Spring Milkweed Planting
Last fall, we harvested milkweed. Like, a ton of milkweed. First off, we have sparse patches of common and butterfly milkweed on our property that we collected seeds from in the fall. We left some behind but wanted to spread them in other areas throughout our meadows to offer more of this host plant to the monarch butterfly, a species under the threat of extinction, and many other insects that will benefit from the plant.
Then, we found a large patch of milkweed near our home that was about to be bulldozed as Morgantown expands its businesses. We didn’t want the plants to be a total loss, so we harvested those seeds, too. (Well, James harvested them while I was away on business. Teamwork! 😉)
Growing Milkweed from Seeds
All winter long, the seeds have been stored in our house. About six weeks ago, we put them in plastic bags alongside wet dirt or paper towels to simulate the cold stratification that they undergo naturally outdoors. Finally, it was time to plant them in peat pots and put them in our little greenhouse to sprout them.
We only planted a small portion of the thousands of seeds we have, and we’ll be planting the rest directly in the ground in a few weeks once the last threat of frost has passed. We’re trying this variety of planting methods and documenting them all to know which are most effective for future years. Cheers to spring!
