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• RE~GEPATION: Afte~n area has been backfilled, its seeded with a mixture <br />of grasses and legumes suitable for pasture and, in particular, hay production. <br />• This mixture includes Tall Wheatgrass, Pubescent Wheatgrass, Intermediate <br />Wheatgrass, Western Wheatgrass, and Ranger Alfalfa. The original mixture, <br />which was designed by the Soil Conservation Service, was never planted. <br />Charles Hobson and Castle Concrete both felt the original mixture was entirely <br />inappropriate, so it was changed via technical revision before any planting was <br />ever done. If deemed necessary, fertilizers are added at the time of planting, <br />but the amount is considerably reduced over what soil tests would recommend in <br />order to limit weed growth. <br />gl~IT.~s ~ii The first planting using this reclamation process was done with <br />some trepidation. In actual fact, none of us knew what would happen. We had <br />all kinds of fears from saline crusts to drought die backs. Little did we know <br />just how successful this appzoach would be. <br />At the beginning of the second growing season, the vegetation looked <br />rather disappointing. It was thin and heavily infested with cocklebur. This <br />was in May of the second growing season. Suddenly, seemingly overnight, the <br />grass and alfalfa grew at an incredible rate. In July of the second growing <br />season Mr. Hopson cut 5000 pounds of hay per acre from the first planting and <br />later the same year cut another 3000 pounds per acre. Naturally, Mr. Hobson <br />was quite pleased and Castle Concrete was quite relieved to see such an <br />outstanding success. <br />It Ss now cleaz what had happened. During the first growing season the <br />vegetation had simply become established. The roots had not yet reached the <br />water table. They were surviving on the existing precipitation which is scant <br />at best. Then about two months after the start of the second growing season <br />the roots reached the water table and the plants flourished to an extent that <br />had never been seen on the entire area before. <br />Since the first success, the vegetation has continued to develop. Low <br />areas have shifted to nearly a pure grass vegetation with virtually 100 cover <br />with production on the order of 5000 pounds per acre without cutting. In the <br />. 6 <br />