Update on Recent Projects and Happy New Year!
Happy New Year from Klamath-Siskiyou Native Seeds!
Although we have been collecting and using native seeds for various work and projects in our lives for more than 15 years, 2024 officially marks the 9-years anniversary of Klamath-Siskiyou Native Seeds (KSNS), and it has been our biggest year so far! We have sold more native seeds and seed packets than ever. Thanks to you and your enthusiasm and passion for native plants, native pollinators, and native habitat, we continue to grow and provide more seeds and more services for increasing native plants. Our work with KSNS also allows us to work for native plant conservation and protection in our spare time as volunteers, or in other work we do with other organizations. We love what we do and we look forward to continuing this work in 2024! Here’s a recap of some of our very busy fall projects.
In November KSNS returned to Troon Vineyard to help sow native seeds collected in the Troon Vineyard Native Plant & Pollinator Botanical Garden, for use in other areas of the vineyard. We also dug up and transplanted more plants out of the gardens for use in additional areas of the vineyard as well, as part of an effort to increase native plant habitat in more areas on the property. While there we used propane torches to burn the small native meadow that is part of the botanical garden. Burning the area helped control non-native seedlings that were starting to germinate in early fall. It also helped remove thatch from last year’s growth, mimicking fire in nature, and creating more space where we sowed additional native seeds for increased diversity in the meadow. Three years from establishment, the meadow is starting to shift from annuals to more perennials, as the perennials grow and start to hold more space in the meadow area.
Even small areas in a backyard can have a big impact for native plant habitat. We recently helped with a small native seeding project in a backyard garden where a small “meadow” strip will be incorporated into existing native and non-native drought tolerant landscaping. The bare soil in the photos was seeded with 30 species of native wildflowers after planting a few potted Roemer’s fescue native grasses among the rocks. The rocks are in place to discourage the friendly deer that live in the area from laying down on the small native seedlings when they start to emerge in the spring. This is a wildlife friendly garden where the deer like to rest.
This native seeding project that took place in November utilized seeds from 38 species of native wildflowers and grasses. The property owner helped sow the seeds, along with her little dog that supervised the project. After the seed sowing was completed a temporary fence was erected to keep the many deer and turkeys in the area from trampling and scratching the seeds and emerging seedlings. The temporary fence will be removed after plant establishment. A very light layer of straw was used to cover this seeded area because of the erosive nature of decomposed granite soil on a slight slope. The straw will help keep the seeds in place during heavy rainstorms, but it will still let enough light through for seeds that require light to germinate.
Who needs a fence to catch errant basketballs on a sport court when you can grow a native hedge for that purpose? As part of a 6-year long native seeding and planting project at Klamath River Club on the Klamath River in northern California, where native plantings and native seeded meadows have been incorporated into many different areas of the property, the recently constructed sport court is no exception. A native hedge with many different species of native shrubs and perennial wildflowers, many grown using KSNS native seeds, has been planted to define the edges of the sport court and provide important native plant and pollinator habitat in an area that had recent ground disturbance. This will also help combat the many non-native species that are trying to move into the disturbed ground. A basketball game while taking in the wonderful scents and colors of the blooming native shrubs will be a lot of fun. This proves that anywhere can be native plant habitat!
Another interesting project we helped with this fall was a project that focused on seeding and planting native plants on berms. The berms were constructed a year prior and were tarped with black plastic to control weeds. The concept is to create layered habitat, with native trees and shrubs in clumps, interspersed with native wildflowers and grasses. Another crew helped with the tree and shrub planting from potted nursery plants, and when they were done, KSNS helped with sowing 44 different species of native seeds, including annual and perennial wildflowers, and a few native bunchgrasses, into the open areas in between the tree and shrub clumps. This layered habitat will allow for a wide variety of pollinators, birds, and other wildlife to utilize the diverse structure and diverse species included in the project area. Tarps will be placed in between the berms this year for continued weed control and possible future seeding to expand the footprint of the native seeding and planting project in future years. The property owner helped sow the wide variety of native seeds, and when done a very light layer of straw was used to hold the seed in place on the berms during heavy winter rain.
New Products Now in Stock!
Horkelia daucifolia – Carrotleaf horkelia
Balsamorhiza sericea – Silky balsamroot
Sanicula bipinnatifida – Purple sanicle
