Close to 100 people lined up Saturday morning to participate in a donation-based winter sowing activity sponsored by the Valparaiso Native Plant Group. Visitors were able to leave the event with their own recyclable mini-greenhouses.

“We are a new group that just started meeting in September,” said Sheila Sweeney, one of the founders of the group. “This was a perfect time to do something for the community.”

The winter sowing activity was based on a method created by Trudi Davidoff, of Wintersown Educational in East Meadow, New York.

The event at Meridian Woods Clubhouse was set up in four stations, with an educator at each stop. The first stop was to choose the species they wanted to feed, and which seeds they wanted to plant.

“There are lots of different growth needs, from sun to partial sun, to shade, to wet,” said volunteer Laurie Eberhardt. “You need to pick seeds that will thrive in the conditions in your own garden.”

Recyclable milk jugs cut in half with drain holes in the bottom were at the first station. Visitors could write the names of the seeds they wanted to plant on the jug and proceed to the soil station to fill the jug with soil but first got a coffee filter to go in the bottom of the jug.

“The coffee filter is placed in the bottom of the jug to keep the moisture in and the slugs out,” Sweeney said. “Just an extra layer of protection.”

“You want soil that is not too try and not too muddy, aerated to the proper consistency,” volunteer Peter Martin said. “Don’t get a seed starter soil because that will have things in it that we don’t want.”

Volunteers Noel Evans and Lisa Sutton were at the third station, where visitors planted up to 10 seeds gently at the top of the soil and used a spray bottle to coat the seeds in the soil.

Visitors stopped at the last station to tape up their milk jugs using painter’s tape with assistance from volunteer Lynne Sundwall.

“We are making a mini-greenhouse to keep moisture in,” Sundwall said. “You leave the lid opening at the top so that water can get in and exit out the drain holes.”

“You can leave the jugs on your patio all winter,” Sutton said. “Wait until you are past the frost and have 2 inches of growth to plant. There is no need to water unless there is drought.”

“Most native plants are prairie plants but you have to learn what your sun requirements are for each plant,” Sundwall said. “Native plants can share roots with a variety of plants. They don’t like to be babied. Once you get them in the ground, they will do what they need to do.”

Heather Minard, of Valparaiso, and her two adult daughters, Caitlin and Halie, attended the event Saturday after they read about it on Facebook.

“I have a flower bed in my front yard and wanted to introduce native plants,” said Heather Minard, saying the educators were great about giving information and helping her make her choices. “I chose butterfly weed and columbine because I liked the bell shape and it will go well in my garden.”

Minard’s daughters both recently got their own homes and were excited to have native plants to start their gardens.

Native plants grow naturally in the region where they evolved. Without them, the insects and birds that co-evolved with them cannot survive.

“I love native plants as a nature-based climate solution,” said Kathy Sipple, co-founder of the Valparaiso Native Plant Group. “There is nothing political about it. You can check off so many boxes (for the environment), not just planting something pretty.”

“We have all these flash rains now that have allowed these native plants to have deep roots, and they help drain the water from the surface, making the soil more receptive to allow the rain to get down to the water table,” Sipple said.

“I love the beauty of planting native species,” volunteer Annemarie Marti said. “It is an adventure because you never know what is going to happen, and it’s an easy sell because you are helping the natural ecosystem.”

For more information on winter sowing or to join the group, email co-founder Sheila Sweeney at sheila913@msn.com, and to learn more about native species, go to finder.indiananativeplants.org.

Deena Butterfield is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.