After the prescribed burn, it’s a lot easier to see, and there are more gopher tortoise burrows than we thought.
Here’s another Gopherus polyphemus near the road. It’s good there are so many. Gophers are a keystone species, hosting Continue reading
Fall in south Georgia:
Picture by John S. Quarterman for Okra Paradise Farms,
Lowndes County, Georgia, 5 October 2013.
-jsq
These are the same longleaf planted in 2008, blogged 10 October 2010, burned a second time 
16 December 2011, and greening and candling again February 2012.
Pictures of Gretchen Quarterman with the planted longleaf (Pinus palustris)
by John S. Quarterman for Okra Paradise Farms, Lowndes County, Georgia, 17 April 2012.
Almost all of them survived the prescribed burn, and many of them are quite tall. The planted little bluestem and big bluestem are also thriving, along with native verbena, and some less savory invasive exotics, including trash along the road. Plus Gretchen’s favorite: dog fennel! And along the fence row cedars, pecans, plums, grapes, wild cherry, and a gopher tortoise. Here’s a flickr slideshow:
We didn’t know there were any longleaf at the bottom of the pond, but the white candles are unmistakable:
Pictures of Longleaf pine (Pinus Palustris) by Gretchen Quarterman
for Okra Paradise Farms, Lowndes County, Georgia, 22 April 2012.
The needles are also longer than on the nearby slash pines:
Continue readingThis is a road, at least a hundred years old, after a prescribed burn:
Those are mostly slash pines (Pinus elliottii), with one or two longleaf and some oaks.
-jsq
Yellow Dog and Brown Dog pointing:
Can you see it there, between the wiregrass and the oak log?
Back in December
we burned some planted longleaf.
Six weeks later, they’re greening up and candling.
I couldn’t find a single longleaf that didn’t survive.
Even ones that a few weeks ago you would have thought
were burnt sticks now have green leaves or white candles
or both.
Here’s a slideshow.
Pictures by John S. Quarterman 29 February 2012.
-jsq
Picture of Gretchen Quarterman holding longleaf sprouts at Okra Paradise Farms
by John S. Quarterman, 19 December 2011.
I found them in the gutter while cleaning oak leaves out of it. Longleaf seeds had sprouted in that wet place. Gretchen stuck them in some dirt in these seedling containers. In a week or so we’ll need to transplant them into something bigger. Their taproots are already almost as deep as these boxes.
We’re also finding quite a few fresh longleaf sprouts in the ground, so apparently we got a pretty good seedfall this year.
-jsq
Burning planted longleaf, Okra Paradise Farms, Lowndes County, Georgia.
Pictures by Gretchen Quarterman, 16 December 2011.
The longleaf themselves are the most fire-resistant of trees.
Almost all of these longleaf will survive the fire and thrive.
The volunteer loblolly and slash, not so much, and any oaks or other trees even less,
so fire favors the longleaf.
We had perfect burning conditions: 5-8 MPH wind from the northwest, blowing towards
the road.
Some of the subdivision neighbors who are not familiar with prescribed burns
called the county fire department.
They came out, took one look at the firebreak, and filed a report saying all was OK.
Here’s how the fire got started. Some pyromaniac dribbling fire….
Here’s a slideshow and a playlist of some videos. Continue reading
