Winter Sowing

Winter sowing is planting seeds in milk jugs or other, usually plastic, containers which act as mini greenhouses. You can start planting these mini greenhouses in January or February. After they are prepped and planted, you put them outside - yes, I said outside, even in January - and leave them alone until the weather begins to warm up.

Once the weather is improving - meaning that the daytime temperature is above freezing - you should check your greenhouses to make sure that the soil is still moist. Soon you will see sprouts popping up.

Trudi Davidoff at wintersown.org has a great article on how to winter sow, including creating your own mini greenhouses.

This is a great method for starting plants from seeds for so many reasons. To name just a few:

1. The plants are kept outside, meaning that they are not inside taking up space and needing a light stand or fighting for space on a narrow window ledge.
2. The seeds are subjected to the elements which allows them to naturally be prepared to sprout when each seed's genetics prompt it to do so. No manual stratification. No keeping seeds in the fridge or freezer.
3. The resulting seedlings are hardened off much more easily. As the days and nights grow warmer and the plants grow larger, more of the plastic is cut away or opened up to allow for air transpiration which is necessary for plant growth. The plants have to be able to breathe. In the process they are exposed more and more to the elements. Thus, by the time they are at the size that you want to transplant them to more permanent quarters they are good to go!

Eventually it is good to get to the point where the plants are naturalized to your yard - where they are reseeding themselves and their "young" are "volunteers" - just like plants do in a totally natural environment. But to get started or when you are adding new additions or when the plants are tender annuals that otherwise do not get an early start for the season, winter sowing is a great method.

Along with winter sowing is sowing in late fall. It works the same way, but the plants do not need to be protected at all in the spring. This is a well known process for some plants, such as spinach. Experiment with others and see what surprises you in the spring.