NEBRASKAland Magazine is dedicated to outstanding photography and informative writing with an engaging mix of articles and photos highlighting Nebraska’s outdoor activities, parklands, wildlife, history and people.
Issue link: http://mag.outdoornebraska.gov/i/644631
52 NEBRASKAland • MARCH 2016 C onservationist Jan Jorgensen of Creighton, Nebraska, has a second part-time job made for her. It fits well with her current part-time position leading conservation projects for six counties at Northeast Nebraska Resource, Conservation, and Development in Plainview and her 33 years in conservation work. Jan's friend Alison Krohn started a seed farm called Shoestring Acres on Alison's family farm near Clearwater. The wildflower and native grass seed farm features local ecotype species of upland environment s. Working with native plants drew Jan into conservation so seed harvesting is becoming natural for her. Jan has spent a lot of time outdoors and has special interest in wildflowers and native grasses, both of which she spoke about during a recent interview. Q: How did you start seed collecting? A: Alison would tell me what seeds she was looking for and I would go look for them. I didn't have to have a lot of training to harvest seed. I have another friend who also has a farm and he has plants that I'm less familiar with. It's been a fun experience that I've enjoyed. Q: How do you find the native plants you want? A: I get in my pickup and can harvest from roadside ditches. I also harvest on our farm and on my brother- in-law's land. I start looking for the wildflowers in early summer for the plants my friend has on her list, so I'll know where the plants are when harvest time comes. Q: When do you collect seed? A: Most of the harvesting is done in the late summer, fall or winter when the seeds are mature. It's often hard to identify plants without the bloom, so I take notes on where the wildflowers are located. Q: Are the plants you harvest far apart and seeds hard to handle? It's labor intensive because it's hand harvest and you walk and carry little buckets on your hips attached to a belt. You need your hands free and you need lids on your buckets when harvesting fluffy seeds. Other seeds are heavy enough that they don't blow away on windy days. When you find a place where you can gather two or three kinds of seeds, that's really a good site. If they are not quite ready, you have to come back. Q: What is a typical day harvesting native plants? A: I pick a nice day to go out. One thing about this job is that you call your own shots. When seeds are ripe, I hang buckets on my hips and put on gloves. You don't need many tools. I may gather seeds three or four hours at a time. When I get home, I put seeds into paper sacks if they are dry. If they still need to dry some, I spread them out in baby wading pools or boxes to lose moisture. Keeping seed notes and keeping seeds separate from each other as they dry is important. When I have a supply, I make a trip to the seed farm to sell the seed. Q: Do you harvest rare seed in short supply? A: I do leave seeds for nature, and definitely don't harvest them all. There's some seed spillage anyway as you take seeds off in your hand. And I never dig up plants. ■ Jorgensen says it doesn't take many tools to be a seed harvester. "You need lids on your buckets for the wind, a keen eye to tell mature native plants apart, patience and good notes from earlier harvesting trips." Knowledge of wildflower identification and resources for questions are also valued parts of her skill set. Harvesting Native Seeds An interview with Jan Jorgensen. By Brenda K. Johnson PHOTO COURTESY OF JAN JORGENSEN By identifying wildflowers in early summer, Jorgensen knows the types of seeds to collect in the late summer, fall and winter.