Millet from the Heavens

Sometimes you can practically feel the heat from a photo; the mercury had already hit 89 degrees when this image
was taken just after 8:00 am yesterday morning (the afternoon high was somewhere in the mid-90s)

Brian Gibbs of Gibbs Aero Spray in Fremont makes this work
look easy; 600-lbs of seed evenly broadcast in <20 minutes

For the second year in a row I spent about 20-30 minutes on the morning of my birthday (yesterday) watching millet seed get dropped from an airplane onto the fresh mud of a recent drawdown. Last year, we targeted the 40-acre "Rest Pond" on the West Marsh. This year, we turned our attention to a 30-acre swath that serves as the "Center Unit" of our East Marsh.

Because of some ongoing issues on an adjacent property, we have been forced to pump more or less continuously for weeks without much visual progress. Last Thursday, we directed our attention on the Center Unit and -- by closing off pipes to the rest of the eastern side -- focused the entire pump on this relatively small cell.

Dedicated pumping coupled with very warm, dry weather took 12-24" of water more or less shimmering mud by Monday. Evaporation of just about all but the deep water canals (foreground of the photos) made for pretty ideal seeding conditions by yesterday.

There is a pretty extensive explanation of the motivations for this management technique provided as part of last year's project summaries, but in essence, millet serves as a cover crop that can act like an emergent wetland plant, and because of fast growth and robust seed production provides a handful of really beneficial attributes in very short amount of time.

Within 60 days, this seed should grow into a thick canopy that stands 6-8' tall. This quick response offers near immediate shelter/habitat for a surprisingly broad range of wildlife. Many stems and a complex root structure help "stabilize" the water column, making it clearer and more conducive to germination and growth of other beneficial plants. By the middle to end of August, each individual plant should produce heavy seed heads -- laden with literally thousands of carb-rich seed -- that should attract waterfowl (and blackbirds!) in big numbers. As the visitors dine, they also replant the substrate beneath them with other desirable plant seeds that have passed through individual digestive tracts. Finally, as the millet (an annual) dies back in the fall and winter, it provides a clean, rich substrate for all the newcomers to develop in -- not just next spring but over subsequent growing seasons.


P.S. If the stars align perfectly, we may end up seeding another 50 acres on the East Marsh with millet yet this month. We are running out of time though. We need to get a lot of water moved and the clock is ticking; if we don't seed by the end of June, the seed isn't apt to mature in time to maximize the benefit.