Earthyman Responds to a Customers Question on Advice on Planting Butterfly Milkweed : Asclepias Tuberosa Seeds

Question:  Hi.  I recently received 6 packets from you of Butterfly milkweed.  Could you provide some advice on planting?  I have a small flower garden ( full sun,) as well as 15 acres of various prairie plants and grasses. Began as all  switchgrass but I am slowly planting more and more grasses and forbs. Thanks.  Stan

Response:  Stan, you may start the seeds indoors after you have moist stratified them.  Place the seeds in a zip lock back mixed with moist vermiculite.  Leave them in a refrigerator for 30 days.  Remove and plant in open flats or small pots with sterile soil medium at a depth of 1/8th to 1/4th inch.  They must receive considerable light and warmth to adequately develop.  Once they have started to form the white root, they can be transplanted to your garden or field.  Keep the competition down from weeds and other plants.  They prefer well drained to excessively drained soils in full sun.  They do well in rocky poor soils with maximum exposure to the sun and wind.  If you want to do a dormant seeding, you may spread the seed now or anytime the ground is exposed.  Make sure your seeds are not on frozen ground as they may wash away.  Wait until the ground thaws and spread your seed but only lightly cover with a sprinkling of soil or compost no deeper than 1/8 to 1/4 inch. Nature can then freeze and thaw offering the best stratification.  Once plants are mature, you must be very careful when you attempt to transplant as the roots are very massive and at least 90% of the roots should be dug with plant and immediately transplanted.  You should start seeing blooms the second year and thereafter the plants will grow much stronger and have many blooms in the following years.  If your plants, for some reason die or disappear the following year after planting, they are probably in a poorly adaptable site for this species.

Thanks,

Howard aka "Earthyman"

"Helping You Create Your Own Natural Beauty"

Howard Bright
800-291-2143
1878 Old Mission Drive
Harpers Ferry, IA 52146

To Purchase Butterfly Milkweed Visit us at Ion Exchange, Inc. or Native Wildflowers & Seeds

[IOWA-INSECTS] Monarch butterfly research story-Where Are They?

Here in SE MN I noticed the same lack of Monarchs in mid-summer.  We also had robust milkweeds with very few larvae.  I heard from (entomologically oriented) folks in NE MN that in June they saw far more Monarchs than usual, but with their relatively low population of milkweeds the Monarch seemed to overload the larval food plant.  Then in August the flight of Monarchs here in SE MN was the lowest I have every seen.

Joel Dunnette

On Tue, Nov 6, 2012 at 8:21 PM, Bruce And Georgeann wrote:
I have been following this topic and want to ask about another angle of the past summer's Monarch slump -at least it was in Nw Iowa.

The Monarch Butterflies, were a real concern here this year.  We had quite good numbers showing up in early spring - in fact the dates were record early arrivals for us.  And I witnessed egg laying in the pasture...even photographed eggs as they were so obvious.  But the thing that really puzzled and concerned me was we had no egg hatches and no caterpillars all summer!  I have never, in my life, "Not" seen a Caterpillar all spring, summer or fall!!!???!!!  Why after finding eggs, I could later not find larva?

Then the summer was "scant" as far as Monarchs were concerned.  Nearly none, just a handful all summer.  This should not have been the case here, we had the largest crop of Asclepias (milkweeds) that I've ever seen here...we had A. tuberosa(Butterfly Milkweed) in record numbers...they were stunning all over the county...even the area farmers were asking me what that "orange plant" is showing up everywhere!  We had way more A. syriaca (Common Milkweed) than I care to see here  - the neighborhood is coated with seed parachutes from our pasture...not a real "good neighbor" relations maker with the local farmers.  We also had a good share (but down slightly from past years) of A. verticillata (Whorled Milkweed) and a small compliment of A. incarnata (Swamp Milkweed) in the ditches out front.

I witnessed a lone Monarch laying eggs on some Common Milkweed outside the studio windows in late August and tried keeping an eye on them - they were gone after just 3 days!?  I don't know of "egg" eaters in the insect world but maybe something is going on?  I know of parasitic wasps in caterpillars - but saw NO CATERPILLARS all summer (as I said before).  I haven't the foggiest idea what is going on?

This fall we had virtually no Monarch roosts here - we usually have 150-500 individuals roost here each fall.  13 was our high number in a roost this fall..."6" was the other high day..."high" used very sarcastically...

Some folks following this have raised issue with the drought hurting the mid section of the continent's Monarch survival...I'm sure that has some bearing.  They also have raised issue with GMO crops.  But it does nothing to explain a local phenomenon like we've been experiencing here...eggs laid but no hatching, no larva...with an abundance of food source for larva and adult stages.  We do not spray insecticides here on the acreage, but I have no knowledge of GMO crops or spraying issues in the surrounding area, so I can't speak to that.

Am I imagining things or is there anyone else raising these kinds of observations or concerns? ...Bruce Morrison, SE O'Brien County

‘Prairie Therapy’ Soothes Psychiatrist, Autistic Son Article

When psychiatrist Elizabeth Reeve needs to unwind and recharge her mental batteries, she heads to the prairie.

Not the wild prairie, but the one she and her husband have painstakingly restored at their weekend home in southeastern Minnesota.

"It's therapeutic -- an opportunity to get outside and think in a different way," she said.

She loves walking its five gently rolling acres and seeing what's blooming and growing.

The prairie helps Reeve maintain the balance she needs to juggle a very full life. In addition to her practice, which focuses on autism and other developmental disabilities, she recently was named Minnesota's Psychiatrist of the Year by her peers and published a book, a survival guide for kids with autism spectrum disorders and their parents.

It's a subject Reeve knows not just clinically but personally, from raising an autistic son herself. Born during her residency, he's now 24 and lives at home.

"Having a disabled adult child changes your perspective -- it changes the whole plan," Reeve said.

In a way, that changed plan helped lead Reeve's family to the prairie. "We were looking for land to build on when we retired," she said. "My son doesn't drive. He has to live in an urban environment because he takes the bus. The long-term plan is he'll have the house (in Minneapolis) and we'll retire down here."

Reeve and her husband, Mark Conway, alpine-ski-racing coach for the Minneapolis school district, were driving in the rural area when they saw a "for sale" sign. They liked the 1995-built house with its post-and-beam construction, and the 20 wooded acres surrounding it. The previous owner, who built the house, had already started a prairie restoration on what used to be a cornfield.

Reeve, an avid gardener, and Conway decided to buy the land and continue the restoration. Their work includes "burns," torching the landscape to eliminate non-native plants. "The natives have deep roots; they'll come back, but the noxious weeds are superficial," Reeve said.

"You need a crew, so it doesn't get out of control," Reeve said. "The first year I was absolutely terrified. Afterwards it looked like a lava field."

It was hard to imagine that the scorched earth would ever support life again. But before long, native plants began to reappear, denser and more vigorous than ever.

Last year, the couple did a second burn and Reeve took part, donning a firefighter's suit, laying a "water line" around the perimeter, then using a flamethrower to ignite the landscape.

The two prairie burns have transformed their landscape dramatically, Reeve said. They now have 50 to 60 native species, including wildflowers, native grasses and medicinal plants.

"We've worked really hard to expand the diversity," Reeve said.

She also harvests seeds, drying them and scattering them to produce more native prairie plants.

Reeve is fascinated by the variety of native species now thriving on their land. She points out a compass plant, so-named because it orients its leaves to point north-south, and a purple hyssop. "If you smell the leaves, they smell like licorice," she said. When she finds a new one, she marks it with a little flag. "So in theory, I can find them again," she said.

When Reeve isn't tending the prairie, she's tending their large garden.

"We don't buy any vegetables," she said. "There's nothing better than out-of-the-garden fried red potatoes for breakfast."

Does she ever, like, relax on weekends?

"This is relaxing," she said with a smile.

Being outdoors in the natural world restores balance and well-being for their whole family, she said. Her adult son loves splitting wood. Her younger son, Luke, likes playing "Star Wars" on the prairie and helping reseed the native plants, sometimes both at the same time.

Kids, and in particular, kids with ADHD, benefit from being outside, doing physical things, Reeve said, rather than being inside playing with electronic devices all day. "Research shows that lack of (outdoor activity) decreases people's creativity," she said. "It's not rocket science. People who get out and take a walk feel better than people sitting inside all day."

Spending time in her prairie helped her write her book, she said, and she hopes to write a second. "I want to do a book for high-school students and young adults with autism -- helping them live with it," she said.

Even the drive back to workday reality, on rural roads vs. a crowded rush-hour freeway, is a relaxing transition, she said. "I'm absolutely fresher Monday after being here. It starts the whole week off completely differently."

Article By Kim Palmer
Minneapolis Star Tribune

Are You Ready To Start Planting Your Own Prairie?
Please Visit Our Website & Let's Get Started!  Native Wildflowers and Seeds

Monsanto Fails at Improving Agriculture Article

Help UCS Set the Record Straight by Sharing Our New Ad Campaign

Monsanto's advertisements tell an impressive tale of the agribusiness giant's achievements: Feeding a growing population. Protecting natural resources. Promoting biodiversity. 

It sounds wonderful, but unfortunately, there's a catch: These claims are often exaggerated, misleading or downright false. Monsanto's products—and the practices they promote—may sustain the company's profits, but the evidence shows that they stand in the way of truly sustainable solutions to our food and farming challenges.

In the ads below, we counter Monsanto's feel-good rhetoric with some facts gleaned from UCS analysis. Share them with friends, and spread the word:  when it comes to healthy farming, Monsanto fails!

(Click on the images to see full-size versions.)

#1: More Herbicide + Fewer Butterflies = Better Seeds?

Monsanto Says: "In the hands of farmers, better seeds can help meet the needs of our rapidly growing population, while protecting the earth's natural resources."

In Fact: Monsanto's Roundup Ready crops, genetically engineered to tolerate the company's Roundup herbicide,increased herbicide use by an estimated 383 million pounds between 1996 and 2008. And Monarch butterflies have laid 81 percent fewer eggs thanks to habitat loss since Roundup Ready was introduced.

#2: A Bumper Crop of Superweeds

Monsanto Says: "Our rapidly growing population is putting limited resources--such as land, water, and energy--under increased pressure."

In Fact: The challenge is real, but Monsanto's products aren't the answer. UCS analysis shows that GE crops have so far done little to improve yields in the U.S. Meanwhile—speaking of rapidly growing populations—overuse of Roundup Ready crops has spawned an epidemic of "superweeds," causing huge problems for U.S. farmers.

#3: All Wet on Drought Tolerance

Monsanto Says: "With the right tools, farmers can conserve more for future generations."

In Fact: If farmers want to conserve more water, Monsanto's DroughtGard corn isn't the right tool. A recent UCS study found that DroughtGard won't help farmers reduce water use—and its engineered drought tolerance will likely only be useful in moderate drought conditions. (Research has shown that organic farming methods could improve drought-year yields by up to 96%.)

Union Of Concerned Scientists Website

Fall Is A Great Time To Seed Your Lawn.

Fall is a great time to seed your lawn for next year. Whether you are over seeding an existing lawn or seeding a new lawn; four elements must be working together in order to establish newly planted turf grass seed. Just follow some of these tips.
Establishing a new seeding:
Loosen the soil to a depth of 4 to 6 inches with a roto tiller or tillage implement.
Spread the seed in at least two different directions at right angle to the first pass.
Lightly rake to seed to incorporate the seed to a ¼ to ½ inch depth. Care must be given to mix the soil and not to "drag" soil.
Roll the area to increase seed to soil contact.
Overseeding:
Mow the lawn as short as possible to the point of scalping.
Deep Core Aeration so that you achieve 15 to 20 holes per square foot.
Broadcast and/or slit seed mixture in two different directions
Apply Starter Fertilizer
Roll the area to increase seed to soil contact.
A great grass seed to use is No Mow/Low Grow

Howard Bright - Ion Exchange Inc.

Is Iron a Tonic For Climate - Saving Plankton

I ran across this news article as I was reading my weekly email from Plant Ark. Not so surprisingly we were just having a similar discussion at Ion Exchange. While it is a good thing to plant native plants and seeds one must be careful to plant with discretion. Sometimes in trying to do a good thing we inadvertently create another problem. For instance about 40 years ago our country gifted the then ruling Japanese Prince with two fish. At the time the Japanese leaders were concerned about getting enough protein in the diets of their people. The Japanese Prince turned the fish over to a research facility to see if this species of fish would meet the demand for a higher protein diet. Well to make a long story short some of these fish bred in captivity made their way into the rivers and streams. This gifted fish has since killed off most of one species of fish native to Japan and is endangering another species of native fish.
With all the problems that are going on with our planet we must be cautious in our haste to help that we do not create an even bigger problem to mother earth.
Having said that here is the news article to ponder over.
Iron Is a Tonic For Climate-Saving Plankton
MIAMI - From the deck of the research ship Weatherbird II, a California company hopes to prove a controversial theory that putting iron dust in the ocean can produce enough plankton to help save the Earth.
The mission of the company behind the ship, Planktos Corp. is to research whether "iron seeding," or "iron enrichment" -- dumping tons of pulverized iron ore into the ocean -- can catalyze the growth of microscopic algae that will then suck carbon out of the atmosphere.
If the research goes well, Planktos aims to make money by fertilizing the ocean, measuring the carbon its plankton forests sequester and selling carbon credits for cash on emerging world carbon markets.
Weatherbird left Florida this month on a mission that has caused consternation among scientists and environmentalists, many of whom do not think the theory has been sufficiently tested to try out on such a large scale.
Oceanographers, who unlike scientific colleagues in fields like pharmaceuticals have not been heavily exposed to business motivations, also appear uneasy about Planktos' aim of making money while fighting climate change.
But the company says it is interested in the potential greater good of iron-enrichment -- taking tons of carbon dioxide, a critical greenhouse gas blamed for global warming, out of the Earth's atmosphere, in the same way a rainforest on land works for the health of the planet.
"We might actually be able to save the planet from the ravages of fossil fuels," Planktos chief executive Russ George told Reuters.
DUST AS A VITAMIN
The theory of iron enrichment was proposed 25 years ago. Iron acts as a vitamin, oceanographers say, enabling plants to take up nutrients.
The theory was greeted as a joke. But it has gained traction since, and adherents.
The emergence of carbon markets, especially in Europe, in which polluters can offset emissions by buying carbon credits from countries or companies that plant forests, has given the proposal commercial allure.
In addition to Planktos, Silicon Valley-based company Climos intends to pursue iron enrichment.
Planktos' plans to seed a patch of ocean, 30 to 60 miles (50 to 100 km) in diameter, with 50 to 100 metric tonnes of raw iron ore in an area 200 miles (320 km) west of the Galapagos Islands, one of the world's most unique ecosystems.
Weatherbird's mission, delayed for months by the late arrival of high-tech equipment, is steeped in secrecy. In a recent phone interview, George said he could not reveal details because of what he said were threats from "radical environmental groups" to halt the mission.
The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, which patrols the Galapagos Islands to protect them from ecological threats, has pledged to stop Planktos.
George said the area near Ecuador's volcanic islands, which lie 625 miles (1,000 km) west of the coast, is a perfect place for a test because iron from the islands feed a vast, natural plankton bloom that can serve as a biological control for the experiment.
Environmentalists fear that the test could go awry and threaten the islands, which served as the inspiration for British naturalist Charles Darwin's theory of evolution.
But George said the natural Galapagos bloom drifts west, and so would the one that Planktos hopes to generate.
The iron ore to be used in the test is the same as dust blown naturally by the wind into the ocean, George added.
"Hundreds of millions of tons of dust are landing in the ocean every year. How can anyone suggest that our 50 tonnes of rock dust will provoke some cataclysmic result?"
NOT ENOUGH PROOF?
Oceanographers critical of Planktos say scientists have simply not yet done the work needed to prove that phytoplankton blooms can sequester carbon safely and for the long term.
They also say that while surface water moves westward near the Galapagos, deeper currents go east, toward rich fishing grounds off South America.
"Many scientists think we should try to establish the facts and the downstream consequences of iron enrichment and there are a few non-scientists who think if it can make money we should do it now," said Kenneth Coale, a researcher at Moss Landing Marine Laboratories in California who has conducted leading work on the subject.
Few of the researchers who consider themselves experts in iron-enrichment appear to know who the scientists are that Planktos intends to take on its experiment.
"It seems more an effort to impress shareholders," Coale said.
There are also questions about whether decaying blooms might produce other, more powerful greenhouse gases.
INTERNATIONAL LAWS?
The legal situation on the high seas is unclear.
Scientists advising signatory nations of the 1972 London Convention on Dumping recently issued a statement of concern, and the members of the convention are expected to try to draw up regulations for iron enrichment.
The US Environmental Protection Agency shares the concerns but was told by Planktos that it would not use a US flagged vessel, an EPA spokeswoman said.
"At this stage to have companies out there already wanting to press ahead with commercialization is deeply unhelpful," said David Santillo, a scientist at the Greenpeace Research Laboratories in Britain. "I think that from the last 15 years of science we know enough to say, 'don't do it.'"
Despite the controversy, even the skeptics agree that something must be done to counter global warming, and that cutting pollution levels is no longer enough.
"The overarching thing is that there is definitely a panic about climate. If someone could come up with a quick band aid fix to this problem they would be a hero to humanity," said Greenpeace research director Kert Davies. (Editing by Eddie Evans)
Story by Jim Loney and Michael Christie
Story Date: 20/11/2007
Tell us what you think. Click on the comment link below this article and add your two cents. Till next time. Kay at Ion Exchange