Before you Start
Growing you plants from seed collected at your revegetation site means that these plants will be really well suited to local environmental conditions. You can collect seed from your revegetation site and other nearby bush sites (although you may need a permit for this).
It’s easy and fun to grow your own plants for revegetation – no green thumb required! Growing your own plants from seed is also low- cost. That said, growing your own plants from seed will take longer, and you are unlikely to have a 100% success rate.
How do I Collect My Seeds?
Plants are just like people – they are all different. Some plants have seed all year round, while other such as grasses usually seed during Summer.
Your Flora Files will show you which plants can be grown from seed, and when to collect them. Here are some instructions and tips on how to collect seeds.
Use these instructions to help you collect your seed.
Getting Prepared
Some plant species become dormant so they that they can survive until the conditions are right for them to germinate. These native seeds require some type of pre-treatment to break their dormancy and to encourage germination – – we need to wake them up. Your Flora Files will tell you which seeds require treatment.
Native plants that require pre-treatment are often native to areas where bushfires occur at regular intervals – the heat of the fire cracks the hard coat and allows moisture to reach the seed inside. Pouring boiling water over the seeds simulates this effect. Other seeds need smoke to germinate. Watch this helpful Gardening Australia video for more on seed pre-treatment.
Growing Your Seed
Start collecting your recycled containers a few weeks before you do your seed collection. Wash your recycled containers and pots until they are free of dirt and put them in the sun for a few days to sterilise.
It’s better to plant more seeds in larger pots rather than use lots of small containers. This allows seedlings to be transplanted when bigger, and they are less likely to dry out.
Sterilise your seed propagating mix by putting it into your containers or tray and pouring boiling water over it. Let it cool before planting. You can either use a commercial seed potting mix or make your own (eg. equal parts course river sand and vermiculite, or native potting mix with added perlite to hold both oxygen and moisture).
Sprinkle really small seeds (< 1 mm) on the soil surface – they don’t need to be covered.
Slightly larger seeds (less than the size of a tomato seed) can be sprinkled on the surface and then covered with a thin layer (1-5 mm) of potting mix or vermiculite (depth = several times the diameter of the seed).
Larger seeds (such as wattles) can be pushed individually into the potting mix and covered (depth = half or same diameter as the seed).
Make sure to label your containers with the plant type and date.
Student Activity
Growing Your Seed lesson plan
Make your own Biodegradable Seedling Pots.
Make these Handmade Seed Bombs with the native seeds that you have collected.
Looking After Your Seeds
Keep your seeds in a warm, dry area inside. Place your containers in a warm spot. A spray bottle can help gently water the seedlings. Keep the soil moist but not soggy. Too much watering can lead to damping off (a fungal disease) or even wash your seeds away!
Re-pot the seedlings when they are large enough to be handled. This is usually when the second pair of leaves appears. You can remove seedlings using a knife or narrow spatula (you can make your own using a 10cmx 1cm piece of aluminium).
Alternatively, hold them carefully by the seed-leaves (not the stem). Transfer them into small pots containing a suitable potting mix. Keep them somewhere warm and dry and spray them gently with water from a spray bottle – the soil should remain damp but not wet.
