Plant the Way Inc.

Three attributes of milkweed drive our farming practices: it's a perennial, it's a tough native plant that doesn't need inputs like fertilizer or pesticides to grow successfully, and it germinates best when sown in late fall or winter.

Because milkweed is a perennial, thorough site preparation before seeding is critical — we want as few weeds as possible on a field, and ideally no perennial weeds at all. We clear existing vegetation through plowing or discing, then sow during the first winter of the lease so the seed experiences natural freeze-thaw cycles, which improves germination. Depending on field size, we either broadcast seed and press it in with a drag bar, or use a native seed drill.

Milkweed thrives in less fertile soil and doesn't need supplemental irrigation. For many soil types that are difficult for conventional crops, for example periodic flooding, low fertility, highly acidic or basic soil, there's a milkweed species suited to those exact conditions. The one non-negotiable is full sun. And because we're growing it to support monarch butterflies, we don’t use pesticides on our fields.

Alongside milkweed, we dedicate a portion of each field, roughly 20% of the acreage, to native wildflowers that supply nectar for adult monarchs. Milkweed is essential for monarch caterpillars, but adult butterflies need a steady source of nectar throughout the season, so we plant a mix of early-, mid-, and late-blooming native wildflower species to keep flowers available from spring through fall, particularly during the fall migration when nectar sources are critical for monarchs building up energy reserves for their journey south. Like milkweed, these species are chosen for their fit with local soil and site conditions and require no fertilizer, pesticides, or irrigation to thrive.

We visit each field periodically during the growing season and over winter, working alongside trained volunteer to monitor plant growth, weed pressure, and monarch activity between our visits. Weed control evolves as fields mature: cover crops handle annual weeds in the first two years; perennial weeds are removed during monitoring and bare soil reseeded; woody weeds are managed by mowing fields to the ground every third fall, with fields otherwise left standing over winter as habitat for beneficial insects and birds. By year three, we expect our first crop of milkweed and wildflower seed, which we'll use to plant new fields elsewhere.