2024 April 23 Winter Sowing Update

 

I believe this tub is full of Round Headed Bush Clover, Lespedezca capitata. These prairie plants will shoot roots down six feet. Host to tons of insects. I bought these seeds from Outsidepride. Next year I’ll do a better job of labeling, I swear.

After years of failed attempts of propagating milkweed and other native plant favorites, I finally learned the key! On Saturday, January 6th, I attended a Winter Sowing workshop at LCCC where Danielle Squire taught us how to winter sow native perennials. We used gallon plastic milk jugs, cut in half horizontally with holes in the bottom for drainage and holes in the top for air circulation and filled just under halfway with soil. She told us to seed them densely, because in spring we’d need to separate and repot anyway. Then we taped them up and just left them outside for the sun and cold and rain to do their magic. This method is perfect for my often imprecise tendencies on growing things. 

January 6, 2024. Blue False Indigo, Highbush Cranberry, Golden Alexander, and Zig Zag Goldenrod. As long as I don’t move these I know what they are. 

I think the only one that isn’t popping up yet from the workshop is the Highbush Cranberry. I didn’t picture it. This is how they look today.

I got real excited about this and took the plastic bins we used for growing mushrooms last winter and repurposed them for even more winter sowing. In my excitement, I did not label well. This is one of the more imprecise parts of my tendencies that I want to be better at next year. I did take some pictures of my process. I’m going to fish them out and try to make some sense if it now.

Now it’s spring! I’m seeing some action! Here are my attempts at figuring out what the heck is actually growing here. See captions for my guesses.

February 2024. Blue Lupine, chosen because it’s the host plant of the endangered Karner Blue butterfly. Passion Vine chosen for its coolness. And milkweed because monarchs need every bit of help we can get.

Blue Lupine today. Less luck so far with the other two plants. Maybe they pop up later in the season. 

This is how Mother Nature winter sows her seeds.

I popped some acorns in there. So far nobody has popped up. 

I just remembered there’s a freeze warning tonight. Going to have to pull in the fig trees real fast. I knew I was too early.