perennial seed starting 11.19.20

I’ve collected perennial seeds in the past and started them in small pots, but after I watched this video about seed starting, created by the park staff where I live in Dane County, Wisconsin, I decided to “go bigger!” Perennial seeds in the midwest need a cold period to germinate, so they have to spend time outside in the winter.

I collected seeds from plants that I already grow in my garden:

• Orange (native) Columbine
• Purple Columbine
• Thalictrum
• Indian Grass (Sorghastrum nutans)
• Coneflower “Cheyenne Spirit”
• Coneflower, White
• Lupine
• Silene
• Purple and White Columbine (seeds saved from 2018)
• Early Sunflower or Oxeye (Heliopsis helianthoides) from a free seed packet I received from Prairie Moon Nursery

I save the seeds in unused envelopes that I get from non profits asking for money each year. I donate to these organizations online, so I can recycle the envelopes for seed saving.

I don’t drink gallons of milk, but my neighbor’s family does, so I asked them to save milk jugs for me. I cut them in half almost all the way around and partially filled each jug with dirt. Then I realized that I’d forgotten to add drainage holes, so drilling those was a bit messy.

These are seeds from the White Coneflower.

Here’s a sample planting, this one with Thalictrum seeds. I label the outside and inside of each jug with permanent marker, and just to be safe, add a wooden stick labeled with pencil. Pencil never wears away:)

I tape the top of the jug to the bottom with duct tape in one place, just so the top won’t flop open. And I leave most of that top-bottom connection open just a bit, to let water and snow get in to the dirt and seeds. For the same reason, I leave the caps off the jugs.

In the spring, when it’s warm enough, I’ll flip open the top of the jugs to let sunlight in. Once the plants have a couple sets of true leaves, I’ll transplant to individual pots. Then when they’re big enough, in to my garden.

I also collected seeds from my annual flowers and veggies, and I’ll start those indoors next spring. Seed starting keeps me hopeful:)

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