Timeline

Winter 2025/2026: Site preparation for planting

Spring 2026: Plug planting

Fall 2026: Initial seed harvest (if applicable)

Fall 2027: Main seed harvest

Details

Producers convert a small area (typically <1 acre) of their land to native seed production. We work with you to determine which of our species will do best on your property and generate the most revenue. 

We will provide a minimum annual stipend of $1100/acre to help offset startup costs. We will also provide plugs to plant in your increase plot, free of charge. We will provide consultation and technical assistance through the duration of the project. We can provide some labor for planting and harvesting. 

Producers are responsible for maintaining their seed production field (weed and pest management) from Spring 2026 through seed harvest at the end of 2027. 

Roundstone Native Seed will clean, process, test, store, and help market seed that producers harvest.

Our Expertise

While we are growing several of these species for the first time, some of them have been grown before in other parts of the country, and we are adapting existing information on how to grow them to the Virginia Piedmont. Furthermore, we are partnering with Roundstone Native Seed, who have been growing native species (including many of ours) for decades. We can therefore provide general technical assistance growing native plants, even if we have not grown that specific species or ecotype before. We are also relying on the diverse expertises on crop production of our colleagues at the Southern Piedmont AREC, whose specializations include insect pest management, plant pathology, and weed management.

Who Can Participate?

We are recruiting growers from all backgrounds and levels of expertise. To meet the increasing demand for native seed in Virginia and beyond, we need more farmers growing these species. A major goal of our project is to lower barriers of entry to any growers who want to enter the native seed industry. With that in mind, we are trying to meet growers where they are and offer extra support where we can. That being said, this project may not be for every grower. Native seed is low-input crop, but there is considerable labor required during plant establishment and harvest. We will meet with every prospective grower and discuss their ability to be successful in this project.

We are also limited in our capacity to assist participating growers. We can assist 7 new growers for the 2026 growing season. We hope to expand this number in the future with additional funding.

We highly encourage farmers who meet the USDA’s definition of historically underserved to apply!

Growing Recommendations

Site Prep

Proper site prep is key to staying on top of the weeds during the growing season. There are several ways to prep a site for planting. The best method for each farmer will depend on their experience, tools, and resources. Here are some of the options out there:

Organic Methods: 

• Some of these method takes a bit longer than the conventional method: plan to start in early winter if you are going to use tarping or sheet mulching. 

1. Tarping: Mow down the production area and lightly wet it with a garden hose (soil should be moist to promote germination but not soaked to the point of encouraging fungal growth). Lay down black tarp over the entire production area, ensuring that it is held down well with heavy objects such as sandbags and rocks. Make sure that no light can penetrate any areas under the tarp. 

Helpful silage tarping how-to guide:

https://www.sierraflowerfarm.com/blog/silage-tarping-weed-suppression-soil-health

2. Sheet mulching: the production area should also be mowed and moist before placing cardboard down in sheets that overlap by several inches. Growers then typically add wood chips or soil on top of the cardboard, which should break down over time. Be very careful about what you add on top of the cardboard: the native species we are growing do not need a lot of soil amendments, if any at all, and you don’t want to add any weed species hiding in the mulch/soil to the production area by accident. Plants can be planted directly into the cardboard in Spring, or you can lay weed fabric on top of the cardboard and plant into that, as well. We do not have any experience with this method, so we cannot recommend it, but it is an option for growers who ideally already have experience using it. 

Check out this video on sheet mulching from Virginia Free Farm:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ranfWFnDoSM

3. Sod-cutting: This is a great option if you have or are able to rent a sod-cutter and are converting lawn. In a short amount of time, you can remove the sod from your entire production area. Then, you can lay weed fabric directly on the new soil surface. This is the fastest method. 

Conventional Methods:

These methods are generally faster: they will only require starting site prep several months before planting. They involve some combination of spraying (ideally at least twice) and/or tilling/plowing. Around 2 months before planting (early February, for southern VA), do an initial broadcast spray of glyphosate over the whole production area. Wait until the weeds are dead (~1 week), then till those back into the soil. Once the next flush of weeds is 2-3” high, do another glyphosate application. Wait until those weeds have died and dried out (1 to 2 weeks) and then lay weed fabric over the production area. Tilling is an optional step in this process. Tilling by itself will just bring up additional weed seeds buried in deeper soils to the surface, where they can germinate, so tilling should always be combined with at least one herbicide application. 

Our experience: 

We at Virginia Tech have experience growing native species in raised beds created with a strawberry planter (see above photo), after tilling and applying several rounds of glyphosate. The planter laid plastic and drip tape simultaneously. We used a water wheel planter to create holes in the plastic and planted plugs by hand.

We left the alleys uncovered and have been keeping those weed-free by mopping with herbicide. Next Spring, we will plant a low-grow grass mix in the alleys which we will mow, to cut down on herbicide use. 

We used this method because those are the tools we had on hand: a tractor, a sprayer, a bedder (strawberry planter), a tiller attachment, and a water wheel planter. This setup has been successful for us, but we would not recommend it to folks who don’t have those pieces of equipment. 

Our recommendation: 

Ultimately, you should choose the method you feel most comfortable/ have the most experience with. Keep in mind, however, that for good seed production, it is crucial to keep the weeds at bay. This is necessary both for good production of target species and for ensuring that no noxious weed seeds are harvested by accident. Native seed lots are tested regularly and if they are found to contain a certain (very small) percentage of noxious weeds, the whole lot must be destroyed.
For new/less experienced farmers, the cheapest and easiest method is to spray one – to – several rounds of herbicide (glyphosate) and then lay a high quality weed fabric. This is the method employed by several farmers participating in the Clifton Institute’s Native Seed Pilot Project. If you are planting into an old field or heavily invaded area, rather than a lawn, you may need additional sprays with more targeted herbicides, as well as tilling/plowing. We recommend planting directly into weed fabric because it will greatly reduce the amount of time and money you will ultimately have to spend fighting weeds. It is certainly not a requirement, however. We can help you determine the best production methods for your farm.

Weed barrier recommendations

• Biodegradable plastic-like mulch (e.g. https://www.filmorganic.com/)
• DeWitt Pro woven landscape fabric: best choice for slow-growing plants over a longer period of time (10+ years)

Planting

Plug planting can either be done manually or with equipment. Growers using weed fabric can use a sharp implement (such as a soil knife) or propane torch to create holes in the fabric and then manually plant plugs. We will be available to help with planting.

Fertilizer & Water

These plants do not need or want the amount of fertilizer that traditional row crops require. Adding too much Nitrogen, specifically, can lead to weed issues and lodged plants. The exact nutrient requirements are still unknown for many native species, but a good starting point for land that has not been recently fertilized is 100 lbs/acre of a 20-20-20 soluble NPK fertilizer. You can run this through drip tape irrigation at a rate of about 5 lbs/acre every 3-4 weeks. You can also till granular fertilizer into the soil pre-planting.

The amount of water required by the plants depends on the individual species, the time of year, and the weather. Generally, the soil should be kept evenly moist during the first few weeks to help the plugs adapt to their new environment and establish roots. After this initial period, watering should be reduced and shifted toward less frequent but deeper applications to encourage strong root development. Once established, these plants are highly drought-tolerant, though they will still require careful attention throughout the first growing season.

Harvest

Harvest is a time-consuming but essential and rewarding part of the process. Because these native plants have not been bred to fruit and shatter at the same time, many of these species will need be harvested by hand, at multiple points in time. Seed harvest varies greatly by species, so we will work with you to develop a strategy that best fits your needs.

Check out our Grower Resources page for more helpful information!