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February 15, 2021 · 3 Comments

Winter Sowing for Flowers and Vegetables

How to

During my recent interview with Michelle Mero Riedel about winter sowing—a budget-friendly way to start seeds outside in winter—she drew a distinction between winter sowing and spring sowing. Winter sowing is done between now and about March 31—and most of the seeds you are starting are for perennial flowers, those that will come back year after year. I used this method to start many wildflowers for my former garden.

Spring sowing, however, is what happens from April 1 on—it uses the winter sowing method but later in the season so you can start seeds of annual flowers, herbs and vegetables.

What is Winter Sowing?

As Michelle explained in the podcast, this seed starting method involves setting up mini-greenhouses using gallon milk or water jugs or similar recycled containers. You cut the containers apart so you can fill them with soil, plant seeds and water. Then you tape the containers back together and set them outside. Other than making sure the containers do not dry out—that is the kiss of death for your seeds, as I discovered on year—Mother Nature takes care of everything else.

container hinged
Container ready for soil and seeds.

As the weather warms up, you may remove the tops from the containers. When the seedlings are big enough to transplant, you take them out of the containers and then plant them in 4-inch pots for further growth or right into the garden.

This seed starting method is budget-friendly, great for beginners and fun to do. (If you happen to be teaching kids at home this spring, it would be a great science project for elementary or middle school students.)

Spring Sowing

Traditionally, winter sowing containers are put out in winter (duh!) and so the method does not work for vegetables, annual flowers or herbs. Their seeds don’t need (or like) the freeze-thaw cycles you get in winter. Using the same method, you can start the seeds in early spring and set them out in their minigreenhouses. On sunny days, the greenhouses will be warm enough to encourage germination and keep the plants snug as they grow.

Another advantage of the mini-greenhouses is they protect your seedlings from rabbits, squirrels, deer or whatever pests bother your plants.

Zinnia annual flowers
Zinnias are annual flowers that you can grow from seed using the spring sowing method.

I haven’t done spring sowing before, but this year I decided to start as many of my annual flowers as possible from seed. I have an abundance of seed packets for cosmos, marigolds, impatiens, nasturtiums and sunflowers to grow. Along with the vegetables I’ll be starting under lights, it would be a challenge to get as many plants as I need. So, I’ve started cleaning out and saving the empty milk jugs to use starting April 1. I’ll report back here and on my Instagram feed how the experiment goes.

If you are interested in winter sowing whether for perennial plants or spring-started vegetables, annual flowers and herbs, check out my interview with Michelle.

Related posts:

  1. How to Use the Winter Sowing Method to Start Seeds Outdoors It’s still a bit early for starting seeds indoors in...
  2. Winter Sowing Native Plants, Two Ways A week ago, we had a few days of pleasant...
  3. Update on the Winter Sowing Containers I wrote some time ago about starting native perennials in...
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Trackbacks

  1. 7 Easy Annuals to Grow from Seed - My Northern Garden says:
    March 18, 2021 at 12:23 pm

    […] can be seeded outdoors or inside under lights. Amy told me she often starts them using the winter-sowing method as well. Last year, I grew Safari Orange marigolds from seed and they were a highlight of my […]

  2. Seed Starting Basics - My Northern Garden says:
    February 24, 2022 at 9:57 am

    […] tried a number of techniques for seed starting, with mostly good results. My experiences with winter sowing have been mixed, so mostly I focus on starting seeds indoors in March and April for a cold-climate […]

  3. Winter Sowing Native Plants, Two Ways - My Northern Garden says:
    February 27, 2022 at 7:22 pm

    […] planted the winter sowing containers using a fairly light potting mix, which included potting soil, perlite and vermiculite. Three of […]

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Did I mention how exquisite the plant material is Did I mention how exquisite the plant material is at Longwood Gardens in Philadelphia? I’ll be doing a full blog post soon about this and some of the other gardens we visited but as I’m heading home I’m cherishing all the great people on the Garden Fling tour, the amazing organizer @karl_gercens_ and the beautiful places we saw. 
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They are an acquired taste but I love them, especially in a spicy jam. 

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2.5 cups of cleaned ground cherries, 
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1 tsp each of cinnamon and nutmeg

 Boil away until it is thick. Store in the fridge and use as you would any jam. 

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