oh look springy time is sneezy time...

oh look springy time is sneezy time…

Sunday last was marketeering day in the hills and druid avenue was ablast with pollen! the oak trees are getting all springy and sending flying chunks of pollen all over the streets and by days end all my stock was covered as well as ma hair and every receptacle in sight.

the crowd was pretty good and due to another event in town things hotted up fairly quickly, then the 'lunchtime lul' and time to grab a bite to eat a coffee and watch the passers by…

Had loads of visitors and a lovely meet up with a fellow instagrammer ;)
Lovely to have neighbour Rajan back out of hibernation and Timbo the glass guy back from OS and brilliant assistance setting up and packing down again by my new neighbours from the riverland, they have all manor of dried fruits and the last of the pumpkins this wkd!

My terracotta fellas made the outing and some went to new homes as well as lil birdie and raku action for the day…
It's now winding up to making for chrissy sales and refilling shops around town and very exciting a trip interstate very very soon…
Monday was post market wipe out day, so exhausting then winding up into another weeks work. Happy days all, trying to stay balanced with running and brain winding down times plus studio time to recharge…
I saw a couple of seconds of Michael Kilne in the studio today, that is before the interwebs got stuck, hopefully something of the future checking into some studio time with other clay heads :)

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Meet our new faces

We have a new group of graduate and undergraduate researchers working on a range of topics in coastal plant ecology. Their research will continue to advance our understanding of the many complex and interacting factors across barrier island landscapes, which provide the first line of defense against storms for millions of people living in coastal areas.

April Harris joined our lab as a master's student.  Her research interests include investigating the competitive/facilitative interactions between the three dune building grass species:,Ammophila breviligulata, Uniola paniculata, and Spartina patens, in the presence and absence of sand accretion.  These interactions are particularly interesting because they ultimately lead to differences in dune morphology and barrier island stability.

 

 

Joey Thompson joined our lab as a master's student.  His research interests include plant diversity, how it is affected by human caused disturbances, and the most efficient ways to implement restoration and conservation.  He is interested in identifying native plants and understanding relationships with other organisms.  Knowing interactions between species in an ecosystem  helps him to better understand how that ecosystem functions.  Joey has a strong interest in naturalism which is expressed partly through photographing nature and identifying species and phenomena.  He uses photography and knowledge of the natural world to inspire others who are less interested in the scientific community.  Joey's main interest is plants, although he has a general passion for science and philosophy of all types.  Botany, ornithology, entomology, mycology, physics, and metaphysics are some topics that he is particularly interested in.  Music is another favorite ways to express himself outside of science.  Joey plays a doumbek and listen to blues, soul, folk, and classic rock. Other hobbies include mountain biking, longboarding, and reading.

 

 



 



Joseph Brown joined our lab as a master's student.  His research interests include looking at how sand accretion and competition of two dune building species, Ammophila breviligulata and Uniola paniculata affects functional traits and growth of these species. His research will contribute our understanding of how grass distribution and island morphology could change on barrier island depending on the northern migration of Uniola paniculata due to climate change.



 

 

 

Ashley Moulton joined our lab as a master's student.  Her research interests include understanding how feedbacks between abiotic and biotic factors influence the distribution of vegetation in coastal landscapes. She is also interested in utilizing spatial analysis to better understand variance within these dynamic systems. Her research aims to further develop best management practices which aid professionals who work to restore coastal systems to improve their resiliency and stability. 

 

Audrey Kirschner joined our lab as an undergraduate student.  Her research interests include understanding the physiological responses of barrier island graminoids (Spartina patens and Fimbristylis spadicea) to salinity, flooding, and drought. These physiological responses affect their distribution across the landscape with changing climate (i.e. variable precipitation, sea-level rise).  In addition to studying at VCU, Audrey spent a semester abroad in Western Australia where  she took courses learning about Australian flora and fauna.



 

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The Rusted Garden 2015 Tomato Seed Sale is Active: 40 Varieties I Hand Collected

The Rusted Garden 2015 Tomato Seed Sale is Active: 40 Varieties I Hand Collected

All 40 Tomato Varieties Test Germinated: Sale is On!

Well it was a great summer. I grew over 40 varieties of tomatoes and collected seeds from about 40 plants for resale. All the seeds test germinated well. You can purchase them from my blog and here is the quick link to The Rusted Garden Tomato Seed Sale.  I have decent quantities but I think they will go pretty quickly. You can view the seeds at the link and order there. I have descriptions, pictures and videos for a lot of the seeds. I will add more over time.

I also order some bulk tomato and pepper seeds from a company I use. These will be seeds I grow next year in the a garden. I am also offering them in a package of 10. I will do a few discount packages or bulk deals as time goes on.

Thanks for being kind and watching my videos. I am already looking forward to next year. I hope everyone had a great year in the garden!

Gary

The Rusted Garden Tomato Seeds Ready for Sale

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Growing, Harvesting and Drying Hot Cayenne Peppers: Red Pepper Flakes for Pasta!

Growing, Harvesting and Drying Hot Cayenne Peppers: Red Pepper Flakes for Pasta!

A pepper that is very easy to grow is the hot 'Cayenne' pepper. There is a sweet version with no heat. I grow the hot cayenne specifically for making red pepper flakes for my pastas. I live in Maryland Zone 7 and transplant my plants late May into my earth beds and container gardens. I typically harvest the peppers in late August or early September when they are a brilliant red and start drying a bit on the plant. I believe harvesting them this way improves their flavor!

The Finished Product - Crushed Red Pepper Flakes

Peppers need warm days and nights to really start growing. If you plant them too early, frost will kill them and if you put them in past the frost date but when it is still cool... they will just sit. They prefer 60+ degree nights and 80 degrees days to really start growing. Warmer night bring faster growth. Late May is a good time to get them in ground in my area. I recommend using transplants you either start yourself indoors about 8 weeks before they would go into the ground or you can by transplants locally.

Cayenne Peppers Oven Dried and Ready to be Crushed 

If you don't have room to grow them in the ground you can grow them in containers. I recommend a 5 gallon container but they can also be grown in 2 1/2 gallon containers like in the video. The key to healthy container peppers is never letting the soil fully dry out and liquid feedings about every two weeks with a balance fertilizer or one with a lower nitrogen number. Too much nitrogen gets you a lot of leaf growth.

Over time I found letting them dry a bit on the plant adds flavor. They will go from being a firm plump red pepper that is hard to bend to a slightly wrinkled red pepper that is pliable. Don't let them over dry on the plant but just wrinkle a bit. This is typically around  90 days after transplanting. You may get several harvests too depending on the area in which you grow. Here is a video that shows you my recent September harvest and how the peppers look before picking. I also quickly go over the drying process. Drying time will vary.

One of the great things about gardening is you continually learn. Here is my first video on picking and drying hot cayenne peppers from 2 or 3 years ago. It is essentially the same but I did change a few things. I now let them dry a bit on the plant. And I don't take the tops off when they go in the oven. I think my new method keeps a bit more flavor within the peppers. However, nothing is exact and this video shows you how to dry fully plump cayenne peppers which really means instead of 5 hours drying time it will take you nearly 7 hours. And that makes sense as there is less moisture in wrinkled pliable cayenne peppers you take off the plants... but more flavor!

And finally... store them in an air tight container. You don't want the humidity of the days to seep back into your dried peppers. Keep the crisp. When you use them they will absorb the flavors of the pasta sauces you use. Good luck and enjoy!

Two Ways to Store Your Dried Cayenne Peppers

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10 Varieties of Hot Peppers from Mild to Blistering with Mixed Flavors and Uses: Bulk Package Deal

 10 Varieties of Hot Peppers from Mild to Blistering

with Mixed Flavors and Uses: Bulk Package Deal

I selected these bulk seeds based on loving hot peppers myself. They range from very mild to quite hot. They are also functional too in that they vary in flavor and use. Some are great for grilling, sauces, pickling, salsa and just burning. These are seeds I bulk order.

10 Varieties of Seeds (30+ per pack)  for $14.00 (shipping inlcuded)

Ancho/Poblano
Mildly hot stuffing pepper. Heart shaped peppers are 4x3”. They start out green and turn deep red when ripe. 80 days. 76-80 days. The are picked as Ancho but when dried are called Poblano.

Cayenne Long Slim

Dark green, long fruit maturing to red. Slim 6” x 3/4” pointed and wrinkled. Strong, spreading plant, 20-24” tall. Great for processing & drying. 70-75 days. Great for hot pepper flakes.

Habanero Orange
HOT!  Late maturing pepper has fruits with thin walls and lantern shape averaging 2” x 1”. Matures to orange color that looks too hot to even touch. 100 days. 150,000+ Scoville Units.

Hungarian Yellow Wax
Hot! Peppers are light yellow to red, medium-thick wall fruit 5 1/2” x 1 1/2” wide. Strong upright plant growth. 65-70 days. A very hot banana pepper.

Jalapeno (Early)
Thick walled, dark-green fruit maturing to red. Averages 3” x 1 1/2” in size. Tapered to a blunt tip. 4,000-5,000 Scovilles. 65 days.

Large Red Cherry
Prolific and very hot. Bears heavy crops of 1” x 1 1/2” medium-green to red nearly round fruit. Pungency rating: 1,000-2,000. 70 days.

Mulato Isleno
A mildly hot poblano type pepper. This heart shaped pepper matures from green to dark chocolate brown. 1,000 on the Scoville scale. Excellent for salsa, roasting and stuffing. 3” wide, 6” long. 80 days.

Pepperoncini (Greek Golden)
Yellowish-green, Greek pepperoncini similar to those found at many salad bars, pizza parlors and sub sandwich restaurants. Just the right amount of heat. Prolific, early season fruits eventually turn red but should be harvested immature. 62 days

Scotch Bonnet orange
Hot! This variety is for serious Chile heads, the heat registers over 100,000 Scoville units. Peppers are green before ripening. They are 2” long by 2” wide. Plants are very productive. Scotch Bonnets are the most popular of the Caribbean peppers. 100 days.

Tabasco
This is the pepper used to make Tabasco sauce. It was introduced to the country in the 1800’s from México and is still going strong. The peppers are 1 1/2-3” long and are held upright on the plants. They ripen from green to yellow to orange to red. 30,000-50,000 Scovilles. 90 days.

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A Gardener’s Perspective: Ray Rice and Adrian Peterson … Didn’t Know Better? Are You Serious?

A Gardener’s Perspective: 

 Ray Rice and Adrian Peterson … Didn’t Know Better? Are You Serious?

Every once in a while I air an opinion on my garden blog not related to gardening, when something makes little sense to me. Ray Rice struck his girlfriend. It was quite violent. Adrian Peterson actually whipped his children with a switch. It was a violent act, not child discipline. I am a clinical therapist who has been in the field for 20+ years. Violent acts are an adult striking an adult and an adult striking a child. This is not about anger. We all get angry but we all don’t beat children or hit women. It is a choice in our behavior. So... people are actually saying they did not know better. Really?

We have really done little to address child abuse and domestic violence in America. I only hope Rice and Peterson get their share of the consequences but also hope the NFL get theirs. Plain and simple… benign neglect is still neglect.The NFL is responsible for neglecting a deep problem. Listening to the NFL say they didn't know it was happening is like seeing a battered woman or bruised child and saying they just fall a lot.

The main reason I am putting my thoughts down on my blog is this… Ray Rice and Adrian Peterson are adults that have practiced a life time to become athletes and football players at the highest level. They are educated and have shown the capacity to learn and develop their skills. To say their excuses maybe that they grew up with violence, their mother or father beat them, they never learned to express anger the right way and finally they were never taught how to not be violent to another adult or child is ridiculous. These excuses create permission and perpetuate this type of violence. Come on… Are we saying they didn't know better? Are we saying they haven't learned right from wrong? Are we saying the NFL didn't know these things were issues among their players?

Here is the simple litmus test to not knowing something is wrong. You don’t try and hide it. The players tried to hide it. The NFL tried to hide it. They all know that this kind of behavior is wrong. If they thought it was right and okay, Rice would have said he hit her because he felt she was out of line in his opinion. Peterson would have said he whips his kids all the time because he finds it to be an effective way to best discipline them. They tried to hide it. Both players only really admitted it, after it was discovered. As did the NFL, or to be honest, when that behavior became more harmful to the NFL by not addressing it. How many victims does it take before a privilege of playing a sport for entertainment is taking away from those that can't follow civil rules? No person or organization should benefit from the rewards of civil society if they themselves can not be civil.

If Ray Rice and Adrian Peterson can spend hours upon hours upon hours learning how to improve their skills to be an athlete… they could have taken a parenting class to learn how to raise a child appropriately or not to abuse a child or a behavior management class to learn how interact with someone you love and not strike them when you get mad. They could have done it on their own, at anytime. They chose violence. And if not a class, they could have inferred over time as they grew up to become adults, practicing day after day with adults, that violence is wrong. I would argue they ran into hundreds of potential role models and could have inferred violence was wrong, The NFL should also recognize that hitting children and adults is wrong. Recognize it in a way that creates strong policy, not a game of hide and seek.

Rice and Peterson didn't walk onto a professional football field with baseball cleats on their feet and hockey gear for protection because that is all they used as a kid growing up. You know when you are a kid, you use what’s available to play a pick-up game. The end zone is the old oak tree and the pine tree. Out of bounce is beyond that bush. This method of playing wasn't imprinted on them as the only way to play football. They both learned how to play the game the right way, with the right equipment, with the right training while being coached. You can also learn that way when it comes to raising kids and loving someone.

Saying they don’t know better or didn’t know better around hitting an adult or child because that is what they learned as a child is well… like saying they didn’t have the capacity to become professional athletes because as child they didn’t have the right equipment. Silly and sad, that people are really trying to make excuses for their behavior. Why are we making excuses for them and the NFL? Don't you teach a child hitting is wrong? Don't schools teach hitting is wrong? Don't movies teach abuse is wrong? Doesn't the media put out enough information that striking a child is wrong? Since when does not knowing or "that's the way my parents did it" become an acceptable excuse?

As adults we have the capacity to learn. That is why you found my blog and YouTube channel. And as an adult we are responsible for violence directed toward others. Ray Rice and Adrian Peterson are responsible for their actions. They have the capacity to learn, change and deal with the consequences of their actions. That is their individual burden to deal with and reconcile. The NFL is equally responsible for their failure to address this type of violence from their paid employees. Making an example of the NFL, not Ray Rice or Adrian Peterson is the best way to change attitudes and save millions of men, women and children from domestic violence and child abuse. A better NFL policy may have prevented the recent events. Early action is the best way to change behavior. Playing dumb is not.

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more studio moments...

A job cancellation this morning meant a diary reshuffle and how could I turn today into something more productive. I've been thinking about summer preparations with daylight savings time heading our way fast it's a reminder that the hot weather will be here soon and cool throwing days will be a thing of the past. So onward into some new summer works, I'm retaining the forms of the very popular lil birdie wares and will be exploring new prints and some new season colours.

I got started with some beakers today as making small closed forms is in my muscle memory at the mo and may as well take advantage of that. Here's a snapshot of an hour or so condensed into 7 minutes.

Follow the #3hoursinstudio series on instagram and the dreaded facebook ang walford ceramics or twitter

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Beech Blight

American Beech (Fagus grandifolia) is a common and distinctive tree found across much of eastern North America. It is most often found on moist, acidic sites where it grows slowly, but lives long as a component of late successional, minimally disturbed forests.  

The smooth, silver bark gives American beech an almost elegant appearance compared to rough barked species it is often associated with.  However, this bark is quite thin and makes the tree susceptible to a variety of "damaging agents" (1).


Careful observation during the late summer & early fall may reveal signs of one of the more unusual of these "damaging agents".  There are at least 4 different but closely related signs to look for.  The first of these symptoms is defoliation or apparent die-off of limbs, usually evident on the lower branches, prior to normal leaves turning color or shedding.

Extensive defoliation of lower limbs; no living leaves present on the lower third of the trunk

In extreme cases, like the tree shown above, all lower limbs may be barren of live leaves. More commonly, only a single limb or two may be affected. Sometimes the culprit can be found in the process of causing defoliation on twigs that appear to be covered in a dense white, cottony fuzz. The fuzz is actually hundreds or thousands of colonial aphids. When approached closely, they wave and gyrate possibly as a defensive mechanism.  

The aphids (Grylloprociphilus imbricator) feed by sucking sap from the living beech tissue (possibly aided by the thin bark). Each colony includes individuals of different developmental stages or "instars". For example, on the image above, both winged and non-winged individuals can be observed as well as some individuals with varying degrees of plumage emanating from the rear abdomen (the later generations).  

Splotch of black tar-like material indicating feeding of aphids 

One of the many insect visitors feeding on aphid residues

As they feed, the aphids deposit "honeydew" or excrement on surfaces below. This honeydew begins to be colonized by sooty molds that give the appearance of black liquid tar. These patches are easy to spot and often persist for at least 2 seasons. 




The honeydew provides an attractant to numerous insects (see image left). For unknown reasons, possibly the quantity of honeydew, some substrates develop dense masses of sooty molds not just thin black films. 

Sooty Mold (probably Scoriosa spongiosa) in early development on Fagus leaf

Sooty Mold in later development on Fagus leaf

Sooty Mold mass on American Beech twigs

Sooty Mold mass advanced growth on Beech twigs

The sooty molds apparently don't penetrate leaves but dense patches seem to be able to limit or completely block photosynthesis.  Not surprisingly, tree seedlings underneath aphid colonies suffer greater mortality than unaffected seedlings (2).  I have observed several herbaceous and shrub species being negatively affected in this way, including Hepatica, Christmas Fern, and Mountain Laurel. 

This process could account for the relative lack of other species of plants around some American Beech stems (see image at top of page). 

References:
(1)  http://www.na.fs.fed.us/pubs/silvics_manual/volume_2/fagus/grandifolia.htm
(2) Cook-Patton. S.C., L. Maynard, N.P. Lemoine, J. Shue, and J.D. Parker.  2014. Cascading effects of a highly specialized beech-aphid-fungus interaction on forest regeneration. PeerJ.

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Tomato Seed Sale for 2014-2105 Has Started

I just activated the sales for tomato seeds. I will be updating the page over the next 3 weeks. I will be adding in 40 varieties of tomatoes with pictures and videos so you can see what they look like. Not all seeds get this treatment as I couldn't shoot video for them all. All 40 varieties were grown this year in The Rusted Garden. I hand collect them all!

As of 9/10/14 I only have a 10 pack bulk seed package up for sale. But as I said I will be adding all my seeds and more package deals over the next 3 weeks. Please check back regularly and spread the word. Thank you for watching my videos and being so kind!

The Rusted Garden Tomato Seed Sale

2014-2015

Bulk Purchased Tomato Seeds

and

40 Varieties of Hand Collected Tomato Seeds

from The Rusted Garden Beds

Click Link to View and Order: Tomato Seed Sale

I will be adding to it over the next 2 weeks

All 40 Single Pack Varietes are Now Active

*If you made a donation for tomato seeds in the last 6 weeks... the seeds will be going out this week. I have finished packaging them. Thank You!

Package One (Bulk Seeds):

Source: NE Seeds - All Non-GMO

Limited Quantity
Heirloom Tomato Seed Bulk Purchased Seed Package

10 different tomato varieties for $14 Shipped
(Medium to Large Sized Tomatoes)

These seeds come from seeds I purchased in bulk. I selected bulk tomato seeds that will give you a great variety of medium to large sized tomatoes in all shapes and colors. Most of them are heirloom varieties. They not only vary in size, shape, color and taste... but also in when the fruits mature and how large the plants get. This a great way to have a variety of tomatoes in your garden.

You will get 35-50 seeds per pack. Store them in a cool dry place and they will last for years.

Here are the 10 varieties of bulk purchased tomato seeds (10 packs)

for $14.00 (shipping is included in the $14.00 price):

Beefsteak
Indeterminate (12 oz.) Extra large, meaty and ribbed deep-scarlet fruit. 90 days.

Black Krim
Indeterminate (12 oz.) Brownish-purple to maroon colored fruit with green shoulders. An heirloom for the Isle of Krim. Sweet, mild and rich in flavor. 80 days

Bradley
Semi-Determinate (10 oz.) Semi-determinate short stake type. Features pink fruit with green shoulders. Great for southern growers. 80 days.

Brandywine Red
Indeterminate (12 oz.) Heirloom dating back to the 1870’s. Named after Brandywine Creek in Chester County, PA. Red fruits. 80-100 days.

Cherokee Purple
Indeterminate (6-12 oz.) Slicer type heirloom. Dusky pink-purple with darker shoulders. Mild flavor. 80 days.

Costoluto Genovese
Indeterminate (7 oz.) Once you’ve tried Costoluto you’ll never try anything else! This Italian heirloom is truly all-purpose. It makes intensely flavored slices with a scalloped shape. People also swear by it as the best flavored roasted, sauced or juiced variety. Good for home gardeners, market growers and chefs. 80 days.

German Johnson
Indeterminate (12-24 oz.) Old time favorite heirloom. Extra-large, rough fruit, pink with yellow shoulders. Mild, low acid and very meaty. 80 days.

Mountain Gold
Determinate. (8-12 oz.) Yellow-fruited, superior in disease resistance. Released in 1991, developed by Dr. Randy Gardner at the North Carolina State Mountain Horticultural Crops Research Station. This is not a hybrid. 80 days.

Paul Robeson
Indeterminate (7-10 oz. fruit) Another outstanding heirloom black tomato with unbelievably rich flavor. This is an old Russian variety that was renamed in honor of a great civil rights activist. It will be your best producer early in the season and during cool summers. 80 days.

Pink Oxheart
Indeterminate (1 lb.) Firm, meaty, pink fruits with thick walls, very mild flavor. Large, heart-shaped fruits on indeterminate vines. 90 days.

Click Link to View and Order: Tomato Seed Sale

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studio day byo cheer...

Some of this… before a wipe out day

One very productive monday in the studio with a test run of some gritty red stoneware. Some new tiles on the way with thoughts percolating again. Then the crash yesterday a big wipe out migraine day, haven't had one for ages and what a booger but out the other side today and covered up everything ready for trimming and handles. Anyhoo here's the vid… cheers

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How to Make Neem Oil Sprays and Fix Oil Separation: 100% Cold Pressed Neem Oil in the Garden

How to Make Neem Oil Sprays and Fix Oil Separation

Neem Oil can be used to manage chewing insects in your garden. However, you must make sure you purchase 100% Cold Pressed Neem Oil that has all its components. This pure Neem Oil has a compound called Azadirachtin. It is what kills chewing insects. A lot of the Neem Oil you see in stores is processed with all the major components removed. Yes it is Neem Oil but no it is not 100% Cold Pressed with all its components including Azadirachtin.

You don't need a lot to make basic sprays. I show you in my video how to make a spray for dealing with chewing insects like the Green Cabbage Looper or most chewing worms and how to add baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) or potassium bicarbonate to the spray to also help fight powdery mildew.

Neem Oil can separate like in the above picture. If you let it sit in warm water for about 15 minutes it  will warm and blend back together. You can see how I do this in the video.

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Pine Barrens & Grasslands in New England; Part II

In a previous post I briefly discussed two examples of fire-maintained vegetation in southern New England (http://ncplantcon.blogspot.com/2014/08/pine-barrens-grasslands-in-new-england.html). Ecologically similar sites, often referred to as "pine barrens" or "pitch pine barrens" are scattered around the region.  I visited examples of this unique vegetation in Maine, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts in late summer (2014).

Pitch Pine barren near Waterboro, Maine
understory of lowbush blueberry, sweetfern, and bear oak

Some examples were enchanting forests; gnarly & twisted pines with charred boles, multiple age classes, and patchy ground cover openings. All sites occurred on "sandplains" or glacial outwash plains. These deep sandy soils supported two consistent species across all sites visited; Pitch pine (Pinus rigida) & Bear Oak (Quercus ilicifolia). Bear Oak was often heavily dominant as a tall shrub or dense midstory layer.

Pinus rigida bole displaying epicormic shoots

Bear Oak (Quercus ilicifolia)

Many areas I visited were thickly stocked with dense Pitch Pine, while others were open woodlands. Fire history could partially explain those density differences, with more frequently burned sites supporting the woodlands.

Much of the region around the Waterboro Barrens, was burned over in Maine's largest series of forest fires in 1947. Since that time (and prior to restoration work), a 93% decline in open canopy pitch pine has been documented (2).


In addition to the loss of open woodlands, Patterson (1) found that stands unburned since 1947 had developed highly volatile, well aerated fuels conducive to high intensity, fast moving fires.

Waterboro Barrens thinning;
dense forest (left) unthinned, open woodland (right) mechanically thinned. 

Not surprisingly, a proactive management strategy of mechanically thinning trees and brush around exterior boundaries of the site has been implemented. This strategy serves a dual purpose of minimizing fire behavior while "restoring" some of the open canopy woodlands that have been lost. This management strategy was also being implemented at a New Hampshire site I visited. Hand crews were actively cutting, clearing, and piling brush in much the same way we have done on fire reintroduction projects in North Carolina (one of which involved pitch pine). Examples shown here (below) were presumably thinned to achieve this open structure.

Waterboro, Maine

Concord, New Hampshire

Pitch Pine Woodlands:

(contrast both to image at top of page)

While appearing structurally similar, understory composition varied considerably; Concord (right) was much richer floristically and perhaps has a longer and/or more recent history of prescribed fire; prescribed burns began there in 2003 and ~ 20 acres or so have been burned in most years since then (3). Managers at Concord have a compelling reason to reintroduce fire. In addition to restoring a rare and declining natural community type, and reducing wildfire risk, their site is the only location in New Hampshire and the world's easternmost location known to support the Karner Blue Butterfly (4).

Karner Blue (Lycaeides melissa samuelis), Concord, NH
Thanks to Harry LeGrand for ID confirmation!

This federally endangered species (also found in the midwestern US, and mentioned in an earlier blog regarding the connection with Sundial Lupine) has been reintroduced to the site, along with Lupines by biologists in New Hampshire.  One relatively small portion of the site was exceptional for its grassy character (see image below). I observed a number of plants there, but in no other "barrens", including Big Bluestem, DogBane, New Jersey Tea, Ground Cherry, and others.

Grassy open Pitch Pine Barren@Concord, New Hampshire

Karner Blue (?) perched on Dogbane (Apocynum cannabinum)@ Concord, New Hampshire

It will be interesting to see what management activities, especially prescribed fires, are conducted across these barrens and the results they achieve. Reducing dangerous fuel loads while restoring more natural structure seems like a logical way forward (see below), but the real proof comes with fire.

Brush piles from hand clearing around large Pitch Pine @ Concord, NH

References:
(1) http://www.umass.edu/nebarrensfuels/publications/pdfs/waterboro_pot_fire_bx.pdf
(2) http://www.umass.edu/nebarrensfuels/ne_barrens/waterboro_kennebunk_hollis/waterboro.html
(3) http://www.wildlife.state.nh.us/Wildlife/Nongame/projects/karner_project.html
(4) http://www.fws.gov/midwest/endangered/insects/kbb/pdf/kbb5YrReviewSept2012.pdf

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