Native Seed Sowing Workshop

Join us to learn how to grow your own native plants from seed! This workshop will give you the tools you need to spark your own pollinator garden. Soil, native seeds, and one empty one-gallon milk jug will be provided, and you will get to bring home your own mini greenhouse in a bottle. We invite you to bring an extra one or two empty milk jugs if you want to plant and bring home a variety of seeds. Winter seed sowing is a technique for starting native plant seeds outdoors in containers during winter to create optimal conditions for germination and growth when spring returns. Winter sowing is a simple and inexpensive technique to grow a wide variety of native plants. It mimics the natural process of seeds falling to the ground in autumn and being stratified by New England’s cold and wet winter weather, while providing protection from critters and adverse weather, resulting in a very high germination success rate. To enable more people to participate, we are holding two identical sessions of this workshop on Saturday, January 9. Please sign up for either the morning session (11am-12:30pm) or the afternoon session (1:30-3pm). This program is presented by the Newton Community Pollinator Project, a group of Newton residents who are working to create pollinator pathways around Newton through native plantings. Their work includes educating residents and City departments about native, pollinator-friendly plantings and maintaining several pollinator gardens on public land. This program is co-sponsored by the Newton Free Library; Newton Community Pollinator Project (NCPP); Newton Conservators; Friends of Cold Spring Park; Newton Department of Parks, Recreation & Culture; Green Newton; Friends of Nahanton Park; and Mothers Out Front.