Pollinators are ecosystem heroes. 🦋

Bees, butterflies, moths, bats, birds, and even wasps have ensured that plants can reproduce long before humans started cultivating plants. Without them, the world as we know it would be impossible — all the food we grow, plant resources we use, and plant-expelled oxygen we breathe is dependent on pollinators.

Creating a pollinator paradise is simple, but there are a few important things to know before you get started. All the resources you need are at your fingertips online or at your local garden store…and we’ll start you off with some basic knowledge!

Here are six tips for growing a stunning pollinator garden this year, including a few easy-to-grow pollinator-friendly plants to try.

1. Choose native plants

Selecting plants that are native to your region will increase the benefits of your garden to pollinators and to the entire ecosystem. 

“Native plants share a long evolutionary history with their pollinators,” writes Constance Schmotzer of Penn State University’s Agricultural Extension.

Not only are native plants easier to maintain (because they evolved to thrive in your climate!), but they are also experts at attracting your local pollinators. Plus, they tend to be more hardy and can flourish without harsh fertilizers and pesticides, thanks to the adaptations they’ve gained through millennia of growing in your climate, soil type, and in relationship with other local native plants and wildlife. 

Do your research (online and at a local nursery) to find out what kinds of native pollinator-friendly flowers (and the grasses and other types of plants that support a healthy ecosystem) are good to grow in your soil and Plant Hardiness Zone. Contacting your local Master Gardeners or the closest agricultural university extension is also a great way to get more detailed info on native plants for your garden.

2. Prioritize biodiversity

You want to focus on biodiversity in any garden you’re growing, that’s for sure. It’s especially important when cultivating a pollinator garden.

Biodiversity (cultivating a wide variety of crops) is key for a pollinator paradise — and key for the health of our whole planet. 

Some pollinators can get nectar and pollen from a wide variety of flowers, but others have specialized needs and some have special needs when it comes to gathering their food. A successful pollinator garden has something for everyone.

Create a garden full of unique varieties so pollinators have lots of different options. Choose plants with pollen-rich blooms in a variety of shapes, sizes, and colors. 

Make sure there is food for the caterpillars too! Baby pollinators (larvae) need to eat the leaves of native trees, shrubs, and perennials, and many caterpillars can only eat one or two specific kinds of “host” plant. This host plant is also where the butterflies or moths will lay their eggs to hatch into new pollinators! 

So check out what kind of host plants your local pollinator larvae need to eat and make sure those are in your garden, too. 

3. Go organic

Harsh chemical fertilizers and pesticides cause more harm than good for pollinators. But we probably didn’t need to tell you that. 😉 

Our brand new Annuals & Perennials Food will be perfect for your pollinator garden.

Limit hybrids and heavily genetically altered plants, too. These may have lost their ability to produce nectar and pollen (especially if they have been hybridized for special blooms or extra color). 

4. Stagger your blooms

The longer you have blooming flowers, the longer pollinators can enjoy their harvest in your garden! Pollinators will be emerging, building their colonies, and laying eggs at different times of year and need food throughout.

Look for plants with a diverse timeline of blooming periods. Try for early spring bloomers and some flowers that will last to late fall. 

5. Location matters

Plant you pollinator-friendly plants in drifts of color. Clump several plants of the same type together to give pollinators a bright, attractive swath of colorful, fragrant blooms!

6. Try these easy-to-grow pollinators plants

• Yarrow: This lovely yellow wildflower is a signature of pollinator gardens from Zones 3 to 10.
• Milkweed: This Zone 9-10 plant is the sole food of monarch butterfly larvae and feeds many other types of pollinator.
• Sunflower: You can’t go wrong with sunflowers. You can find a variety for just about every zone that blooms late into fall.
• Goldenrod: These gorgeous, brightly colored blooms are vital for monarchs, too, in Zones 4-8.

Meet the newest addition to the True Organic Plant Food lineup: our Organic Annuals & Perennials Food! We’re excited to answer some common questions about this new granular blend.

As usual, whenever we talk about soil science, we get some expert help from our R&D Agronomist and plant doctor, Dr. Margaret McCoy, PhD — the coolest homesteading viticulturist in the PNW! Read more about Margaret and the rest of our rockstar R&D and science team in last month’s blog.

How is the Annuals & Perennials Food different from other True Organic plant foods?

This uniquely crafted blend is higher in phosphorus and potassium (relative to nitrogen). Phosphorus and potassium encourage flower growth (reproductive growth) over vegetative growth. A more generalized food like our All-Purpose Plant Food has more nitrogen to encourage more vegetative growth. But when you plant flowers, you want blooms! Specifically, you want to see more blooms than stems or greenery. Raising a sturdy plant is important for getting prolific, healthy blooms.

Phosphorus ensures that the energy taken in by the plant is moved into roots for development and growth, as well as for flowering.

The increased potassium is good for establishing strong shoots and roots at the cellular level, so that the plants can pull up lots of nutrients. This is especially important for perennials, since they are long-lasting garden additions that hold up lots of beautiful blooms (hopefully)! Potassium in the form of soluble potash can also contribute to increased size of blooms.

Let’s look at the premium ingredients used in this blend. What are they and how does each contribute to plant and soil health? 

Shrimp Shell Meal and Crab Shell Meal: These both contain high proportions of chitin, a nitrogen-rich amino sugar that triggers an immune response in plants — so it helps suppress soil-borne diseases. Shells also contain calcium and magnesium. Calcium increases cell wall strength and helps reduce the likelihood of things like blossom end rot; magnesium is key to a plant’s ability to absorb sunlight because it’s an essential part of chlorophyll.

These two ingredients also tend to break down quicker than bone meal. 

Poultry Manure: While many kinds of manure can make a great base for granular fertilizers, poultry manure is widely used in gardening and agriculture because it tends to be higher than other animal manures in the nutrients that plants most need. Of course, it’s also a good source of organic matter. Our poultry manure comes from organically fed birds and passes through the most rigorous food safety-certified protocol possible, so this organic goodness is ready to nourish plants and soil.

Soybean Meal: Typically high in nitrogen and low in phosphorus and potassium, this plant-based fertilizer component is slow-release. That means it can feed the plant over the growing season in small increments. It’s good to note that microorganisms will break this material down easiest during warm, wet weather (or when you consistently water during warm weather).  

What home garden plants is Annual & Perennial Food best for? 

It’s a good choice for any long-term planting like herbs, perennials, and flowers that tend to be leggy. It’s also great when you want to give plants a healthy dose of phosphorus and/or potassium during the growing season. These plants may have plenty of nitrogen with good vegetative growth, but adding phosphorus and potassium can improve roots, strength, and flowers.

Any plants that should NOT get any Annual & Perennial Food?

Annual & Perennial Food isn’t aimed at heavy nitrogen feeders (like tomatoes, corn, peppers, etc.). You can use Annual & Perennial Food as a timed application to help boost blooms or fruit in things like peppers and tomatoes, but it shouldn’t be your primary source of fertilizer.

Margaret’s top tips:

• Remember to keep the soil moist to help the fertilizer break down for plant uptake by soil microorganisms, but not so wet that roots begin to rot!
• Over-applying will not always get bigger or better results! 
• If you grow the same plants in the same place every year, try to change it up so that you can replenish the nutrients removed by those plants. 
• You can also amend the soil by adding compost or other organic material in the fall when you remove that season’s plants. This gives you a leg up when you plant the following season. 
• Fertilizing perennials is different from what you might be used to with annuals. Take time to research your plants so you always have the best blooms on the block. Flower show winners! I mean, is it really gardening if you don’t brag about your crops?! (Not that we’re competitive over here or anything…)

Happy gardening!

Do you like to start your garden with seeds? It’s a super gratifying way to grow plants!

You might have experience with direct sowing (planting seed right into the garden bed where they’ll remain), but starting seedlings outdoors through the winter is a nature-approved method that will become your new favorite garden trick.

It’s called winter sowing and it’s way easier than you think!

Benefits of Winter Sowing

Quick and low-maintenance 

Winter sowing is a nearly “set it and forget it” method that gives you hardy, ready-to-plant crops for your spring garden. Preparing the containers is incredibly simple and family-friendly — a great project for kids.

Once you prep and plant your seeds, you’ll leave them outside for months to activate their ability to germinate (a process referred to as scarring or stratifying), watch them sprout into seedlings and harden off all by themselves right in upcycled, reusable containers. 

Low-cost and sustainable

Winter sowing is low-cost, simple, and space-efficient. The only materials you need are cleaned plastic containers like milk jugs, scissors, and permanent markers. Oh, and seeds and soil, of course. 

It’s a great way to save money on your gardening hobby: seeds are way less expensive (sometimes they’re even free if you use a seed exchange or library). Plus, you’ll have control of the whole process, ensuring that your plants are organic, hardy, and ready to go in the ground.

Find a seed library or exchange near you with the Seed Librarian’s locator map or the Seed Savers Exchange search feature — or do a quick internet search. If you can’t find anything online, visit your local nursery to consult a gardening expert about seed exchanges in your neighborhood. Or start saving your own seeds!

Can’t find an organic seed exchange in your hometown? Start one! Get some pointers from our friends at Phoenix Seed Swap, a small grass-roots seed saving and sharing project in Arizona. 

Creates hardy, healthy seedlings

The hardening off process that indoor-grown seedlings need prior to being planted in the ground can be tricky, time-consuming, and stressful. 

Seedlings started outside don’t need to be hardened off before planting in the garden — the process of winter sowing does that naturally.

As they germinate and grow outside in natural weather conditions (protected in their containers from getting washed away by rain or dug up by hungry animals), they’re getting used to natural weather conditions and being nourished by natural light. All of that acclimates them to a life outside! They’ll be hardier, stronger, and ready to be happily transplanted into the garden come spring.

No fancy equipment needed

And no greenhouse required, either!  Winter sowing is ideal for those with limited indoor space for seed starting. No special lighting or equipment is required for germination.

Winter Sowing Basics

How does winter sowing work?

Winter sowing means planting seeds and tending seedlings in outdoor containers before spring. This process mimics the natural process of seed germination. 

Most seeds are dormant and need something to trigger their “wake-up call” before they can germinate. (Thank you, winter!) 

Winter sowing does not mean directly sowing your seeds in the ground. They’d be quite unlikely to make it to spring in that case. 

What do I need?

• Containers: Gallon milk jugs are the most popular, but other plastic containers with lids work, too.
• Space: You don’t need much! A corner of your yard will do.
• Seeds
• Potting soil

What crops should I sow?

You’ll be surprised at how many varieties are ideal for winter sowing. Many flowering plants, herbs, and edible crops can be sown outside in winter.

So how can you be sure a seed is good for winter sowing? 

Start by looking for seeds that are considered “hardy” in your USDA Plant Hardiness Zone.

If you’re using store-bought or online-ordered seeds from a packet, the information on that packet is all you need. You can also get a ton of helpful info from any seed catalog. Even if you aren’t ordering your seeds from a catalog, you can get a free catalog mailed to you from almost any seed company. We recommend going organic! 

Look for terms like: reseeding, self-sowing, hardy, withstands frost, sow outdoors in early spring, stratification, and scarification. That means the seed is good for outdoor winter sowing.

When should I sow my seeds?

It depends greatly on the conditions in your area, which you can learn about by identifying your USDA Plant Hardiness Zone (sometimes referred to as Garden Zone). Check it out here.

Generally, your best bet to winter sow perennials and hardy annuals will be December through March (later in that range if you live in a colder climate). These seeds need to chill out in cold temperatures and moist conditions for a while in order to germinate in spring. 

For less hardy plants like veggies and other tender annuals, March and April are good times for winter sowing. Those seeds don’t need a cold period before germination.

Step-by-Step Winter Sowing

Prepare containers

• Clean: Wash a milk jug or other translucent plastic container with soap and rinse well.
• For milk jugs: With a serrated knife or box cutter, just below the handle, cut almost all the way around the jug. Leave about 2 inches as a hinge, so the top part of the jug can open easily. (Skip this step for plastic takeout containers, but save the lid.) You can toss out the milk jug lid.
• Make drainage holes in the bottom of the container. If you’re using a container with a lid, poke a few holes in the lid, too.

Prepare soil

• Fill container with at least 4 inches of organic potting mix. Avoid garden soil which may contain pathogens and weed seeds.
• Lightly water soil and allow it to drain.
• You don’t need to add plant food until the seed germinates and sprouts. Once you have a few leaves, you can use True Organic Preplant Food.

Sow and seal

• Follow the directions on the seed package to sow your seeds.
• If using milk jugs, seal the container around the “seam” with light-colored outdoor-style tape (remember, you want lots of sunlight to get in, so don’t use something like black tape, which will block out light.). Leave the top of the milk jug off so water can enter.
• If using a lidded container, place the lid back on, double-checking that water can get into the holes in the lid.

“Set and forget” 

• Label your containers with type of seed and sowing date.
• Choose a secure location outside that gets lots of sun all day and gets some rain or snow. Do not place your containers under an awning — they need moisture!
• Leave them alone! Revisit them when your seedlings start germinating in spring.

A few things to watch out for:

Early spring or a warm spell

If seeds get a burst of warm weather, they could germinate too soon, leaving baby seedlings vulnerable to returning cold weather.

Lack of sun

Be sure the location you choose has good sun all day, especially as Winter days are still short. 

Wind and other extreme weather

If a wind storm is coming, move your containers into the garage overnight or place them in a heavy crate until the conditions pass.

Animals 

Although your seeds are protected by their containers, animals like mice, birds, and squirrels can be relentless (and quite clever) when it comes to getting some winter nosh. It’s worth checking on your containers every so often to make sure animals aren’t fussing with them or chewing/clawing at them — and moving them to a more secure location, if so.

The Plant Doctor Is In: Liquid Plant Food Ingredients That Support Your Houseplants

Despite growing up on a farm and being a real-life plant and soil scientist (with a Masters in Soil Science and PhD in Horticulture from Washington State University), Margaret McCoy admits that she never had any indoor plants until grad school.

“I needed a plant for a grad school project, and my advisor gave me a pothos. And I still have it!”

It was the first indoor plant Margaret kept alive, and it inspired her to start reconsidering her ability to care for houseplants. Before that inspirational pothos, she was never able to keep a houseplant from perishing.

“People were always giving me plants but I didn’t want them! I murdered them.”

So what changed for Margaret and her houseplants? Besides settling into a more permanent home (her homestead in South-Central Washington State), she says she learned more about taking care of them and forgiving herself when things didn’t work out.

“I have a rubber tree, I have a fiddle-leaf fig, I have a monstera…and they all need different things and sometimes I don’t know why a certain plant isn’t happy. I just try different things.”

And one of the major things that really makes a difference in your houseplants’ health is plant food ingredients! We sat down with Margaret to chat about how True Organic Liquid Plant Foods are your secret weapon when it comes to caring for your houseplants and potted garden.

What’s In The Bottle?

When you look at the nutrient analysis of any fertilizer, you’re seeing the available nutrients that will “feed” your plants.

But look closer and you’ll notice a “derived from” section on the label. These are the ingredients used to make the listed nutrients available for plants. It’s very similar to a nutrition label on packaged food: the ingredients are what deliver the listed nutrients (carbohydrates, vitamins, sugars, protein, etc.) to your body.

Let’s look at some of the common ingredients in our liquid plant foods and learn about what they deliver to your green friends.

Reduced Molasses Sugar & Sugar Beet Extract

Let’s start simple: with simple sugar, that is.

Yep, reduced molasses sugar and sugar beet extract are just what they sound like!

These plant food ingredients are sugar-water solutions that dose plants with a quick shot of nutrients for energy. This type of ingredient helps reduce transplant shock — a condition that can strike plants when they are moved to a new location or environment, or undergo physical harm.

Molasses is derived from sugarcane and you know it as a sweetener for gingerbread, cookies, and cinnamon buns. Sugar beet extract is, of course, derived from sugar beets. Both give plants a quick, easily “digestible” source of nutrients and stress-suppressing compounds.

They’re a source of easily digestible carbon and minerals for soil microbes, which enhances microbial activity and can improve nutrient uptake.

While they don’t provide a lot of ongoing nutrient support, these ingredients act like a sugary drink or “goo” that a long-distance athlete might use to boost their energy during an endurance race. That’s why this family of ingredients is contained in many of our plant foods!

Kelp extract

The ocean gives us this plant food ingredient. “Kelp makes plants really happy. It’s really good for plants that have a stress response or injury,” says Margaret McCoy.

Here’s how: Kelp contains growth hormones that can help regulate the growth of plants. The cytokine hormone mobilizes nutrients in plant leaves to improve the chlorophyll content and increase the growth rate and fullness of plants. It can also improve resilience in response to a variety of stressors and even support pest and disease resistance.

Potash

Potash, as a plant food ingredient, contributes potassium to plant food. While potash (pronounce “pot ash,” as in “potassium ash”) was originally produced from wood ashes and charcoal, it’s now typically mined from the underground deposits of evaporated sea beds.

The term “potash” usually refers to the overarching group of potassium-rich minerals as a whole; most of the potash delivers potassium in the form of Potassium Chloride (KCl). Like many other nutrients, potassium needs to be in the right form for soil microbes to break it down and plant roots to take it in.

Potassium is a huge helper to the overall quality and yield of crops. It protects plants from extreme temperatures, helps plants to fight stress, strengthens roots and stems, and helps enzymes support plants’ efficient use of water.

Soy Protein Hydrolysates

“Protein hydrolysates are essential amino acids that serve as a simple superfood,” says Margaret McCoy. They’re building blocks for plants, stimulating root growth and function, supporting cell structure, and promoting vegetative growth.

Plants use amino acids differently, and protein hydrolysates give them a needed boost of different types of amino acids.

Our exclusive soy protein hydrolysate blend is derived from organic soy beans and supplies a wide range of amino acids for both plants and soil microbes. (Plants can use the amino acids directly or use components like nitrogen and carbon for other critical parts of plant development.)

Soy protein hydrolysates are a super-star plant food ingredient that enhances nutrient availability and reduces the overall impacts of environmental stress (over-watering, heat, etc). That’s why this ingredient is in all of our Liquid Plant Foods!

Humic Acid

Humic Acid is a signature plant food ingredient in our Organic Liquid Preplant Starter. It stimulates root development — specifically fine roots used to scavenge nutrients and help improve water and nutrient uptake. And with improved root systems, plants can protect better against environmental stressors!

Grow Your Home Jungle!

Now that you’re briefed on how different plant food ingredients support plants, you may be eager to get going with fertilization. But be mindful: plants don’t need supplements during non-growth seasons (like in Fall and Winter), and it’s important to get to know your plants and what they need.

Research the varieties of houseplants you’re raising to learn more about what kind of plant foods they need. Get familiar with your plants’ appearances so you know when something is up, and they need a boost, a repotting, less water, or a new spot in the house.

And you can rest assured that every single True Organic product is certified food safe with the absolute highest standards. Learn more about our commitment to food safety and how we ensure the safest, highest-quality organic fertilizers on the market.