Today (October 3, 2011) we had Parsnip field and the upper half of East Center Valley sprayed with Roundup.  We’re hoping it will kill the non-native pasture grasses that currently grow there, and allow the prairie and wetland seeds that I’ve planted to grow.  One of the folks from Countryside Farm Coop in Durand did the spraying.

Parsnip field was easy – it’s about 2 acres of completely flat land.

Upper East Center Valley is much more difficult to work on.  It’s a fairly steep west-facing slope.  I was concerned that it was too steep, so they sent out a bigger machine, which they said would be more stable on the hills.

Here it is, starting out at the north end of East Center Valley.

The pink tubes hold pink paint that squirts out to mark the edges of where they’ve sprayed.

The spraying arms were so long that they almost covered the whole width of the prairie in one pass.

He did have a little trouble on the steepest part of the hill.  He made a few deep ruts in the grass, but he got down safely.