Lucas Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD) is offering interested community members two opportunities to learn how to easily start native plants from seed using common household items.
Classes will be held on Tuesdays, December 9 and January 13, both from 5:30 to 7 p.m., at the Lucas SWCD office, 3350 Hill Avenue, Suite K, Toledo.
Both classes are free to attend but registration is required. Capacity is limited to 15 participants per class.
Most, if not all, native plants (and some non-native) need to be stratified which means they require exposure to cold temperatures in order to germinate in the spring.
Through this class, participants will mimic this natural process using repurposed milk jugs that will act like mini-greenhouses. Native plants are ones that grow naturally in the local area and are adapted to local climate, and therefore require less maintenance once established. Each participant will get to make two milk-jug greenhouses, planted with native plant seeds of their choice including purple coneflower, beebalm, black-eyed Susan, and columbine to name a few.
Once home, the milk jugs need to be placed outside for the duration of winter. As temperatures begin to warm, tiny sprouts should be visible inside the milk jugs. Each jug will be planted with one species of native plant. In the spring, participants will be invited to come back to the Lucas SWCD office to up-pot their native plants and do an optional plant exchange with other class participants. Date has yet to be determined for the follow-up class.
Participants are asked to bring two one-gallon milk or juice jugs.
Register on the website, LucasSWCD.org/seedsow ing, or call 419-893-1966.
