan Slater will teach participants how to clean seeds, evaluate viability, and sort the seeds by height and habitat. Seed collected this past fall from native plants will then be ready for sowing in containers or onto outdoor sites.

The second session, a Propagating Native Plants from Seed Workshop, January 24, 9 a.m., at the Ag Center, will be indoor hands-on instruction on how successfully to germinate seeds in pots to grow on seedlings of native plants. All participants will be given potted native seeds to take home.

This will be the beginning of the Berks Backyard Native Plant Seed Bank. We hope that the participants will grow the plants on and plant some of them in their garden’s and collect seed each autumn for donation back to the BNPSB for use in future native plant revegetation projects. The species we have this year are uncommon showy flowering native plants that people will want in their gardens and are great plants for wildlife.

Area residents will be given the opportunity to register their properties as Backyard Native Seed Banks. Registered growers will be given seeds and seedlings of desirable natives for their home gardens in return for a commitment to collect and save seed for the Seed Bank. Full instructions will be provided.

The third session, February 7, 9 a.m., will be Hands on Experience Sowing Native Seeds to re-establish a meadow, held at an outdoor site in Union Township where the Slaters, The Union Twp. Recreation Board and other local enthusiasts have already begun to establish native plant meadows under the auspices of the township.

For more information and to register for the free workshops, call …….

BERKS NATIVE PLANT SEED BANK Goals

2008-12-16T19:29:00.002-05:00

BERKS NATIVE PLANT SEED BANK

Douglas Tallamy’s book Bringing Nature Home has inspired gardeners across the country to explore gardening with native plants. When Tallamy spoke at a Berks County Hort Club program in October his message was enthusiastically received by local gardeners, many of whom are eager to incorporate more native plants into their landscapes.

Recently several Berks Countians met to discuss how to make native plant seeds and seedlings available for the increasing needs and opportunities in our area. The result was formation of the Berks Native Plant Seed Bank, whose goal is to make native plant seeds available for planting of public and private lands, to restore habitat, discourage invasive plant populations and provide sustainable biodiversity.

Mike and Jan Slater of Brecknock (?) township have collected seeds of as many as 100 native species. The Slaters have created an electronic database of all identified plants in Berks County, both native and non-native. This index is annotated to indicate which seeds the Slaters have available.

The BNPSB will create an electronic clearinghouse to list seed availability, along with photographs and profiles of each native plant from which seed has been collected. The site will also list county locations where seeds are needed and will provide tools to create an accurate profile of each site to facilitate plant selection.

2008-12-12T16:11:00.002-05:00

Organizational Meeting

Thursday Dec 12, 2008 8 am at Nolde Forest Env. Ed. Center

Larry Lloyd, Berks Co. Conservancy
Beth Finlay, Berks Co. Master Gardener Program
Chip Karasin, Organizer
Mike and Jan Slater, Muhlenberg Botanical Society (Seed-a-holics and meadow planters)
Linda Ingram, Nolde Forest EEC and Union Twp. Rec. Board

Unable to attend:
Karl Gardener, Mengel Natural History Society

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