Backyard Ecology

Growing native plants has grown in popularity over the last couple of decades. This has led to an increased demand for native plant seeds. However, many of us have never really stopped to think about how those native seeds are produced on a commercial level. In this episode, we talk with John Seymour and Robert Hoffman from Roundstone Native Seed about this and their recommendations for planting native seeds. John is the president of Roundstone and Robert is their Restoration Ecologist.

Growing native plants for commercial seed production is a complicated process. At Roundstone Native Seed, the process starts with collecting the initial native seeds from the wild following the U.S. Forest Service collecting guidelines. The native seeds initially collected must then be grown first as plugs in a greenhouse, and then transplanted into larger production plots which produce the native seeds that are eventually harvested for sale.

Once in the production plots, the plants must be cared for throughout the growing season and throughout future years to keep the plots producing to the best of their ability. Some of the ongoing care and maintenance may include watering, hand weeding, and conducting prescribed burns on the fields. For many of the production fields, it may take up to three years before a stand is producing seed to its fullest capacity.

For many of these species, much of the harvesting and seed processing must be done by hand. Unlike many of our more traditional crops or flowers, native plants don't all go to seed at the same time. Often times the staff at Roundstone will go out to each stand every day to hand harvest just the seeds that are ready that day – taking a combine through and harvesting the whole field at once, like is done with corn or soybeans, is often not an option for native seeds.

After being harvested, the seeds then have to be dried and cleaned. The cleaning process includes removing all the "fluff" and extra pieces of vegetative material. This can be up to a 17-step process for native seeds, while more traditional crops may only have a few steps in the cleaning process. And each species has different cleaning requirements and needs. Each machine also has to be thoroughly cleaned before the next species can be processed.

When it comes to planting native seeds, site preparation is extremely important. The type of site preparation you need to do will depend on the current use of that land. Is it a yard, an existing garden or crop field, a pasture, etc.? The number one thing you can do for site preparation is weed control and a lack of weed control is the number one reason why native plant stands or gardens fail. The three most common forms of weed control before planting your native seeds are herbicide treatments, solarization, and repeat tillage.

It often takes multiple weed control treatments over several seasons to get a site properly prepped for planting native seeds. Initial weed control is so important prior to planting native seeds because native plants tend to germinate slower and over a longer period of time than many weeds. That longer and slower germination rate can allow weeds to take over and outcompete your native seeds. The old adage for native plants is that first they sleep, then they creep, then they leap, so you really need to do everything you can to reduce the weed competition during the first year or two.

The second most common reason for stand failure with native seeds is probably from planting the seeds too deep. Native seeds need a firm seed bed and often shouldn't be planted more than 1/8 to a 1/4 inch deep. It is usually better for the seeds to be on the surface than planted too deeply. Depending on your goals, the site, and your weed control process, native seeds can be planted in the dormant season (mid-November through early March) or the growing season (mid-April through late-June). Both planting times have their own pros and cons.

One of the things that I really like about Roundstone Native Seed is that they care about their customers and want to help them find the right mixes for them. If you call to talk to Roundstone Native Seed, they'll often take you through what they refer to as a "seed interview." During the seed interview, they will ask you lots of questions aimed at identifying what they believe will be the best mix to meet your specific needs, goals, and location. Their main goal is to help you have good stands and success with your native plants.

• Roundstone Native Seeds
  • Website
  • Phone: 888-531-2353
• Backyard Ecology's website
  • For more information about the importance of obtaining native seeds from your ecoregion see this episode with Dwayne Estes from the Southeastern Grasslands Initiative
• My email: [email protected]

• Bees on a purple coneflower
• Photo credit: Roundstone Native Seed

Land snails???? Come on, how do they fit with Backyard Ecology? True, land snails aren't the most charismatic organism in our yards and communities, so it would be easy to just write them off and ignore them. Most of us probably do that on a regular basis. But, land snails are extremely important to our ecosystem and in some cases are critical to the survival of much more charismatic organisms. Not to mention, they can be pretty fascinating in their own right if we just give them a chance.

On today's episode of Backyard Ecology, we talk with Dan and Judy Dourson. Dan is a wildlife biologist, author, illustrator, and educator. Judy is an educator, author, editor, and researcher. Dan and Judy have had really interesting careers that have taken them from the mountains of Kentucky to the jungles of Belize and places in between. However, much of their recent work has focused on land snails.

Although they are often overlooked, land snails play vital roles in the ecosystem. They help to recycle nutrients. They move spores of fungi and other organisms to new locations. And they are an important food source for everything from firefly larvae to songbirds and raptors. In some cases, like that of Florida's snail kite, a species' entire diet is made up of a single species of land snail. If those land snails go extinct, then so would the other animal (in this case the snail kite) that depends on them.

The eastern U.S. has the highest biodiversity of land snails in all of North America. If you happen to live in the Appalachian Mountain region, especially along the Tennessee / North Carolina border, then you are in an area that is especially rich in land snail biodiversity including many species that are found nowhere else in the world. However, no matter where you live in the eastern U.S., you likely have a dozen or more species of land snails in your yard. Some of those species will be native, while others (like the ones that eat our vegetable gardens) are likely exotic.

I love the fact that land snails are something that we can all find in our yards and communities if we just take the time to look for them. And maybe that is the point – just taking the time to slow down, look, and appreciate all the little things that we so often take for granted. Encouraging land snails in your yard isn't hard either. Basically, all we have to do are the same things that we would do to encourage pollinators, songbirds, or other wildlife – no separate "land snail garden" required.

My mind often focuses on the ecological importance of an organism, so I was surprised to learn that land snails are also being studied for their ability to address a number of medical issues. This has the potential to create another realm of valuable benefits that land snails can provide beyond their ecological benefits. There's just so much that we don't know and still have to learn about land snails and other organisms, especially the less charismatic ones.

In the end, I think Judy had the absolute best quote of the day when she said, "You only protect what you learn to love and you can only love something if you know its name." That is so true and is part of the reason why I include episodes like this which feature some of those undervalued species. I recognize that I don't know enough about land snails and I'm as guilty as the next person of overlooking their importance. So my goal through conversations like this, is to learn more and gain a greater appreciation for some of these less well-known organisms. I've definitely been inspired to start looking for and identifying some of the land snails in my area. I hope you have been too.

• Dan and Judy's relevant books:
  • Land Snails of West Virginia
  • Land Snails of Belize, Central America: A Remarkable Chronicle of Diversity and Function *
  • Land Snails of the Great Smoky Mountain National Park and Southern Appalachians: Out-of-print, available as pdf upon request
• Dan and Judy's email: [email protected]
• Backyard Ecology's website
• My email: [email protected]

• Greenbrier tigersnail (Anguispira stihleri)
• Photo credit: Dan and Judy Dourson

Many of us grew up hearing about the decline of the old growth forests and their impacts on neotropical songbirds and other wildlife. I think this was especially true for those of us who grew up here in the eastern U.S. However, the story that hasn't been told as well is that of the southeastern grasslands and how they have declined. Yes, I said "southeastern grasslands" because historically, much of the southeast was a diverse patchwork of grassland communities, not a continuous forest like it has often been portrayed.

On today's episode of Backyard Ecology, we talk with Dwayne Estes, Executive Director of the Southeastern Grasslands Initiative (SGI). SGI works in a region that basically covers from Columbia, MO across to Long Island, NY, down to Miami, FL and back across to Brownsville, TX. Even though New York and some of these other areas aren't what we traditionally think of as part of the southeast, all of these areas have very similar grasslands. In addition to his work with SGI, Dwayne is also a Professor of Biology in the Center of Excellence for Field Biology, Austin Peay State University.

As Dwayne tells us, it has only been within the last decade or so that we've begun to realize just how diverse our southeastern grasslands were. Despite the fact that most of us probably think of Kansas and the Great Plains when we hear the term "grasslands," the southeastern U.S. actually has more types of grasslands than the entire Great Plains of the U.S. and Canada combined.

All these different types of southeastern grasslands also translate to a greater biodiversity of animals than can be found in Great Plains. Scientists now think that approximately half of all the plants and animals in the eastern U.S. are tied to grasslands. Part of this biodiversity stems from the fact that not all animals like the same types of grasslands – some species like short grass, some like tall grass, some need larger tracts, some are happy on smaller acreages, some like drier areas, and some are drawn to wetter areas. By having so many different types of southeastern grasslands, there are opportunities for all of these different habitat preferences to be met.

And just to be clear, when we talk about southeastern grasslands, we aren't talking about mowed yards. We're talking about short-grass prairies, tall grass prairies, savannahs, glades, wet prairies, coastal plains, and other similar locations where native grasses and their associated wildflowers are the dominant vegetation. Trees and shrubs can exist in those areas too, as in the case of savannahs, but they aren't the dominant vegetation type like you see in a forest setting.

Nowadays, it can be hard to find naturally occurring southeastern grasslands because many of our southeastern grasslands have been turned into agricultural lands (croplands or pastures) or allowed to grow up into forests after fire was removed from the ecosystem. Some of the best places to look for existing southeastern grassland remnants are often in powerline rights-of-ways, along rocky roadsides, along old fence rows, or in similar places.

It is entirely possible for someone to have a southeastern grassland remnant on their property and not even realize it. Most of our remaining southeastern grasslands have been reduced to only a few acres and are located on private land which makes small landowners critical in identifying, managing, and helping to conserve our southeastern grasslands. Larger tracts of southeastern grasslands still exist in a few places, but they are much less common than the smaller grasslands.

The Southeastern Grasslands Initiative is working to raise awareness of our southeastern grasslands and to provide science-based resources for identifying, managing, and conserving those habitats. They are accomplishing this by partnering with many different conservation and educational organizations and agencies, as well as, with individuals who are just interested in southeastern grasslands and want to help make a difference. The Southeastern Grasslands Initiative fully embraces the concept of working hand-in-hand with others to accomplish their mutual goals.

Among the many resources that the Southeastern Grasslands Initiative is developing which will be of direct benefit to interested individuals is information which will help landowners determine whether they have a southeastern grassland remnant hiding on their property. It's hard to protect or take care of something if you don't even know it exists. So, the first step is learning how to figure out if you have something that might be worth protecting or conserving.

The Southeastern Grasslands Initiative is also embarking on a new project that will provide seed lists by ecoregion for homeowners and landowners who want to plant southeastern grasslands species on their properties. These lists will be tailored to each of our different ecoregions, as well as the specific soil types and available sunlight at each location. A prototype seed list for the Nashville Basin region is available on the Southeastern Grasslands Initiative's website with more lists being developed and added in 2021 and 2022.

I highly encourage everyone to listen to this episode and then check out the amazing resources available on the Southeastern Grasslands Initiative's (SGI) website. They also have some great volunteer opportunities (both in-person and remotely) if you want to get more involved.

• Southeastern Grasslands Initiative
  • Website
  • Facebook page
  • Facebook group
• Book recommended by Dwayne
  • Forgotten Grasslands of the South: Natural History and Conservation *
• Dwayne's email: [email protected]
• Laura Hunt's email (SGI Volunteer Coordinator): [email protected]
• Backyard Ecology's website
• My email: [email protected]

• Wet prairie in the Piedmont region of North Carolina.
• Photo credit: Southeastern Grasslands Initiative

Hi Everyone! Today we are talking with Mac Callaham who is a Research Ecologist with the Southern Research Station of the U.S. Forest Service. Mac's focus is on invasive species, with a specialty in soil animals, especially earthworms.

Like many people, I grew up thinking that earthworms were a good thing and a natural part of our ecosystem. However, that's not completely true. In North America, many of our earthworms were wiped out during the Ice Age either directly from the glaciers or because the ground, even quite a distance out from the glaciers, was frozen.

We still have some native earthworms in the Pacific Northwest and parts of the southeast, but we also have quite a few non-native species of earthworms. Some of these non-native earthworm species have probably been here since the early European colonists arrived and brought their plants with them. Other species are much newer arrivals – some being discovered for the first time within the last few years.

The impacts of these non-native earthworms depends on where they are found. In more northern parts of the continent, the effects of the non-native earthworms can be devastating to the ecosystem. This is because the local ecosystem existed for so long without earthworms in it. However, in areas where there were native earthworms, the impacts are often not quite so drastic, but that doesn't mean there are no impacts.

In many areas of the southeast, non-native earthworms are much more common than native species. Yet, even though the species composition has changed, we aren't always seeing the same sort of dramatic impacts that are being seen further north. Part of that could be because those species have been in the southeast longer and part of it is likely that those species of non-native earthworms are doing some of the same things as the native earthworms in this area. However, some of the more recently discovered species of non-native earthworms can have quite drastic effects, even in the southeast, because their feeding behaviors are very different from the native species.

Throughout this episode, Mac and I talk about the different types of earthworms, their impacts in various parts of the region, how much we don't know, and how there really isn't a simple, black and white answer when it comes to earthworms. Yes, non-native earthworms can have serious, negative impacts on the natural ecosystem, especially in parts of the continent. But in other areas, earthworms, even non-native species, can help soil health, especially in southern regions that have been highly impacted through long-term agricultural use. This is a complicated topic and we talk about some of those complications, including things that we as homeowners can do.

• Southern Research Station
• Earthworm related Research Highlights from the Southern Research Station:
  • Earthworms, Millipedes, and Soil Carbon in the Eastern U.S.
  • Prescribed Fire to Stem the Tide of Earthworm Invasion
  • Invasive earthworms have unexpected effects on other soil organisms
  • Soil fauna are of vital importance to soil processes and deserve attention
  • Short-circuiting an Invasional Meltdown
• Mac's email: [email protected]
• Other groups or researchers mentioned who are studying earthworms:
  • Great Lakes Worm Watch, University of Minnesota
  • Earthworms across Kansas, Kansas State University
  • Bruce Snyder, Georgia College
  • Josef Gorres, University of Vermont
  • Katalin Szlavecz, John Hopkins University
• Books mentioned:
  • The Formation of Vegetable Mould, Through the Action of Worms: With Observations on Their Habits (Classic Reprint) *
  • Earthworm Ecology and Biogeography in North America *
• Backyard Ecology's website
• My email: [email protected]

Photo credit: Yuanyuan Li

Hi, Everyone! In today's episode of the Backyard Ecology podcast we are talking with Shelby Fulton who is a terrestrial biologist with the Kentucky Nature Preserves. Our conversation focuses on moths and how they survive the winter. We also talk about how diverse moths are and ways to observe them during the winter.

The number of different moth species is astonishing. For example, there are over 2,500 different species in Kentucky alone. Many species of moths are extremely small – almost too small to see. Others are much larger and easily identified. How a moth spends the winter is determined by its species. Some species overwinter as eggs, some as caterpillars, some as cocoons, and some as adults.

The most common overwintering strategy is as a cocoon (pupae). There are also quite a few moths that overwinter as adults. Moths that overwinter as adults tend to have fluffy, "furry" abdomens. Some of these species are dormant all winter – basically going into the moth equivalent of hibernation. While others may be active and fly around on warmer winter nights.

In addition to the fluffy, "furry" abdomens, moths that are active on warmer winter nights also tend to have other physiological adaptations to help them stay warm. These adaptations usually include the ability to shiver and warm themselves up enough so they can fly. Some species have internal adaptations that allow the moth's hemolymph (insect blood) to help keep itself warm. Those internal adaptations prevent the heat generated from the moth's shivering behavior from being lost to the outside environment as quickly as it would be lost without those internal adaptations.

Many of the moths that overwinter as adults are relatively small (dime to nickel sized) and tend to be narrowly triangular and kind of drab colored. But some of them, like the herald (Scoliopteryx libatrix), which is featured in the photograph associated with this episode, are beautiful shades of brown or have intricate dashed patterns.

One of the primary places that moths overwinter, whether as adults, caterpillars, or cocoons, is in the leaf litter. That is one of the reasons why leaving your leaves on the ground and not throwing them away, burning them, or mulching them is so important if you want to provide habitat for moths, or even butterflies.

If you want to try and see some of the species of moths that overwinter as adults in your area, then you can try a sugar bait. There are many different sugar bait recipes, but they all include some form of alcohol, sugar, and fermented fruit. Mix everything up and spread it on a tree on a warm winter night, then check it periodically to see if anyone shows up. Taking pictures of any winter moths that show up and posting them to iNaturalist is a great way to get help identifying the moths. It will also help researchers learn more about what species of moths are active in your area during the winter, because this is yet another relatively understudied area of backyard ecology.

• Office of Kentucky Nature Preserves website
• Shelby's email: [email protected]
• iNaturalist: https://www.inaturalist.org/
• Backyard Ecology's website
• My email: [email protected]

Photo credit: Shelby Fulton, Office of Kentucky Nature Preserves

Hi Everyone! On today's episode of Backyard Ecology, we talk with Maddy Heredia who is the outreach specialist and a biologist with the Kentucky Nature Preserves. Maddy and I first met when she was in college and volunteered on a citizen science / community science program that I was leading. Today we turned things around as she taught me a little bit about iNaturalist, which is a program that I knew about in the broad sense, but have never really used myself. I had a lot of fun recording this episode and I hope you enjoy it too.

iNaturalist is a tool that can either be used through a smartphone app or online with your computer. iNaturalist is commonly used to help people identify a plant or animal. After you upload a picture and a little additional information about when and where you found it, iNaturalist will make recommendations as to what the organism could be. Other iNaturalist users can also comment on your photograph and help with the identification.

Another common way that iNaturalist is used is by people who want to document the plants and animals they find. You can document the plants and animals in your yard, the pollinator garden at the local elementary school, the county park or other public land, or anywhere else. The observations that you make and upload to iNaturalist are publicly accessible.

Those observations are extremely valuable to scientists because they can't be everywhere at all times. Also, we often don't know exactly where specific plants or animals are found, especially when it comes to understudied organisms like insects. Observations uploaded to iNaturalist can help fill in those knowledge gaps. For example, recently a species of moth that had previously never been documented in Kentucky before was documented in the state because someone took a picture of it and uploaded it to iNaturalist.

I like the fact that not only can I use iNaturalist to help me learn more about the plants and animals that I find, but it can also help scientists learn more about those plants and animals as well. After talking to Maddy and hearing her walk us through the steps of using iNaturalist, I think I'm going to set up an account to help document some of the plants and animals that I find, as well as, to help identify some of the mystery insects that I discover as I'm taking pictures of different pollinators.

If you aren't already using iNaturalist, then I encourage you to take a look at it. I'm guessing, that like me, you can find multiple uses for it. And if you use iNaturalist in Kentucky, please join the Kentucky Nature Preserve's projects so your observations can help them learn more about all of our amazing plants and animals.

• iNaturalist
• Kentucky Nature Preserve Projects on iNaturalist:
  • Documenting the Natural History of Kentucky
  • Kentucky Roadside Native Plants
• Office of Kentucky Nature Preserves website
• Maddy's email: [email protected]
• Backyard Ecology's website
• My email: [email protected]

Hi Everyone! Today we are talking with Dr. Adam Baker who recently completed his PhD studying monarch butterflies and their use of monarch waystations in urban and suburban areas. His research has led to some important and easily applied strategies that any of us can use in our gardens.

First, Adam looked at existing monarch waystations. He wanted to determine if monarchs used monarch waystations and if there were any key characteristics that might make one monarch waystation more successful than another. He found two very important characteristics that increased monarch butterfly use of the gardens for egg laying. First, more eggs were laid on milkweeds that were isolated from other plants – in other words, not touching other plants. Second, monarch waystations with clear lines of sight in the north-south directions were used much more than waystations where those lines of sight are blocked.

Next, Adam looked at ways to design monarch waystations or pollinator gardens that would make them more attractive to egg laying monarchs. His research found that planting milkweed around the perimeter of the garden resulted in more monarch caterpillars and eggs than gardens where the milkweed was planted as a clump in the middle or mixed up with other plants throughout the monarch waystation.

Additionally, he compared monarch egg laying behavior and bee usage of different species of milkweed and even compared some of the milkweed cultivars with their wild type counterparts. His research showed that tall, broad leaf species were more attractive to egg laying butterflies, than species with shorter or narrower leaves. The species of bees that used the different types of milkweed also varied.

Yet another, component of Adam's research looked at European paper wasp predation of monarch caterpillars. He found that butterfly houses or butterfly hibernation boxes – those long, skinny houses with slits in the front or side that are often placed in or near pollinator gardens or monarch waystations – are commonly used by European paper wasps. There's no evidence that butterfly houses or hibernation boxes are actually used by butterflies. Thus, placing one in your monarch waystation or pollinator garden might be providing additional habitat for caterpillar predators while not doing anything to help monarchs or other butterflies.

I love how Adam's research provides us with applicable, hands-on activities we can do to support egg laying monarchs in our gardens. I also like that part of his research looked at bee usage of milkweeds because obviously milkweeds are used by more than just monarchs. Adam's research is another example of how much we still have to learn about gardening for pollinators and wildlife, even for something as iconic and popular as the monarch butterfly. To me, it's exciting to see more of this type of research being done, especially when it results in real-world applications that we can so easily use in our own yards and communities.

• Adam's papers and resources
• Backyard Ecology's website
• My email: [email protected]

Hi Everyone! On today's episode of Backyard Ecology we talk with Dr. Kirsten Traynor, a research associate at Arizona State University and the editor of 2 Million Blossoms, a quarterly magazine dedicated to protecting our pollinators. Our conversation takes a curvy, twisty path that covers multiple different topics including what led her to start the magazine, some of the articles in the magazine, a discussion of some of the crazy interactions between plants and their pollinators, some of her current research, and what's next for the magazine.

Kirsten's journey into the world of pollinators started when she became a beekeeper. Her honey bees served as a "gateway bug" that inspired an appreciation of all the other bees that she also found visiting flowers. She started 2 Million Blossoms because she wanted to bring together beekeepers, native bee enthusiasts, and other people who love pollinators. Her goal with the magazine is to inform, inspire, and entertain.

2 Million Blossoms launched in January 2020. The tone of the magazine is very positive and it always has beautiful photographs and artwork. Articles over the past year have included the story of someone who rode her bike from Mexico to Canada and back as she followed the migration path of the monarchs, how coyotes serve as important seed dispersers for pawpaws and persimmons, goldenrods that grow well in garden settings without taking over, the lost migration of hover flies on the east coast, and photo essays exploring the connection between nature and the night sky. Kirsten also hinted at some of the stories she has planned for 2021.

I'm a huge fan of 2 Million Blossoms and it's currently the only magazine that I read cover to cover. I can't wait to see what's in store for its second year. If this is your first time hearing about the magazine, then I encourage you to check it out. Kirsten was even kind enough to give our listeners a coupon code for $5 off the subscription price. (And no, I don't get any kick back or affiliate fees if you subscribe. I just really enjoy the magazine and think many of you will too.)

• 2 Million Blossoms
  • Download the 1st issue for free
  • Sample from fall 2020 issue with goldenrod article
  • Use coupon code BACKYARDECOLOGY to get $5 off the subscription price – Thanks Kirsten!
• Kirsten's email: [email protected]
• Backyard Ecology's website
• My email: [email protected]

Many people believe that nature is only "out there" – in national parks, other large chunks of pristine land, or some far-off exotic place. For a long time, I did too. But the truth is that nature is everywhere and there are still plenty of discoveries to be made about the common species inhabiting our yards and communities.

In addition to my love of learning about plants and animals, I also have a passion for teaching and sharing my love of nature with others. Backyard Ecology is one of the many ways that I have chosen to express that passion. I write a weekly Backyard Ecology blog and am so excited to be launching a Backyard Ecology podcast.

Hi, my name is Shannon Trimboli, and I'm the host of Backyard Ecology. I live in southcentral Kentucky and am a wildlife biologist, environmental educator, beekeeper, author, and owner of a nursery specializing in plants for pollinators and wildlife conservation. I have always loved exploring nature and learning about different plants and animals.

In this podcast, I will be talking with scientists, educators, and other experts about pollinators, backyard wildlife, gardening for pollinators and wildlife, new research and other news we should be aware of, specific things that can do to help, and many other topics. I have some amazing guests lined up and can't wait to share our conversations. The first full episode should launch in early Dec. 2020.

While we're waiting for the official podcast launch, you can go to the Backyard Ecology website at www.BackyardEcology.net and take a look at some of my blogs. While you are on my website, you can sign up for my email list. Once you join the Backyard Ecology email list, you'll get weekly emails with all our latest news including links to that week's blog and podcast.

I also have two quick favors to ask of you. First, go to your favorite podcast listening app and subscribe to this podcast. Second, tell your friends, social media contacts, and others about the Backyard Ecology podcast. Word of mouth and recommendations from someone we trust, is the fastest way for others to learn about a blog or podcast.

Thank you so much for helping me spread the word about Backyard Ecology. If you have any questions or want to share your own nature-related discoveries, feel free to email me. I look forward to talking with you soon. Until then, I encourage you to make some time to go outside and discover the nature in your own backyards and communities.