MSU Tollgate Farm During Stay Home, Stay Safe: Sakura Garden, Hay Field, and Garlic Mustard

Spring in the Sakura Garden

At the end of April, the cherry blossoms in our Sakura garden were in full bloom!

Fertilizing the Hay Field

Tollgate recently started a small scale fertilizer trial in the hay field.  We applied 100 pounds of nitrogen per acre to two acres.  This summer, when we cut hay out of the fields, we’ll note the number of bales in treated and untreated areas.  Observations will help guide our management of the fields in future years.

Have you seen this plant?  Pretty, but beware.  Garlic mustard is an invasive plant commonly found in woodlots, hedgerows and gardens.  Garlic mustard produces lots of seeds and can take over a woodlot rapidly crowding out our spring natives.  At Tollgate, staff and volunteers have been pulling out garlic mustard for years to keep it in check.  The Tollgate woods are a wonderful example of a beech/maple forest type with a beautiful understory of spring wildflowers.  This spring display is made possible by the hours spent controlling garlic mustard. 

Enjoy these additional photos from around the farm. We cannot wait until it is safe to welcome visitors once again.

This entry was posted in Happenings. Bookmark the permalink.