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His backyard might look like weeds to some people, but the retired Winona man likes to walk the small path between tall grasses and flowers.
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Karen Harrison hand harvests Blue Indigo seeds Friday at Prairie Moon Nursery near Witoka Minn. After the seeds are picked they are dried and packaged to be sent all over the midwest. (photo by Katie Derus/Winona Daily News) |
As more green thumbs like Moline opt for native plants, the business of native prairies has been blooming. More than half a dozen native plant nurseries in Minnesota said sales have at least doubled over the last five years.
The largest contributors to the boom are gardeners, conservationists and hobbyists. An increase in government projects like land conservation and roadside beautification has also driven sales.
The reason is simple science — native plants and grasses help battle soil erosion and control water runoff. They also provide habitat and food resources for many birds, butterflies and insects.
“The number of people just keeps growing and growing every year, and that’s with very little advertising,” said Bill Carter, co-owner of the Prairie Moon Nursery in Wiscoy Valley. “There’s just a growing awareness that these particular species are important.”
Prairie Moon Nursery broke ground two weeks ago for a new half-million-dollar, 10,000-square-foot facility two miles from its current location.
For the last 25 years, the nursery has been cramped in four buildings. The new center, which is slated to open in October, will quadruple its size for office space, cleaning and storage.
The business has at least doubled to 17,000 customers in the last two years, Carter said. When they started, they had just a handful of customers, he said.
Bill Olson, owner of Blue Earth, Minn.-based Feder’s Prairie Seed Company, said he uses most of his plant seed for government conservation programs.
He attributes that to a growing awareness of dirty water full of algae and farm chemicals.
Managers of Feder’s and Shooting Star Native Seeds in Spring Grove, Minn., said state conservation programs have flourished in the last five years. Shooting Star just finished planting 300 acres of land in Winona County last month, said sales manager Mark Udstuen. That’s one of the largest of such projects in Winona County, Udstuen said.
The Minnesota Department of Transportation created a program in 1991 to help cities and counties after they requested help with controlling weeds and reducing mowing costs along roadsides, said Robert Slater, a forester based in southeast Minnesota. Some cities that have used the Landscape Partnership Program include Hokah, Houston, Lewiston and Rushford.
Not all cities are taking advantage of the state program. While Slater said the state completes about a dozen prairie restoration projects along Minnesota roadsides each year, he typically uses half of his $20,000 budget, he said.
Unlike some nurseries, the Outback Nursery’s retail sales have far outpaced its seed wholesale distribution over the past five years.
Stopka, of Outback Nursery, said some people are extreme n the people who completely kill their yard to have their land go from a barren wasteland to a lush garden in three years.
“They’re not maintenance-free but people are getting away from that groomed look,” he said. “You’re going to get the birds and the other forest creatures for entertainment purposes, which is way better than TV.”
Reach Reporter Amber Dulek at (507) 453-3513 or amber.dulek@lee.net.
