Winter Sowing

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One of the easiest ways to garden is winter sowing. It's the process of planting seeds in a container with dirt and setting the container outside to sprout when it's ready. I have had great success with this method for the past 6 years. Plus it is a way I can reuse milk jugs.

Winter sowing seeds a the most natural way for seeds to get ready to grow. Many seeds like having a cold season before they are willing to sprout. These plants are called hardy annuals and perennials. In my zone 5, it can can very cold in winter. Hardy annuals and perennial plants don't mind the cold at all. There are also plants you can start in spring called tender annuals. Tender annuals do not tolerate the cold and will need warmer temperature to sprout.

All I do is drill or cut drainage hole on the bottom and on the top of a milk jug for air flow.

Cut around the middle and leave the handle area attached to move around easily.

Fill up the bottom half with wet growing matter, such as; dirt, compost, or whatever blend you like. I prefer something that drains well and full of nutrients to give the seed a head start. My homemade mix is 7 parts coco coir, 1 part compost, and 1 part perlite. Make sure to presoak the coco coir when using to allow it to fully expand to the proper size.

I place between 4 to 9 seeds in the dirt depending on the plant spacing needs.

You can place 2 seeds in each spot but remember to only allow 1 plant to continue growing once its established. In many cases a plant will kill the other one or they will both die if there is not enough space and/or nutrients are not provided.

Next I cover with a fine layer of dirt covering the seeds up about 1/4 to 1/2 inch. Check package per seed for depth.

Press the dirt lightly but enough to make complete contact with the seeds.

Then water in or spray with a misting bottle. Completely saturate the soil to allow the seeds plenty of water without dispersing the seeds around.

Put the jug back together and close with strong tape.

Make sure to mark those containers with what seed is inside. I have had my sharpie marker writing completely disappear from the sun fading it. It is always fun trying to figure out what plant is in there when that happens.

Place the jugs outside in a sunny spot.

If it snows on the jugs, that is ok, natural watering is good. If its been awhile and the soil is looking dry, go ahead and lightly water.

When the temperature starts getting warm, tiny sprouts will start to form.

On a nice spring day, I like to open the jugs and let the plants soak in all the sun. When the sun starts to set, I close them back up to keep the plants warm at night. I let the plant grow big enough to transplant and save the jug for other seedlings to start.

Vegetables and Herbs

• Broccoli
• Brussels Sprouts
• Cabbage
• Cilantro
• Kale
• Oregano
• Peas
• Salvia (common sage)
• Spinach

Annuals and Perennials

• Bachelor Button
• Balloon Flower
• Bellflower
• Columbine
• Evening Primrose
• Hollyhock
• Wild Foxglove

Winter sow all of the plants above plus these ones below. Keep in mind that carrots are difficult to transplant but if done very carefully, this does work!

Vegetables and Herbs

• Basil
• Beets
• Bok Choy
• Carrots
• Lettuce

Tender Annuals

• Cosmos
• Impatients
• Marigold
• Zinnia

• Tomato

April really isn't winter sowing anymore but in my zone there is still a chance for freezing until May 15th. One plant that seems to grow like weeds in these milk jugs are tomatoes. Since the jugs are like mini green houses and take up less space outside, I like to start some tomato seedlings this way. I don't have a full big beautiful plant as fast as those started indoors or from the market but it does just as well in the garden after the transplant.

Some seeds I plan on starting indoors under a grow light. You can visit that article here.

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