Our Land Organics Has Started A Native Plant Nursery!
By: Carter Sturgeon
Why We’re (Organically!) Growing Native Plants Near Cincinnati
There’s no doubt that in the horticulture industry we have see a boom in people’s interest in native plants, and for a good reason.
Native plants support local ecosystems, provide habitat for host-specific insect populations, and restore degraded soils and landscapes.
With growing demand for these plants, nurseries often quickly run out, or there’s not enough demand for some of the more specialized plants that are not commonly used but certainly are just as important.
High demand is a great problem to have, but there is the issue of lacking plant selection, nursery practices, and a large amount of pesticide usage.
Nurseries often use pesticides to preserve the aesthetic of plants. While a plant free from harmful pests is good, it can also mean a lack of pollinator species visiting said plants during cultivation when using this method. Using pesticides makes their production somewhat counterproductive, as native species cannot use their host species, leading to declining viable food sources. Not to mention the possible damage runoff might be causing to our waterways.
All these issues came to a head for Our Land Organics in 2022, and we decided it was time to think about how to produce native plants in-house, sustainably, and pesticide-free.
This is how The Nursery at Our Land Organics was born.
Our pollinator garden located next to the nursery growing area
The Nursery’s Early Days
With little to no experience, we decided to try it out and see what would come of producing plants differently.
That spring, we set up a trial nursery and grew five native species: Aquilegia canadensis, Echinacea purpurea, Coreopsis laneolata, Andropogon gerardii, and Schizachryum scoparium.
The nursery was a simple setup and quite different from traditional greenhouses. Trays of deep-root pots were set up in an open area, and a simple fishing line fence was used to keep deer out. Almost 1,000 native plants were started from seed and cultivated throughout the Spring and Summer.
Miraculously, with little intervention, virtually every plant we started that year survived. Not only did they survive, they thrived!
Our 2022 Pilot Nursery , including Aquilegia canadensis, Echinacea purpurea, Coreopsis laneolata, Andropogon gerardii, and Schizachryum scoparium
The list of variables we could remove by growing without a greenhouse has no doubt contributed to our success in several ways:
Because the plants are native, we invite beneficial insects and pollinators to our growing site, which means less pest pressure.
No plants had to be hardened off, reducing the likelihood of disease caused by stress.
There’s no need for pesticides, herbicides, or fungicides.
The fall look at the nursery. These plants are ready to be planted!