Even here in Maine, it has finally become summer. While that means weekend trips to the beach, it also means that we have soil temperatures that are too hot for wildflower seed germination. So what can you do if you didn't already get your seeds started when it was cooler? Dig out some cardboard boxes and follow these instructions:
1. Select your location, looking for a spot with good drainage. Prep the area by cleaning any debris, weeds, or grass and raking the top inch of soil. Mix in a nutrient rich potting soil to give your seeds a boost. Below is the prepped location we used in a bare spot in our flower garden.
2. Sprinkle seeds on the surface and lightly cover. You can walk over them lightly to compress them into the soil. Some seeds will still be visible and that is fine. We used the Bird and Butterfly Garden Mix, because who doesn't want more butterflies?
3. Saturate the soil deeply with water. More water, more water, more water. Allow for it to soak in deeply and spray AGAIN. REPEAT. This also applies to Step #5.
4. Tear up the cardboard boxes into flat pieces and place over the prepped ground.
5. Saturate the cardboard with water. REPEAT (see Step #3).
6. Water, water, and water again until the seedlings sprout in about 14-21 days. You can then uncover, but watch for drying out.
Ideally, you would try to pick as mild a week as possible temperature-wise to try this out. Wildflower seeds prefer a soil temperature around 70, so when it is hotter than that, the seeds must be kept wet and covered to keep it cooler and allow for germination. Happy planting!
Pinetree Wildflower Seed Mixes: