A Controlled Burn

I've been reading about native plants and growing them for going on 20 years, but I don't think I've ever seen a controlled burn in action.


That changed today over at the Phillips Eco-Enterprise Center in Minneapolis. I approached the building, wondering what was burning and maybe just a little worried. Enough to look around the building, past the entrance, to see the little sign that labels the burning area a prairie restoration.

That put my mind at ease even as the flames lapped along the far edge where the smoke is thickest.

Burning keeps down both the Eurasian weeds and the tree weeds, and gives the native species, with their deep roots, an advantage.