Soybeans offer Fall Color

The Fall Season officially started this week but there is not much fall color yet. One exception is the soybeans in the field next to our house; they are starting to turn yellow.

A local farmer has planted this 20-acre field in soybeans for the last three years. We aren't in the business of growing row crops. Instead, we are using farming to prepare the soil to return to native prairie. By keeping the field in soybeans for three years we can reduce the number of exotic seeds that would sprout and take over the field.

Controlling exotic species is one of the most challenging ongoing problems we face on the 600-acres we live on; the Prairie Garden Trust. Exotic (or introduced) plants are progressively taking over most fields in the Midwest. Our hope is to reestablish a diverse community of plants that would have occurred here naturally before humans and machines arrived.

This Winter we will plant several thousand dollars worth of grass and wildflower seed. Then, over a few decades the field can return to what it once might of been. Managed burns will be important to encourage the native species.