September 9, 2020 - Tutorial for Collecting & Spreading Native Seeds

 My makeshift seed processing station.

As the end of summer arrives, many native plants that flower on the refuge start to drop their seeds. One of my recent tasks has been to go around to these native plants, and clip the flower heads off - so that the seeds may be collected, removed, cleaned, and later mixed in with a native grass seed mix to be spread in certain restoration areas on the refuge.   

How to Collect & Process Native Seeds in Late Summer

Emily 's Method 

• To process your own native seed mix - you must first identify at least 2 native plants in your area that you wish to collect flower heads from. Also be sure that it is the proper seeding season for your chosen plants. 
• For the seed mix in the photo above, we chose a combination of Douglas Spirea, Golden Rod, and Fire-weed - although the Fire-weed was collected a bit late in the season for me to get much seeds from the flower heads I collected
• To clip flower heads off - you can use a pair of garden hand snips
• Make sure you have a large bucket or trash bag to throw your flower heads into 
• Since you are creating a native seed mix, you can put different flower heads into the same container while collecting out in the field
• Once you have collected a large amount of seeds - it is time to process them!
• If seeds are damp when you collect them - make sure you leave them out to dry for a couple days, as this will make processing much easier. 
• Once seeds are completely dry, prepare a bucket and drape some fine mesh over the top of it. 
• I used a 5-gallon bucket and a fishing net for this - since these were the only materials I could find in the Bio bay
• Be sure to line your bucket with a trash bag before placing the mesh over the top   
• To clean flower heads of seeds, hold the flower head over your prepared bucket 
• Begin to roll the flower head in between your palms
• Sometimes you will need to use your fingers to massage the seeds off as well
• The tiny seeds will begin to fall through the mesh and into the bucket - the bigger chunks of stem & leaves will be caught by the mesh. 
• Frequently empty out the mesh and have a bucket/trash bag available for you to place the stems and flowers that have been processed into. 
• Repeat until all seeds have been processed
• You may go through your flower heads a second time to be sure as many seeds were collected as possible.

A Douglas Spirea flower head found out in the field. This is what the flowers look like in spring/early summer. When collecting the seeds for processing, you will want to wait till late summer - by this time the flower heads will have turned brown and will crumble to the touch. 

*Stay tuned to learn more about how to spread native seed mixtures over the landscape*

TO BE CONTINUED...