How To Guides

How to Make Seed Packets

Sharing seeds is a fun and easy way to introduce people to native gardening, expand plant diversity in our communities, and ensure that there is food for birds, bees and butterflies. Buying California native seeds in bulk from a reputable vendor and packaging them yourself saves money (as compared to pre-packaged seeds) and provides the opportunity to include information, resources and even your own branding on the packets.

Here are the detailed instructions for creating your own packets and ideas for sharing seeds:

EcoGardenista's Guide to Seed Packaging & Sharing

You can also create a handout showing the benefits of native plants and guiding people to additional resources. My resource handout is here:

EcoGardenista's Resource Guide

You're welcome to use my handout as a template to customize your own. Just be sure to re-brand it as your own and include the photo credits to avoid any legal issues with the photographers.

How to Grow Milkweed from Seed

Milkweed is a perennial best started in early spring and summer - March through July in California

To grow milkweed in pots, first gather materials: plug trays, 4" or 4” pots, cactus mix or potting soil with added perlite, narrow leaf milkweed seeds (Larnerseed.com is a great source)

Fill containers almost to the top with potting mix
Soak the soil thoroughly
Make a small hole ¼” deep and drop 1-2 seeds (for the plug tray) or make 3-4 evenly spaced holes for the 4” pots and drop 1-2 seeds in each
Cover the holes and press damp soil to close air gaps
Put pots out in full sun or under grow lights and water every few days if weather is mild, or daily if it is hot
When seeds emerge in a few weeks, continue to water frequently to prevent drying out
When plants are 2-3” tall, plant in a cleared area in the yard, in masses to ensure adequate food for monarch caterpillars. A 5’ x 5’ space is a good start. Each plant can get as large as 12” circumference by 4’ tall. One or two caterpillars can eat a whole plant.
Consider putting a ring of stones around your milkweed patch to mark the spot when the plants die back (go dormant) in the fall

Additional tips and images are on the Growing Milkweed from Seed handout here: How to Grow Milkweed from Seed

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