Other Resources

What is a Seed Growout Station?

A seed growout station is simply a place where seeds of trees are planted, cared for, and grown in order to be planted as seedlings.  Growout stations are created to help supply a stock of trees and shrubs for tree planting events and stream bank restoration projects.

Native seeds for the growout stations are generally collected in the fall and then planted in an area where they can be maintained and grown for 2 1/2 years.  Once they reach this age they are called seedlings and can be used in a seedling planting event.

Why Should I Create a Seed Growout Station?

Trees are a valuable resource for the health of a watershed.  Planting trees can reduce soil erosion, runoff, flooding, and non-point source pollution (water pollution that cannot be traced to a single source – for example polluted runoff from roads).  Trees also benefit watershed health by recharging ground water and sustaining steam flow. 

Creating and maintaining a tree growout station gives your group a perpetual source of low-cost seedlings for tree planting and riparian buffer restoration events.  Not only does it reduce the costs associated with tree plantings, but it also provides a great teaching tool and gives volunteers a sense of ownership of the trees that they will be planting.

Top

Developing Your Goals and Budget

Goals

You may be planning on planting trees on farmland that has been retired or near a stream to stabilize its banks.  Or you might be creating the station on school grounds in an effort to educate students about the biology and environmental benefits of trees.  Whatever the case, you will want to write out your specific goals and let them guide your work plan.

Some example goals:

• Reduce the costs associated with your group’s buffer planting program;
• Educate students about the importance of trees and provide them with a volunteer learning opportunity;
• Grow seedlings to be planted to beautify a neglected park, school or neighborhood;
• Grow seedlings to be sold as a fundraiser for your organization

Top

Budget

Cost
The cost of a small growout station is around $500 dollars.  This is the cost of the materials alone because the necessary tools are found in most homes.  The majority of the cost comes from four items – lumber (about $25.00 per board), pots ($70.00 for a case of 90), landscape fabric (about $90.00 a roll), and soil ($12.00 per bag of potting soil)

If the cost is too high for you, there are many ways to help defray or eliminate your expenses.  First check with local lumber providers and garden stores to see if they will donate the needed materials.  Also ask landscaping companies and construction companies if they can help. 

If you are unable to raise the needed money through donations, look into applying for a small grant.  Many foundations have money available for small projects such as this one and often applications are accepted at anytime.  Grantors include the Chesapeake Bay Trust, the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, Pennsylvania’s Growing Greener Program, the Chesapeake Bay Restoration Fund, and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation’s Small Watershed Grants Program. 

If you can pay for the materials now, you can recoup the cost later on by selling the seedlings in a fund drive or asking for individuals to sponsor a tree that will be planted in their name. 

Seed Growout Station Timeline

Constructing a seed growout station doesn’t take long, but growing seeds to a size where they can be planted takes a couple of years!  We’ve included a timeline for constructing a station and a schedule for growing your seeds to planting size. 

Timeline for Creating a Seed Growout Station

The act of creating a seed growout station is easy, but there is a lot of planning before construction begins.  The ideal time to make most nurseries is in the fall when most seeds become available for planting.

1. At least two months in advance - Determine the location where the station will be built;
2. One month to one week in advance - Advertise the tree planting event through as many outlets as possible;
3. Several days before event - Purchase needed supplies;
4. Days before the event - Create and print instruction sheets for volunteers;
5. Days before the event - Clear the planting area of brush and weeds;
6. Day before or day of the event – Deliver materials and tools to the nursery site;
7. Day of the event - Build the seed growout station;
8. Day of the event - Plant the initial seeds to be grown out;
9. Post event - Maintain planted seeds

Top

Timeline for Growing Seeds

Remove winter protection
Put in drip irrigation system if using
Fertilize
Water
Weed

Water
Weed
Fertilize 

Stop watering and fertilizing
Put up winter protection
Thin and replace seedlings

Plan plantings 

Plant seedlings
Apply for funding to continue project 

Start over

Materials

Below is a list of materials that you may need to build and plant your seed growout station.  The exact materials will depend on the number of trees that you are planting and the conditions at the planting site.

• Tree Seeds
• Plastic pots (1 gallon size)
• Soil  (potting soil or a 1/5 topsoil mixture, 2/5 compost, 2/5 sand mixture)
• Mulch
• Large plastic pots 1’ diameter
• Shovels
• Landscape Fabric & Ground Staples
• Lumber – 8 - 1”x8”x12’ boards of pressure treated wood
• Lumber – 8 - 1”x8”x8’ boards of pressure treated wood
• Exterior Wood Screws – At least 64 - 21⁄2” in length
• Rebar – 12 – 2’ pieces
• Optional – sturdy wire fencing – 8’ to keep deer out
• Measuring tape
• Hand saw
• Good quality scissors or utility knife
• Drill with screwdriver attachment
• Sledge hammer

Top

Site Selection

Site Preparation

Once you have chosen the general location of your planting area, you should get to know that area better.  Look at the infrastructure of the site – is there easy access to water?  Is there a place to store equipment?  Look also at the light that the area receives, thinking not only of the light received at different times of the day, but also during different seasons.  Look at the topography of the site, the soils, and how rainwater will move on the site.  Are there steep slopes?  Will the trees have to sit in water during heavy rains?  Is the soil well-drained? 

Make sure that you will have access to the site at all times of the year to care for the seedlings.  Also determine who will care for the seeds as they are grown.  Do not wait to do this until after you’ve made your seed growout station!

Advertising Your Seed Growout Station Project

• Creating and distributing door hangers to target a specific neighborhood where you will be working;
• Creating and distributing a press release to your local paper, radio stations and/or television stations (see the Resources section for information on how to write and distribute a press release);
• Creating flyers and placing them in public libraries, recreation centers, and walking trails;
• Developing a web site or adding the information to an existing web site;
• Running an advertisement in a local paper, or on radio stations and/or television stations;
• Discussing the event at targeted community association, church group, youth group, and/or service organization meetings;
• Advertising your event on free on-line environmental calendars like www.potomacevents.org
• Sending out an email to people you think would be interested and asking them to tell their friends as well;
• Sending out a mass mailing to your targeted audience

Top

Creating a Seed Growout Station

In advance of your event make sure that you have:

• Enough equipment to outfit your volunteer teams;
• Refreshments and snacks if possible or at least provide;
• Created and printed a sign-in sheet;
• Created and printed enough directions (if possible with diagrams);
• Done as much prep work as is possible—for example, put all the necessary equipment together for each team;
• Identified key volunteers and asked them to arrive early and be Team Leaders;
• Created a press packet for any media that cover the event;
• Contacted local newspapers;
• Designated a volunteer to take photos of the event

The day of the event, break up your volunteers into groups of two or three to work with a team leader.  The team leader will work with the volunteers to ensure the frames are made properly and give advise when necessary.

Step 1 – Cut and lay out fabric

• Mow the grass to 1” or less
• Cut three lengths of fabric 20’ long (look for fabric that is 6’ wide and comes on a roll that is 300’ long)
• Lay the fabric out on the ground to form a rectangle 20’ x 18’
• Staple the fabric to the ground around the edges and wherever the fabric overlaps, every 2-3 feet.  Pull the fabric taut to staple. 

Step 2 – Build the bed frames

• Cut the 1”x8”x8’ boards in half with the hand saw
• Make a rectangle frame using the 12’ boards for the sides and the 4’ boards for the ends
• Screw the boards together with the long boards overlapping the 4’ boards

Step 3 – Lay out the frames and secure them in place

• Place the frames on top of the fabric - see diagram.
• Leave 2’ between each frame and a 1’ perimeter between the edge of the fabric and the frames.
• Secure the frames in place with rebar and a sledge hammer.

Step 4 – Fill the planters with soil

Mix the potting soil/topsoil together at a 1/3 to 2/3 ratio.  Fill the plastic containers with soil, leaving a one-inch lip around the top.  If time permits, let the soil settle for a few days before planting and re-fill if needed before planting.  It is a good idea to moisten the soil to help in compact and to keep it from blowing around. 

Top

Step 5 – Plant the seeds in the planters

The seeds should be planted about as deep as their diameter.   They will not germinate if planted too deeply.  Make a small hole for the seed and drop the seeds in, fill back with soil.

The larger seeds – acorns and black walnuts – should be planted three to a container.  This will increase the odds of a seed germinating in each container.  Smaller seeds can be planted 6-8 per container.

Label each container with the name of the seed planted.  Place the containers in the nursery beds, keeping each species together in a group.  The species should be grouped according to their light and moisture requirements.

Post Planting Care

Improper care of seeds and seedlings is one of the greatest causes of their mortality.  Keep track of any nursery activity in the maintenance log.  This will allow you to know when it is time to fertilize or, if a problem develops, to trace when and how it originated, which will help determine how to correct the problem.

Top

Frost

Fertilizer

• Fertilize after plants have developed their first set of true leaves.  Read the instructions on the label carefully, but generally no more than one tablespoon per plant per month during the first growing season.  Apply the fertilizer in a thin band around the outer rim of the container, away from the seedling.  During the second growing season increase the amount of fertilizer used to two tablespoons per pot per month.  Store fertilizer in an airtight container to prevent oxidation.

Mulch

• Mulch each container after the seedlings have emerged.  Keep the mulch away from the base of the plant.

Water

• Closely monitor the newly emerged seedlings for water needs
• Water in the morning if possible - so foliage can dry before nightfall
• Water often, but only when soil surface has begun to dry out
• Too much water may result in damping off – the growth of fungus at the planting surface – the seedlings will droop over at the base.  If this happens, thin out seedlings and change watering routine
• The seedling stage is sensitive to drying out, be sure that your maintenance plan is being followed – even one missed watering during this stage can result in loss
• Beginning in September, only water the seedlings when extremely dry

Top

If watering with drip irrigation

• An outdoor spigot needs to be available to install irrigation
• The system will need to be monitored at least once a week to ensure that it is running correctly and that the seedlings are getting the right amount of water
• May require more maintenance than using a hose

 If watering using a hose and wand

• May be better for the seedlings because plants will be watered when they need it, not on a schedule
• Will require more time for watering
• When using a hose, check at least 3 or 4 containers of each species before watering.  If the surface is wet, don’t water.  If the surface is dry, stick a finger 1⁄2 -1 inch into the soil.  If the soil still feels dry, go ahead and water.   Use the hose wand to water; the fine mist will not beat down the delicate seedlings.  The recommended way to use the wand is to point the nozzle up and allow the water to fall down gently.  Make sure to hang the hose and attachments heads off of the ground to avoid picking up and spreading disease.

Weed

• Regular hand-pulling weeds from the nursery containers will keep them under control.  It is important to pull them before they get too large because they compete for nutrients, light, and water.  Also, the larger they are the harder they are to pull.

Thin

• If there is more than one seedling growing in each container the extra can be transplanted to any empty containers.  If there are not any empty containers and all of the seedlings appear healthy you can wait until the fall to thin them.

Top