No matter how many years I plant seeds and watch them grow into mature
plants, I am still awed. I feel an utter child-like excitement when I
see the first sign of a sprouting seed poking out of the soil.
Germinating seeds are a universal symbol of hope and renewal, ushering
in the joy and promise of spring. In a world growing more complicated
and technological by the day, it is a comforting pleasure to witness the
simple, yet miraculous, processes of plant life. As an herbalist, I
strive to cultivate direct relationships with the living medicinal
plants I use in my practice, either through growing or wildcrafting. I
came into this craft through my fascination with plants, along with
their myriad offerings; growing medicinal herbs is one of the greatest
joys in my life.
I have been growing plants for the last two decades and, like every
gardener, I have learned as much from my mistakes as my successes.
Growing up in the suburbs, I spent little time gardening; I didn’t catch
the plant bug until I left home. My first vegetable garden was pretty
much a flop, as I really had no clue what I was doing. But in my mind, I
was now a gardener, and ready to try again the next spring. And
luckily, many of my friends had green thumbs, or grew up on farms; they
took me under their wings and taught me skills that are now instinctive.
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Blue Cohosh seedlings (germinating three years after being planted)
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When I started growing herbs, I soon realized that I had to pay
attention to details and learn a whole new set of germination skills.
Most of the annual vegetables we grow have evolved with the agricultural
practices of humans, and thus have been selected over the millennia to
have uniform, quick, and relatively easy germination. Not so with most
of our medicinal herbs, especially considering that many of them are
perennials, which typically have a more selective strategy for
germination (with less of the live-fast, die-young lifestyle of annual
plants). For the last five years I have nurtured an herbal nursery, and
have learned even more tricks from other growers, as well as from
watching and listening to the plants themselves.
Following is a special note on
intention. Some years
back we experienced an almost total failure in germination for most of
the seventy species we planted. We re-examined all the variables: same
soil mix we’ve been using for a decade, same fertilizer, greenhouse,
etc. Now there’s always a chance that we missed an important ingredient,
such as lime, which would adversely affect the pH, or our composted
manure was too hot, or something to that effect. But, in reviewing our
seeding scenario, I came to the conclusion that we sorely needed some
ritual and prayer during planting time. By the time we are seeding, we
have spent many moons in anticipation of this special moment, from the
gathering of seeds to their stratification, the careful planning of the
seeding schedule, and the formulating of soil. In addition to all of the
material preparation, we are awaiting and co-creating the rebirth of
the green world. Conjuring up a miracle in spite of frigid temperatures
and gray skies. On a personal note, our first planting is also the
beginning of my apprentices’ time working with my family and me, and I
always want to honor the sanctity of those unfurling relationships. Now
we mark our initial seeding with prayers, spoken intention, songs, and
smudging. Since the inception of this little ritual, we have had very
successful germination but, more importantly, our sense of place,
community, and season has deepened.
My goal here is to lay out the most common systems for seed starting
and the basics of caring for seedlings, including typically encountered
problems, in the hopes that you are able to grow more plants to love,
eat, and make medicine from. In addition, I will outline the special
germination techniques necessary for many medicinal plants.
Direct seeding versus tray culture
Planting seeds directly in the garden has some obvious advantages,
notably the absence of resources and energy necessary in seed tray
culture. It is the easiest choice, and for those plants who do not
tolerate transplanting, it is the only choice. The downside to direct
seeding is the higher attrition rates with tender seedlings left to fend
for themselves in the face of frost, competition, herbivory, drought,
and disease. For plants with longer germination periods, the weed
competition can be a major factor, especially if you aren’t familiar
with identifying the seedlings of the planted herb. However, the plants
who do survive and reproduce will have offspring selected for their
parents’ tenacity and vitality. Some plants that generally have good
survival rates with direct seeding are: calendula, basil, holy basil,
feverfew, German chamomile, borage, garden sage, skullcap, Echinacea,
boneset, and anise hyssop. Many herbs need a period of moist cold before
they germinate; these herbs may need to be planted in very early spring
or in the fall. Check the resources below for each herb’s specific
needs. For woodland perennial herbs with a two- to-three year
germination period, planting directly in a prepared forest seedbed may
be easier than keeping track of a seed tray for such a prolonged period.
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| California poppy seedlings interspersed with cooking greens |
In addition, the following plants are typically seeded directly
because of their dislike of transplanting, or because of the larger
plantings inherent in cover crops: oats, California poppy, opium poppy,
cilantro, parsley, khella, red clover, alfalfa, and fenugreek. I am
somewhat of a control freak, so I rarely seed directly (except for the
aforementioned herbs) and prefer to watch over my babes more closely in a
greenhouse.
Seed Trays
Plastic seed trays are easy to acquire, come in a variety of sizes,
and are often cheap or free. My nursery got its start with discarded
mismatched seed trays, which I reused for years. An advantage to the
seed trays with especially small cells is the ability to seed more
plants in a relatively small area, which is especially helpful if you
are planting in front of a small window, in a small grow light area, or
you just want to heat a smaller greenhouse in the early Spring when it
is still very cold. Obviously, with smaller cells you have to step up
(transplant to a larger pot, or cell) your plants earlier (often when
their first true leaves appear). Many medicinal herbs have longer
periods of germination, so less precious space is wasted while we wait
for their emergence.
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Seeding in a greenhouse attached to the south side of a house
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Note about sterilizing seed trays: I do not sterilize my seed trays
for a number of reasons. One, it is a pain in the derriere, and two, my
soil is alive with mycorrhizal fungal spores and beneficial soil
bacteria from compost and worm castings. Plants with a healthy diet and
environment, including beneficial flora, have more vitality to fend off
potential pathogens. I focus more on helping to create a healthy terrain
than combating disease. Preventative medicine is for plants too! If you
do wish to sterilize, try using a hydrogen peroxide solution instead of
bleach. Brewing supply centers sell many affordable eco-friendly
sterilizing products.
I do have concerns about the environmental impact of chemicals used
in manufacturing plastic, and the potential for endocrine-disrupting
substances to leach from plastic containers and enter the soil and the
plants contained within. Recently, biodegradable pots made from peat
and/or manure have entered the market, and while more expensive, they
may be better choices environmentally. Unfortunately, many are not
manufactured domestically, so check their origin. Which brings us to
another choice in containers– no container at all, the soil block.
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Germinating blue vervain seedlings. Because
of the smaller size of the cells in the tray, the seedlings will need to
be pricked out and transplanted as soon as they develop true leaves.
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These are blocks of soil, prepared from soil block makers, which are
specialized metal forms with handles used to gather up moistened soil.
The forms are used to create a row of soil cells, which are deposited on
a wooden or plastic tray. Soil blocks were popularized by garden writer
Eliot Coleman and are preferred by many organic farmers. The individual
blocks are open to the air, so the plants roots growing in them are air
pruned and cannot become root-bound, and consequently take off quicker
after being transplanted. The forms come in a variety of sizes and can
be stepped-up with the growing seedling. Once you get the hang of
preparing the soil, reaching the proper moisture balance, and using the
soil makers, the block making process can go quite quickly and
efficiently. Soil block makers require a larger initial investment, but
can last for many years if cared for properly. Another distinct
advantage is the absence of plastic when using wooden trays and soil
blocks.
watch this video on making soil blocks
Germination set-ups
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| Soil Block maker- photo from Johnny’s catalog |
Bottom heat
Heating the soil, through applying heat under seed trays, greatly
improves the speed of germination, an important factor for medicinal
herb seeds, which often have lengthy germination periods. There are a
number of methods people use to achieve bottom heat. The most popular
and easy is the electrical mat, which goes under a seed tray and comes
in varying sizes, fitting underneath one to four seed trays. Some
growers use special electrical lines that are run through a bed of sand,
with the trays nestled in the warm sand. Another option is running hot
water in pipes just under the surface of the soil in a greenhouse, with
the heat provided by solar hot water heaters, with an on-demand propane
heater as a back- up heat source. Yet another intriguing system is to
build a hot compost pile in a greenhouse and place the trays upon the
exothermic bacterial party.
It is helpful to have a soil thermometer, an inexpensive tool
available from nursery and garden supply companies, to closely monitor
the soil temperature. An ideal soil temperature for most seeds is 60 to
80 degrees F; I typically try to keep the soil between 65 and 75
degrees. It is important to not let the nighttime soil temperature dip
too low as most seeds will bide their time until the soil warms more
evenly. In addition, take care to not overheat the soil, as tender
seedlings can easily desiccate or be damaged by excessive heat.
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| Heat mat from Johnny’s seeds |
Greenhouses
How I love the quiet timeless magical hot greenhouse on a cold early
spring day. Greenhouses can be built from glass, or thick UV resistant
plastic (our 10 mil greenhouse plastic has lasted seven years). Old PVC
pipes are often available for free or cheap from well drillers who
cannot reuse them; they can be used to build hoop houses supported on
posts made from rebar pounded into the soil. Alternately you can dig a
hole with a steel bar and place the pipe directly in the soil. One-inch,
schedule forty pipe, in twenty-foot lengths, will give you a
nine-to-ten foot wide greenhouse with a six-foot height. If you live in
an area with snowfall, remember to create ample slope in your hoop
houses so the heavy snow doesn’t pile too thickly and break the
greenhouse. In our area, one intense winter storm brought down dozens of
greenhouses. I have spent a good bit of time brushing heavy snow off
our plastic greenhouses– snow can pile up, even with their generous
slope.
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| Greenhouse fairies have proven to enhance germination rates by over 66% |
Consider building a small greenhouse off the south side of your home
if it receives ample sunlight. The thermal mass of the house will store
heat from the sun during the day and radiate it off at night when it is
needed.
Airflow is a greenhouse is paramount, both for lowering temperatures
on sunny days, and minimizing fungal diseases. Design a greenhouse that
allows for both ends of the greenhouse to open. Alternately, the bottom
portion of the sides can be rolled up or raised. Fans are useful, and
can be aimed to move air directly over seedlings to help prevent
damping-off, a common fungal disease of seedlings (see below).
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| Greenhouse built onto the south side of our home/nursery/school |
Sunny windows
Start your trays on a table or shelf in front of a south-facing
window. Little to no investment is needed and typically no auxiliary
heat is necessary. You may need to put your seedlings outside in direct
sunlight on warm days. If your seedlings grow spindly or fall over, they
needs more direct sunshine.
Grow lights
This germination set-up requires a start-up investment and obviously
uses more energy than other methods. Full-spectrum fluorescent bulbs
more closely replicate the spectrum of light found in sunlight.
Cultivation:
Soil
I recommend finding a very fine soil mix, which has been screened to a
smaller particle size. It is easy for some of the tiny herb seeds to
fall into larger cracks in coarse soil and never make it up to the
surface. We add a moderate amount of an organic fertilizer bend to our
soil recipe: a combination of blood meal, bone meal, and greensand. In
addition, we add a mycorrhizal inoculant and small amounts of worm
castings. We also add sand and
actinovate (a bacterial inoculant), both of which help prevent damping-off.
Following is my soil mix recipe for germinating herbs. It can be used
for vegetable germination as well, but I formulated it specifically for
smaller herb seeds. The fertilizer is enough to get the plants started
but additional fertilizer, in the form of foliar feeding, will be needed
when the seedlings grow their first true leaves. Sifting the peat and
using smaller perlite are important steps in keeping the texture of the
mixture fine enough for tiny seeds.
Fine Germination Soil Mix for Herbs
*5 gallon bucket = 1 part
Ingredients:
- 2 parts sifted peat
- 1 cup lime
- ¼ cup bloodmeal
- ½ cup greensand
- ½ cup bonemeal
- 1 ¾ part fine perlite
- ¼ part fine vermiculite
- 1 part sifted bagged compost (to avoid weed seeds)
- 2 cups worm castings
- ¼ cup mycorrhizae (modify proportions according to the directions on the specific brand of mycorrhizae you are using)
- 3 quarts fine sand
- Actinovate (follow the directions on the label)
Mixing:
I recommend wearing safety goggles and a mask to protect the eyes and
respiratory passages from the dust and potentially harmful perlite.
Sift the peat through a screen to remove large pieces and break up
clumps. Place a screen with ½ inch holes over a wheelbarrow and mix the
peat through. Add the lime, bloodmeal, greensand, and bonemeal and mix
thoroughly. Add the other ingredients and mix with zeal and zest. Wet
the soil thoroughly and add the actinovate (employ proportions as
described on the label).
Watering
Watering medicinal herb seeds requires more attention than watering
vegetable seeds as many seeds are tiny, or planted on top of the soil,
and can easily be dislodged by regular watering. We water emerging
seedlings with a metal mister, designed for a propagation greenhouse
misting system, which we attach to the end of a hose (after first adding
a filter so the fine orifices of the mister don’t clog with particulate
matter). Alternately, you can use a watering wand nozzle attachment
turned to the mist or fine spray setting. Just make sure it is a gentle
enough spray for wee seedlings. Be prepared to spend a good bit of time
watering, as thoroughly wetting the soil with fine misting is a slow
going process. Another possibility is placing a non-draining tray under
the seedlings and letting the water be sucked up into the soil through
capillary action. Once the seedlings develop true leaves they are
probably ready for the hard knock school of regular watering, which
provides the tough love needed to prepare precious innocent sprouts for
the real world of wind and rain. Make sure you are letting the soil dry
out in between watering, not enough to cause wilting, but enough to let
the soil get almost dry. Watering is a fine dance; it requires
responsiveness to your dance partners, the plants, along with the
musicians: light, airflow, and temperature. Flow with the changing
ambient conditions, your intuition, and a close observation of the
plants themselves.
Fertilization
I recommend using a small amount of organic fertilizer in your
germination mix and periodic foliar feeding as the seedlings emerge.
Foliar feeding applies nutrients onto leaves where they are absorbed
directly. In my experience, foliar feeding greens-up plants quickly and
is well worth the time and energy. We use a diluted mix of fish emulsion
and seaweed run through a sprayer, applied after regular watering on
the morning of a cloudy day. Too strong a preparation can easily burn
plants on a sunny day and some plants are more sensitive to the nitrogen
than others. Start with a very dilute mixture and slowly increase the
concentration over time as you observe the plant’s response.
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| goldenseal seedlings from Mountain Gardens |
Special seed treatments:
Following is an abbreviated version of special seed treatments, for a
full discussion on this subject please visit my article on
Cultivating Medicinal Herbs.
Stratification or Cold Conditioning–
Many seeds have a built-in alarm clock that lets them know winter has
passed and it is now spring, and safe to begin life. Stratification
tricks seeds into thinking winter has passed by exposing them to an
extended period of
cold and moist conditions. Stratify
seeds by planting them in the garden a couple of months early or by
placing the seeds in moist sand for one to two months in the
refrigerator. Boneset, ginseng, blue vervain, butterfly weed, blue
cohosh, black cohosh, bloodroot, goldenseal, trillium, wild yam, wild
ginger, false unicorn root, culver’s root, mullein, skullcap, wormwood
and
Echinacea spp. are just a few of the herbs that need stratification to germinate well.
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| Stratifying herbal seeds with wet sand |
Light-dependant Germination –Sow
these seeds directly onto the surface of the soil and very gently press
them so they make contact with the soil. They then should be watered
very gently by misting or bottom watering so they will not be washed off
the surface of the soil. Many very small seeds are treated in the same
manner, as they do not have the reserves to grow above a thick layer of
soil. Angelica, bee balm, catnip, lobelia, lovage, mullein, Saint John’s
wort, and violet are just a few of the herbs that need sunlight to
germinate.
Scarification –Rub
the seeds between two pieces of sand paper until you see a little bit
of the endosperm (embryo nutrient reserves, usually a lighter color and
different texture than the seed coat). Sometimes this is done before
stratifying seeds and sometimes at the time of sowing. Astragalus, wild
indigo, hollyhock, licorice, marshmallow, passionflower, red root, and
rue are some of the herbs that will germinate better with scarification.
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| passionflower seeds being scarified with sandpaper |
Transplanting
If your greenhouse has little airflow, consider
hardening off your seedlings by gradually exposing them to increasing
amounts of sunlight and wind before you plant them directly in the
garden. Plant your seedlings in the garden on a cloudy day, or in the
afternoon, and water well. You can use a diluted seaweed tea or willow
twig tea to encourage root growth. If your plant is root bound (roots
coiled around the edge of the soil), try and break them free and loosen
the roots before planting.
Troubleshooting common problems with seedlings
My seedlings are spindly, yellowish, and stretching toward the light.
Get these babes to more light. Put them outside on sunny warm days in
full sunlight (just a little on the first day, building up more time
with each mild sunny day).
My seedlings are keeling over, pinched at the level of the soil,
and now it’s spreading like wildfire; the neighboring seedlings are also
biting the dust.
You got yourself a case of
damping-off, a commonly
encountered disease affecting seedlings, which is caused by a number of
fungi. Try increasing ventilation with fans, open windows, etc. and
increasing sunlight (if possible). Take care to not overwater (see
previous notes on watering). We add sand to our soil mix, and many
growers add a fine layer of coarse sand on top of the soil, both of
which discourage fungal activity. In addition, we use an organic
biological fungicide from a product called
Actinovate. We add this bacterial inoculant to our germinating soil mix and periodically water our seedlings with the diluted spray.
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Damping off killing a seedling- photo by Anne Tanne, courtesy of Creative Commons
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My seedlings are slightly yellow and just don’t seem to be growing very fast.
Your seedlings probably need more nitrogen. Water them in
with diluted compost tea or fish fertilizer. See the previous notes on
fertilization.
May your gardens be bountiful, and provide nourishment, beauty and healing.
To be of the Earth is to know
the restlessness of being a seed
the darkness of being planted
the struggle toward the light
the pain and growth into the light
the joy of bursting and bearing fruit
the love of being food for someone
the scattering of your seeds
the decay of the seasons
the mystery of death
and the miracle of birth
-John Soos-
Resources:
Seeds, Plants and Gardening Supplies
Horizon Herbs –
phone (541) 846-6704 Largest collection of organically grown medicinal
herb seeds and plants. Catalog is also a growers manual and contains
many of the germination specifics listed below.
Richters – phone (905) 640-6677 Huge selection of herb seeds and plants. Rare or hard-to-find herbs.
Prairie Moon Nursery – phone (866) 417-8156 Seeds and plants of natives to the prairie and
eastern states. Loads of germination information in their seed section.
United Plant Savers – Nursery and Bulk Herb Directory (available free to members)
Fedco seeds and Organic Garden Supply – cooperative seeds, trees, and gardens supply, located in Maine (207) 873-7333 or (207) 430-1106
Johnny’s Selected Seeds – 1-877-564-6697 large selection of garden/farm supply
Web Resources
Medicinal Herbs and Non-timber Forest Products – Useful links to many websites devoted to the topic of cultivating medicinal herbs. Dr. Jeanine Davis of NC
Production Guides,
written by Dr. Jeanine Davis and Jackie Greenfield. Covers the specifics
of cultivating the following medicinal herbs: American ginseng, black
cohosh, bloodroot, Echinacea angustifolia, E. pallida, E. purpurea,
false unicorn, ginkgo, goldenseal, skullcap, wild indigo, and wild yam.
Fedco seeds – Cultural information and planting chart for herbs –
Fedco chart
Medicinal Herb Gardening Books please visit the resource section at the end of
Cultivating Medicinal Herbs.
This article was previously published in
Plant Healer Magazine, the paperless quarterly
journal of the new folk herbalism resurgence – a downloadable, beautifully illustrated, full color PDF
magazine
