Chats About the Native Plant Nursery

Establishing our own limits of growth for our own wellbeing, responsibility, maximizing access to livelihood work in caring for land and how that work can ripple out to other aspects of community. Recorded on April 24th, 2025 These are excerpts from a conversation that took place on Zoom, with the audio quality that goes with that :-)

There is a definite need for a peer support network for small native plant nurseries and other ecological landscape service providers. I toss out a few ideas and possibilities about that in this segment, as well as a pitch for field growing plants. Recorded on April 24th, 2025 These are excerpts from a conversation that took place on Zoom, with the audio quality that goes with that :-)

Making labels from yogurt containers, the best permanent markers for writing on them (Staedtler Permanent Lumocolor Pens – 0.3mm – Black) and the paper I use for packing the seedlings for pickup. Recorded on April 24th, 2025 These are excerpts from a conversation that took place on Zoom, with the audio quality that goes with that :-)

Growing media options, including sourcing and working with reclaimed and composted materials in urban settings. I also mention organic fertilizers and worm castings. Recorded on April 24th, 2025 These are excerpts from a conversation that took place on Zoom, with the audio quality that goes with that :-)

Sourcing containers can be a challenge. These are a few of the places I have sources containers from and some possible sources for used trays. Recorded on April 24th, 2025 These are excerpts from a conversation that took place on Zoom, with the audio quality that goes with that :-)

A conversation about germinating seedlings in an unheated greenhouse, working out how much greenhouse space you might want, overwintering seedlings and whether a greenhouse is needed at all depending on your plans. Recorded on April 24th, 2025 These are excerpts from a conversation that took place on Zoom, with the audio quality that goes with that :-)

How I use a rolling spreadsheet to track my winter sowing, seedling transplanting and seed gathering through the year. This audio is an imperfect recording, excerpted from an unscripted Zoom chat, recorded on March 27, 2025

Preparing the nursery and the plants for winter, including how I cover the trays to protect them from excessive freeze-thaw cycles or drying out. This audio is an imperfect recording, excerpted from an unscripted Zoom chat, recorded on March 27, 2025

Almost all of my plant sales are online (I'll cover this in a later chat). This is how I pack the orders once they come in and how I organize the nursery space to support being able to do this in an efficient way. This audio is an imperfect recording, excerpted from an unscripted Zoom chat, recorded on March 27, 2025

Where I source containers for the various sizes of seedling plugs I offer. This audio is an imperfect recording, excerpted from an unscripted Zoom chat, recorded on March 27, 2025

Finding a balance between trying to sterilize a space that will never be sterile ad letting the plants and all the other life that would like to eat them battle it out, with a few notes on disease lifecycles. This audio is an imperfect recording, excerpted from an unscripted Zoom chat, recorded on March 27, 2025

How and when I sow seeds and why I dense sow in pots rather than sowing individual seeds into plug trays. This audio is an imperfect recording, excerpted from an unscripted Zoom chat, recorded on March 27, 2025

Seeds for the nursery come from many sources: Roadside patches, seed libraries, gardens and growers; seeds for the nursery come from many sources and, happily, species diversity and availability is steadily increasing. This audio is an imperfect recording, excerpted from an unscripted Zoom chat, recorded on March 27, 2025

A few final thoughts from the end of our first chat about the nursery documentation project and the reasons that I've been working to develop this business model. This audio is an imperfect recording, excerpted from an unscripted Zoom chat, recorded on March 20, 2025

Expanding on the topic of peatmoss from an extracted material standpoint, in comparison to coconut coir. We also chat about urban compost, yard waste compost biological diversity and including home compost in potting media. This audio is an imperfect recording, excerpted from an unscripted Zoom chat, recorded on March 20, 2025

Plants are living beings with complex relationships. Placing their appearance ahead of their relationships is part of what got us to this degree of ecological catastrophe. Even now, we know so little about ecosystem relationships that we can’t plan a perfect ecosystem but there are ways to set the plant community you are working with up for success and get to healthy ecosystems more quickly. This...

I start by responding to a question about growing and selling in reused pots, which expands into a conversation about why I try to do without pots for the sales stage. -It isn’t just about the containers. Why seedling plugs and in-person sales don’t really work well together Challenges of selling plugs, ways that they can be overcome and the ecological costs of selling plants at larger sizes. This...

A question about moving seedlings from the small plug trays to the larger containers expands into an explanation about what I use for growing media at the various stages of growth and the importance of an ergonomic work space I come back to the topic of peatmoss and alternatives in part five. This audio is an imperfect recording, excerpted from an unscripted Zoom chat, recorded on March 20, 2025

I start by responding to a question about how my container-free packing works for various clients and how I handle and pack orders I also get into a lot about the full ordering and fulfillment process, how I organize the nursery space for efficient planting and why I exclusively sell online. This audio is an imperfect recording, excerpted from an unscripted Zoom chat, recorded on March 20, 2025