- What is environmental and conservation seed
- Why does quality seed matter
- Why use a professional seed supplier
What is environmental and conservation seed?
Environmental and conservation seed helps to restore lands devastated by wildfires, natural disasters, and invasive weeds. It serves as the foundation of healthy landscapes, contributing to stable ecosystems, erosion control and biodiversity.
Lately, there has been increased interest in planting native seed mixes to provide important habitat and forage resources for wildlife and pollinators.
Why does quality seed matter?
Quality seed from experienced seed producers will help public and private land managers achieve their conservation and restoration goals for a healthier environment.
Quality seed doesn’t just happen. There’s a lot involved in producing the best seed for the best results. This includes: choosing the appropriate species; constantly managing production to reduce impacts from diseases, pests and weeds; properly cleaning and handling seed to maintain quality and performance; and testing to ensure high-quality performance standards are met.
We can’t control everything, but experienced seed companies understand how geography, climate, and other environmental challenges can impact success. No matter what Mother Nature brings, their tested seed is prepared to deliver results.
Why use a professional seed supplier?
To address widespread challenges like wildfires, invasive cheatgrass, or soil or water quality concerns, we need diverse seeds from native- and regionally-adapted species produced at large scale.
Through research and testing, your local, professional seed companies are working to ensure we’re prepared with the best quality seeds to address the environmental challenges across the nation.
Native seed producers, with generations of experience, are committed to your success. In addition to producing varieties themselves, they also work with seasoned seed collectors who scour thousands of acres to collect the best seed from the best locations to meet the needs of each individual landscape.
As stewards of the land, seed growers and collectors recognize that sustainability and land-management are critical.
Your professional, local seed companies adhere to state requirements to screen for quality assurance through purity and germination testing, ensuring the best seed to achieve the best results. Native seed producers strive to provide seed that is free from weeds that will undermine positive results.
In order to achieve the best results for conservation plantings it is important to follow management recommendations from your seed supplier. This is especially true for specialized mixes for pollinator habitat that include many plant species that are not commonly found in typical conservation plantings. Weed management takes constant vigilance as weed seeds can be transmitted via air, animals, rain and soil.