Workshop participants choose seeds from native plants to sow in pots at Hidden Valley Nature Center on Friday, Dec. 2 during a seed-sowing workshop presented by Wild Seed Project. Winter is a busy time for native plants as they scatter their seeds and prepare to sprout in the spring, according to Emily Baisden, seed program manager at Wild Seed Project. (Elizabeth Walztoni photo)
A native seed sowing workshop at the Hidden Valley Nature Center on Friday, Dec. 2, taught participants that the Maine winter isn’t as dead a time as some think. The workshop, held in partnership with Wild Seed Project, showed attendees to identify plants native to the state and collect seeds from them responsibly, then how to store and sow them.
Wild Seed Project, a nonprofit based in North Yarmouth, works to raise awareness about the importance of native plants in Maine and provide tools to restore biodiversity, according to its website. The organization collects and sells native seeds and hosts educational programs, among other ventures. A series of native seed sowing workshops are scheduled at various nature centers this winter.
Though people often associate winter with death, the outdoors is full of activity after the leaves fall, Wild Seed Project Seed Programs Manager Emily Baisden said at the workshop.
“Everything is living, thriving, and doing what it needs to do” in the cold months, she said, pointing out that many native plants go to seed in late fall and early winter.
This season is the best time to sow them for the coming year, according to Baisden. Many seeds require the cold to break down their protective coatings and prepare them to germinate come springtime.
Attendees at the waitlisted event said they wanted to learn how to bring native plants to their landscapes at home. Lori Geiger, of Dresden, said she has spent the past year attending native seed workshops for skills to use on the acre of land she owns. She said she found a jack-in-the-pulpit growing there and propagated it herself, an experience that led her to start collecting native plants.
Along with personal satisfaction for the grower, Baisden said sowing native seeds has an impact on insects, animals, and the food web as a whole. For example, one clutch of chickadees eats 2,000 to 5,000 caterpillars to reach maturity, according to Baisden. Those caterpillars need plants to eat, and more diverse plants give them more options.
Baisden said that collecting seeds in the wild also increases genetic diversity compared to buying plants from a commercial nursery. While growers often make cuttings of existing plants, which are genetically identical, every seed in the wild is genetically unique. This means plant populations that are more resilient to challenges, Baisden said.
Basics of seed collection taught at the workshop included asking permission from landowners, being absolutely certain of the plant’s identity, and not taking more than 5% of a population.
When it comes time to sow those seeds, “Think of everything you know about planting vegetables and forget it,” Baisden said.
Native plants grow best planted thickly and covered with a thin layer of sand. Attendees at Friday’s event went home with two pots of planted native seeds, which they can transplant to the ground next summer or fall.
Wild Seed Project Manager of Educational Programs Nell Houde, who led the workshop alongside Baisden, said that what resonates most with her about the seed sowing projects was the appreciation she sees from participants.
“We need to all remember that the human hand does not have to be one of only destruction,” Houde said. “We can use our hands for care and regeneration, and planting native seeds is a great way to begin that journey.”
For more information about Wild Seed Project, go to wildseedproject.net.
