Hello everyone! Here is some info to read ahead, since talking in the cold and wind may be hard to do:
Information about comfort and parking:
We collect Phragmite on the frontage road of the southbound side of the Bishop Ford highway. The collection site is on the strip of road between the 115th St. Exit and the 130th St. Exit.There are a couple of establishments there, including a truck wash and a strip club that is closed in the daytime. For reference, the address of the strip club is 12054 S Doty Ave, Chicago, IL 60628.
It can be windy and cold on the frontage Road. The phragmite by the parking area is likely to be so scraggly due to recent warm weather as to be completely unusable and unhelpful even for demonstration purposes.
The best phragmite closest to the easiest parking is about 1/10 of a mile away from where we will park the cars. There is no parking allowed on Doty Road. We may want to plan on a rotating schedule of warming up in the cars. We may also want to decide, as a group, how much time we can handle being out on site based on the weather we encounter. We have no quotas – our only goal is to learn the process of harvesting. I will take the bundles we gather and store them for a thatching demonstration sometime next summer or fall (unless anyone wants them! By all means take them if you are interested).
Information about the collection process:
We will be using hand held scythes to harvest bundles approximately a foot in diameter. There are two steps – cutting and tying the bundles.
Cutting: The best way to cut the reed is for one person to work on the reeds they are cutting. We tried it last year as a two man job, and it seemed to make things go slower. You’ll handle the phragmite as if it were a person you were putting in a headlock with the head facing behind you under your armpit, then (stop pretending it is a person now) use the scythe to cut the reed at a comfortable distance close to the ground. The reason I asked everyone to wear goggles or glasses is that bending over to cut this way, it is possible to be poked in the eye.
Tying: The best way to tie the reed is to have a team or teams picking up reed that has been cut, creating bundles about 1 foot in diameter, and tying with twine in two places. A two man team works well for this because one person can hold the bundle while the other person ties.
Seed heads: Phragmite is invasive and ecologically devastating so every possible precaution must be made to avoid spreading the seed. If you come out collecting in the future and you have no use for the seed, then cut off the seed heads and leave them at the site. I use phragmite seed pods as a fiber in natural plaster. We will still cut off the seed heads, but I will take them home in a black contractor bag in my trunk to avoid getting seed blown around on the drive back north.
Information about Phragmite in general:
Phragmite is a non native reed that to the best of our knowledge was brought here by European settlers for use as a thatching reed. It has become invasive across the Great Lakes region where it chokes out native wetland plants such as cattails and destroys native bird habitats. Phragmite releases some kind of acid or poison that kills everything else around it. It is common in distressed, industrial and post industrial areas with poor drainage. You will see phragmite in highway ditches, in railroad yards, etc. Often these are sites that are difficult, dangerous, or illegal to access. We are lucky to have an asphalt road to stand on. Phragmite collection is a winter activity (Nov-Jan), between the time that the phragmite matures and becomes woody, and the time it deteriorates and falls over. In most situations we would be wading in water or standing on ice.
Information about comfort and parking:
We collect Phragmite on the frontage road of the southbound side of the Bishop Ford highway. The collection site is on the strip of road between the 115th St. Exit and the 130th St. Exit.There are a couple of establishments there, including a truck wash and a strip club that is closed in the daytime. For reference, the address of the strip club is 12054 S Doty Ave, Chicago, IL 60628.
It can be windy and cold on the frontage Road. The phragmite by the parking area is likely to be so scraggly due to recent warm weather as to be completely unusable and unhelpful even for demonstration purposes.
The best phragmite closest to the easiest parking is about 1/10 of a mile away from where we will park the cars. There is no parking allowed on Doty Road. We may want to plan on a rotating schedule of warming up in the cars. We may also want to decide, as a group, how much time we can handle being out on site based on the weather we encounter. We have no quotas – our only goal is to learn the process of harvesting. I will take the bundles we gather and store them for a thatching demonstration sometime next summer or fall (unless anyone wants them! By all means take them if you are interested).
Information about the collection process:
We will be using hand held scythes to harvest bundles approximately a foot in diameter. There are two steps – cutting and tying the bundles.
Cutting: The best way to cut the reed is for one person to work on the reeds they are cutting. We tried it last year as a two man job, and it seemed to make things go slower. You’ll handle the phragmite as if it were a person you were putting in a headlock with the head facing behind you under your armpit, then (stop pretending it is a person now) use the scythe to cut the reed at a comfortable distance close to the ground. The reason I asked everyone to wear goggles or glasses is that bending over to cut this way, it is possible to be poked in the eye.
Tying: The best way to tie the reed is to have a team or teams picking up reed that has been cut, creating bundles about 1 foot in diameter, and tying with twine in two places. A two man team works well for this because one person can hold the bundle while the other person ties.
Seed heads: Phragmite is invasive and ecologically devastating so every possible precaution must be made to avoid spreading the seed. If you come out collecting in the future and you have no use for the seed, then cut off the seed heads and leave them at the site. I use phragmite seed pods as a fiber in natural plaster. We will still cut off the seed heads, but I will take them home in a black contractor bag in my trunk to avoid getting seed blown around on the drive back north.
Information about Phragmite in general:
Phragmite is a non native reed that to the best of our knowledge was brought here by European settlers for use as a thatching reed. It has become invasive across the Great Lakes region where it chokes out native wetland plants such as cattails and destroys native bird habitats. Phragmite releases some kind of acid or poison that kills everything else around it. It is common in distressed, industrial and post industrial areas with poor drainage. You will see phragmite in highway ditches, in railroad yards, etc. Often these are sites that are difficult, dangerous, or illegal to access. We are lucky to have an asphalt road to stand on. Phragmite collection is a winter activity (Nov-Jan), between the time that the phragmite matures and becomes woody, and the time it deteriorates and falls over. In most situations we would be wading in water or standing on ice.