I really appreciate how you carefully document everything by video (e.g., indoor start pic, transplant pic, harvest pic). It helps this beginning gardener see what things look like at different stages. I'm sure it's a lot of editing work. Thanks!
Thank you, Ingrid- it's really wonderful to hear this. It is a lot of editing work, and I don't think folks necessarily realize just how much time is spent doing that portion of it ☺.
@@GrowfullywithJenna your amazing editing work is truly much appreciated - love your channel & am learning a lot. I tried out Winter sowing last year for the first time (zone 6 MO)... my spinach seemed not to like it AT ALL (didn't even show up), but my lettuce worked well.
This is probably my favorite thing about gardening. Trying something, taking note of what worked and didn't work for your garden, then making adjustments and planning new ideas for next year.
I live in zone 5a in the Idaho mountains. This year I tried planting in the snow mid March(2 feet still in March). I used a method that was a direct sow as demonstrated on the MIgardener TH-cam page. It was a huge win! Planted 3 veggies-lettuce, spinach and Kale. Since we live off grid, we don’t have an option of heat/lights for early seed starts so this was awesome. I was harvesting lettuce by late May, Kale and spinach a couple weeks later. Plants were strong and vigorous. I’ll definitely be doing this again!
@@clb50I cleared snow off down to about 6-8 inches, then put down 2 ish inches of potting soil, sowed the seeds and covered them with vermiculite, then covered them with the clear plastic tote. It worked AWESOME for me!!!! I got the idea from MI Gardeners TH-cam channel info…. Doing that again this year and also going to try some milk jug winter sowing!
This was my second year winter sowing, Zone 6 Massachusetts and I've had 100% success. I don't have space for indoor seed starting. I did transplant when the plants were quite small and gave them protection with row covers. I don't bother WS spinach, arugula, or peas because they can be direct sowed so early anyway.
Same here. Had such a mess last year because I used a suggestion from another video to use coconut coir and ended up throwing some flats because of mold. WS is the way to go for me!
The idea behind winter sown is alot of gardeners don't have space or a greenhouse to start seeds. Winter sown change the game. Also the plants are less likely to get leggy and there also hardened off.
I must say, you are the only gardening channel that I watch complete videos of. Not only are you knowledgeable but you are close to my zone I'm 6b Erie, PA. I love it, keep the wonderful videos coming Jenna.🌱😁🌱 Happy gardening As for your Collards, it could have been root disturbance that caused them to bolt, I had Bok Choy do the same thing.
Thank you so much!! And such a great point on the root disruption- I did have some mole tunneling in that portion of the garden... so that definitely could have contributed!
I love WinterSowing. I don't have the space indoors to start seeds. Starting tomatoes via WingerSowing has been the best method for me. I've tried indoor growng years ago with no success.
With your plants that bolted, you might consider transplanting smaller plants. With winter sown plants, the roots are quite vigorous when the top growth is still small. I have great results transplanting WS plants when they are quite small, and the cold-tolerant ones well before last frost dates.
How big are your plants when you transplant, and how early did you move them? Doing this for the first time and trying to learn from people with real experience!
Thanks for the practical video! I’m new to winter sowing, but a good friend of mine starts even tomatoes this way sucvesfully - and we live in southern Finland.
Thank you so much! Most things I hear about winter sowing are 100% positive and I feel like this is a more honest assessment. I like starting indoors but I also like the idea of not doing as much work so thanks for the pros and cons
I had incredible success with winter sowing. My onions were amazing! Same with cabbages and kales. I was able to get some nice perennials for my apothecary garden too. But the true winner, the hollyhocks are taking over my garden!
WS worked for large onions or green onions? Great to know if for large as WS will be my thing from now on. I threw in some old hollyhock seed this year an they got quite huge. I was wondering the same thing about a secret take over of the flower bed🤣
When did you place your onion seeds in a jug outside for winter sowing? I'm in zone 6a ohio. Usually onions need to be started indoors in around January.
I took and put dirt in a cardboard box and set inside a white plastic bag……I planted kale, cabbage, bush peas spinach. I put my boxes where they only had partial sun rather then hot sun all day. I put a paper cup in the middle of the box with some holes around it. I then closed the bag around the cup tying with string like a gift. The small cup allowed water to get in …the holes I put around the box and the bag kept the seedling s from flooding. Small holes to keep slugs etc out…when ready to plant I place the box in the ground or into a food safe tote and no disturbance to the roots…the box decomposes. I use sticks and make a tent over my plants and hang tulle over them clipping with sewing clamps you use for material…light weight and water proof. I buy plant cloth to cover them if it gets cold…..the tulle netting is cheap from Amazon…..nice ground cover to keep cats from using the dirt around your plants to dig….also put as protection for plants in my greenhouse. I’ve never had any bees or birds get caught in them to answer that question. I keep my greenhouse closed with a screen door on one end and window on the other with a fan on a timer to move air.Kept birds out from nesting and hungry ground hogs, cats etc from coming in. It was my best year for cucumbers I ever had, no damage by insects. To pollinate I just shook the stems with flowers. I have plenty of flowers, dandelions, herbs etc for the pollinators all around the farm….
This was the first time I have heard of this. When I saw your title I thought you were direct seeding seed that would overwinter outside and come up in the Spring. I have a friend back in Ashtabula Ohio who has great success with many things that way, notably kale and onions and parsnips. His parsnips grow like weeds! It's insane the amount that comes up. I have never grown celery but it has been on my mind since I have learned of and used mirepoix in my cooking. I've been teaching myself to cook for a number of years now. I pulled my zucchini out today, basically because I didn't want anymore and my garden is overrun. lol Oh and I dug up some potatoes because I am going to need some in an upcoming meal. Always a pleasure to hear from you. Keep up the good work!
I do some of that too- kale, carrots, onions... all seem to work well when sown in late fall and overwintered till spring. I'll have to try parsnips now! I didn't start growing my own celery till a few years ago- for some reason I had it in my head that it was difficult to grow here. But it's actually quite easy as long as you feed it- and tastes much better than the grocery store stuff. We use a lot of it in soups & stews. I'm about at that point with the zucchini too 😆... which reminds me- I've got some giant ones out in the garden right now that I need to pull & feed to the chickens! They love zucchini!
Awesome idea. One can start early and decrease stress of timing to start rather than trying to start by what the foretasted weather will be in the NW, which nearly never does what weathermen say. Plus, I've no grow light system,other space for the light system (other than on top of the washing machind/dryer, or green house. Time to start saving milk jugs.
Thank you so much for posting this video. It is very helpful to see comparison of plants started indoors vs winter sowing. I'm currently working on my winter sowing project and your video saved me a lot of time. After watching your video I decided to start perennial flowers using winter sowing method. I agree, perennials will most likely be a success. I will also give a try with tomatoes and peppers just to see what happens and post a comparison video later in the year. You definitely saved me some time with trying to winter sow leafy greens.😊 Thank you!
I’m experimenting also with peppers, tomatoes and onions, but main crop inside until I know. They say toms and pepps will catch up once planted in comparison to indoor sown. My concern is onions, I just don’t think they will get big enough-we’ll see. All the brassicas and leafy greens did well for me in Z5a winter sow last year. Not sure what happened to Jenna’s. I never grew chard or collards before, but they were huge. 😂and we didn’t like chard and if I knew how to fix collards I may have enjoyed them. The weird thing I read about celery is a cold snap will make them bolt. Mine grew very well in WS, but the stalks stayed skinny and I never grew before. This year I will pay more attention to water and think that is key because Jenna has clay and I have sand. That clay has a lot of nutrients and holds water well and she had impressive stalks. I think her WS celery may have needed transplanting sooner. Not sure if they were both same variety.
I did winter sowing for the first time this year. It was mostly an experiment for me, but I will do it again next year. The only issue I've ever had starting seeds indoors is the gardening off process. I usually lose them at that point, so winter sowing saves me so much!
Also marigolds! I do marigolds from seed every year by just throwing them on the ground and they do great. but I did them in the winter song jugs they were fabulous! I will do them every year
I did winter sowing for the first time, and had incredible success on some not so cold hardy things like tomatoes and peppers, but they didn't even sprout until May in New England, but incredibly healthy starts. I also had incredible luck with flowers such as poppies, statice, strawflowers, dahlia seeds, carnations, lupine, and yarrow. I am definitely going to try again. My brocolli didn't head and my cabbage got hit by cabbage moths....my bad for not covering. Definitely will try again.
The broccoli could have got too hot or maybe the variety. Mine grew really tall and not the most impressive heads like I bought from local plant grower and he said variety was imperial. I remember they got tall also, but larger heads and both took awhile. However the July starts this year for fall planting we’re much shorter , but bigger heads. Z5a
Love when channels discuss fails - Same celery issue & thought it was just me; coming in but never took off - 6b SE PA - LOVE YOUR EXCELLENT INFORMATION - THANK YOU!
Great Video Jenna. Love that you give the exact dates of sowing, transplant and harvest. Gives me a lot to think about and apply to my zone 6 new hampshire garden. Haven't tried winter sowing myself but my March sown seedlings seem to do pretty well even in the snow.
07:50 I live in a similar climate zone in the northern hemisphere. In order not to be affected by spring frosts here, even if the weather is hot, sowing is done after the day of Hıdırellez. Hidirellez day is considered as Saint George day in your culture.
@@harrymyhero I didn't know this. thank you. I just want to say, Whatever the conditions in my region, Saint George (Hıdırellez) day is expected to plant the seedlings prepared at home in the field. Seedlings planted before the day of Hıdırellez do not give high yields even if the weather is hot.
@@traciekowalski7664 Turkey, Central Anatolia region. It is not the coastal areas that get warm sea air in March, but the interior parts that are still cold in Spring.
Last year I winter sowed zucchini as an experiment. It worked out great. I winter sowed tomatoes. they would have done great but something attacked them so had to start over. I winter sowed Cucumbers which sprouted early april but then a cold snap came and killed them. So it's definitely a results may vary.
Interesting. I have a small unseated greenhouse that I throw the jugs in that sprouted with cold tender plants. I could use small heater if necessary. Good to know, thanks.
This was my third year winter sowing. I planted about 150 jugs each year, with about half annual flowers and perennial herbs and flowers. Overall germination was 75-80 of total with those that did not germinate mostly the same as those that would not germinate other years: pretty consistent. Exception- My tomatoes hardly germinated and half of those were stunted and eventually died or produced malformed plants and fruits. (What ever the widespread tomato issue is, I still can’t pin it down). In Ind 6a. While I will use my new small polycarbonate greenhouse more for seed starting this next year, I will still WS a majority of my plants, mostly because of the convenience. Great video
Reviewing your take on winter sowing. Going to try all sorts of different plants, with back ups in the grow room. Hope you have a fabulous 2023 garden!
That’s what is on my agenda also. I need to figure out tomatoes, peppers and onions. Want to get to a point where the mess can be outside. Planning on a re-do of lean-to greenhouse this year and if I can do it efficiently I may use that going forward. Eli in the Garden said her tomatoes produced earlier, but they stopped earlier than her neighbors. That could be variety I don’t know. I have seen that the warm season crops quickly catch up though. I will still start some indoors this year and a few of those questionable 3 in WS jugs. I love the WS technique and hopefully our weather here in WI is going to remain cold from here on out as you know the rain was very unusual for us. Been too warm to start jugs, but I didn’t do it until mid March last year when I discovered it.
Yep, I've grown chamomile from seeds for three years. This 4th year, I'm only winter sowing. Because they are just too easy winter sown to take up space indoors. The cold simply lets them grow more slowly. Resulting in round plants. Im Toledo, Ohio.
Very professional video, thank you! I have winter sown twice, last year and this year. This year was pretty unsuccessful due to bad soil issues. I usually grow warm season vegetables and perennial flowers. Many flowers were very successful last year with W S method. I also had success with tomatoes and peppers last year. This year I had maybe 20% germination. I don't have a good indoor grow light set up so WS is really handy for me. I don't want to draw negative consequences because of this year's failure and I will try WS again next year. I love your channel Jenna and I feel lucky that we are both in Ohio so I can learn especially from your experience!
Simply amazing is all I can say Mrs. Jenna. We both had the same problem with the weather going from winter to summer with in two weeks. Got to hot to quick is the answer to your questions. Thank you for the information and tour on how your year panned out so far. Stay safe my friend and have a wonderful weekend!
Boy did you ever! I was shocked when I watched your latest video! Meanwhile, here in Ohio it feels like fall in the middle of August-- very, very weird! Hope you have a great week, CB!
I really appreciate that you show your fails, very encouraging for me not to throw in the towel 😁 I have been trying to be a gardener for a few years now, I'm a serious wanna be, but usually have a lot of fails, this year was much better for me, but still have a long way to go 😁 is a lot more fun when you end up with something to eat 🥰
Really fun results. I experiment with new seeds and varieties every year. I would suggest trying flowers to winter sow next year. Snapdragons, rudbeckia, coreopsis, coneflower, calendula, double peony poppies etc
Foxglove, poppies, lavender, coneflower, snaps all did excellent! I failed on foxglove though, don’t think I transplanted soon enough and the soil wasn’t right as they stayed very small, but they popped up!
Well Jenna after gardening for 35 + years I must say that in my area in Southern Ontario....I believe that even if you start early like mid March, if the weather doesn't co-operate with you then you may as well not start here till you can plant out in say May 10 ish....I think that in these last 10 years March can have nicer weather than April.....so in the future I will just not expect to plant out much before this time....moisture ( mother nature's way ⛈)....has been very unpredictable as you know....I think you have had way more then me! Every year is different and every crop has its success and failure....you just have to keep on with the program....squash....vine bugs are really tough to predict....this year they got me....I thought I had waited long enough....so next year will be another try....all your stuff looks good....even with your little ups and down....my Cauliflower ,cabbage and broccolini was the best I have ever grown....but the white cabbage butterflies seemed to be a full month later than usual....so I think this helped alot....
Agree on the cabbage butterflies- I think the first generation got killed back by the late cold snap we had, because they were much later for me this year as well. I saw a similar pattern with the cucumber beetles. And our weather is absolutely unpredictable as well-- speaking of, right now it feels like fall in midwestern Ohio... which is nearly unheard of for mid-August! I just tend to plant everything out in the hopes that something will work!
Very interesting! I used winter sowing last year primarily because I didn't have supplies or room for an indoor seed starting set up. I had great success! I do live in AL not sure how that affects results. I will say, my swiss chard and spinach did not thrive. Lettuce was a big win! Tomatoes, peppers, squash and the herbs I tried did well too. Every year is a learning opportunity!Happy gardening!
7:50 regardless of how good your grow lights are, you cannot duplicate sunshine! The difference in growth habit is due to the stocky growth right, from the beginning, for the winter sown plants. I found the same with tomato transplants vs volunteer tomato plants in the garden.
I direct sow my spinach in late Feb early March in zone 5a and its delicious, strong. Then I let a few go to seed, drop seed and I have a little "wild" patch along with what I direct sow.
Great video! I am in South carolina where we have mild winters, for the past 2 years I have winter sown tomatoes, peppers and flowers with great results the plants were very sturdy and didnt have to worry about hardening them off. I also had the same problem with my celery, the plants were so tiny that i gave up on them.
I wonder if celery and onions may need to be started indoors. I will try comparing this year with those and tomatoes and peppers. One TH-cam vid did experiment on production differences and found she had tomatoes sooner with WS, but her neighbors were still harvesting later in summer when hers were done. Not clear on varieties either so not all conclusive.
I’ve WS three years. Good results 1st year, great results 2nd year, total bomb 3rd year! Good germination but plants just didn’t grow well to be ready for transplant. Don’t know why. Controllable variables were same/ similar, new jugs, same brand starter, varied dates of sowing, watched for drying out and watered few times. I didn’t record temp fluctuations which might have been the culprit. Also, not sure if I used same amount of soil in jugs. Soil was again hard to get and pricey and I may have skimped a bit. But since the plants were small therefore footballs relatively small, I’m not going to jump on that. I threw most away but a few are just now maturing after being potted up but probably won’t mature in time. I’ll still try again as it opens a whole world of possibilities to those who can’t sow indoors. The cost is very low, the effort minimal, and the potential reward great.
Wow! Thank you for documenting all of that! Just thanks!! I did winter sowing one year with great success and one year, not so great. But I think I’ll try it again next year. Wow! This was such great info!
You mentioned a list of perennials that you had made to try winter sowing with at 15:30 - could you share that with us? I live in a 6b/7a zone that I think is comparable to yours and this is something I’d like to try too, but wasn’t sure what plants might work best. Thanks!
This year I'm trying the following via winter sowing, some are perennial, some annual: Italian Flat Leaf Parsley German Chamomile Zloty Lan Chamomile Tall White Sweet Alyssum Marshmallow Comfrey Valerian Giant Solomon's Seal Soapwort Flanders Poppy Baical Skullcap
Hi Jenna Your zenias, sunflowers look great too, I have a Lomi too. I'm single so I run it every so often put a lot of grass weeds in there along with my cooking failures I try 😁. The rabbits are killing my plants. I use that liquid fence seems to help. I sprinkle my electric shaver hair around that works too. I'm another Ohio person.
Thanks, Michael! Sorry to hear about the rabbits- I've resorted to fencing pretty much everything in- and if I can't fence it, I put insect netting over it- seems to keep the rabbits off. I've recently started collecting the dogs' fur when we brush them- I'm hoping that will have a similar effect to your shavings!
Thank you, Jenna. I learn new things each garden season. I have enjoyed following you since I am in North Central Ohio. I would love to know if you follow other gardeners/homesteaders in our zone or in Ohio. I'm always looking for new ideas and info. Happy harvesting! 😊
I would also like to know this. I just found your channel and I want to start gardening in mid Ohio since we moved up here 12 years ago. Love your channel ❤️
Thank you, Tracie! I have to be honest, I'm not big on watching TH-cam (I know that seems contradictory 😆) so I don't have a great sense of what's out there. But one of my goals this winter is to find some fellow Ohio garden TH-camrs, as I've been asked this question before and would like to spread the word. I know Sandals & Steeltoes is based in NE Ohio th-cam.com/users/SandalsandSteelToes, and Greg over at 'Some Room to Grow' is in Zone 5 and dealing with many of the same issues that we are in Ohio th-cam.com/users/SomeRoomtoGrow I'm hoping too that some folks will see this comment/question and let us know of any additional channels!
Not in OH, but here’s my list for Z5 a/b: This channel of course😊, Gardener Scott-CO, Susan’s In the Garden-WA (she has 2 books out), MIgardener-SE MI, The WI Vegetable Gardener, WI Garden and of course when I need high energy😂James Prigioni-NJ and he is a warmer zone, but can still apply what he does in Z5 within reason, Esther’s Gardening Adventures-MD also in warmer zone , but she has great tips and does allotment gardening and a fun nature about her, and Hollis and Nancy’s Homestead-FL for their technique as I’m going back to long raised beds. Europe: GrowVeg as Ben always has great tips and nice organized vids and In The Garden With Eli & Kate as they are about same latitude in Scotland, but warmer because of ocean and she uses greenhouse extensively in which there is something to learn. I do watch a few others from warmer zones, but I glean off what I can and variety info not so much.
I enjoy all the experiments. I am especially interested in your miniature tomato plant experiment. Also, I enjoy your content as it is a needed grounding break from the National News.
Thank you! Interesting on the chamomile! Looks like I'll have to do some further testing- maybe indoor start versus winter sown versus direct sown, possibly also cold stratifying the seed itself and sowing. And yes- that Lomi is a lot of fun! Every time I open the lid at the end up the cycle I have to show the whole family what I made 😂.
thanks for the information was gonna do that last year but could not find bagged dirt and get everything together. ready for it this year I have limited time this really helps 🤗
I know this is a year later....but regarding chamomile....I just read that herbs tend to grow lanky and stretch if started indoors, so maybe winter sown got the correct lighting. 😀
Wonderful videos on the winter sowing I. Containers method. Question about the cold frame you made with the hay bales. Do you ha e a video on how to make that?
Thanks! I don't have a video specifically on that, but I do show my process of making it in this video at about 9:50 th-cam.com/video/Gi2PwR60vkw/w-d-xo.html
Guess I need your t shirt. BEET THE SYSTEM. WONDERFULLY informative. Got lucky planting in April. 1st grow. Have had 50 salads with homegrown veggies and lettuce and carrots and big tomatoes real soon and 1 cauliflower. Many cabbage moths. They everyone And of course your great advice and wonderful ways to look forward to. Maybe make a video with kids doing some garden choirs might make a difference in their attitudes?. Love sent
I got that t-shirt here: www.etsy.com/listing/224856301/beet-the-system-mens-funny-vegetable-pun?show_sold_out_detail=1&ref=nla_listing_details Looks like it's sold out now, but hopefully she'll get some back in stock soon. Glad to hear you're enjoying so many homegrown salads-- yum!! And I do have one video involving kids in the garden: th-cam.com/video/8E1X1GN8Cic/w-d-xo.html though I may need to make an update as I they are so much more grown up now!
I feel like some of it definitely had to do with the weird spring we had this year! The trouble is we never know what kind of spring we're going to get!
@@GrowfullywithJenna that makes sense! I really did well with my north window tin foil surround experiment and that I could control a bit better. This spring was just so back and forth and so wet!
Good morning, Jenna. I’ve tried the winter sowing twice; once in 2021, and again this year. My attempts were both made with big Steralite tubs and clear solo cups as pots for tomatoes and a small selection of flowers. Last year worked beautifully, almost too well because the tomatoes had almost outgrown the totes by mid April. This year, not so much. By the end of April my plants were only a couple of inches tall. I’ll be attempting it again this coming winter, just to see if this year was just a fluke. Peppers will still be started in the house on a grow mat. 😊
Good morning, David. Thanks for sharing your winter sowing experience with me! Sorry to hear the tomatoes didn't fare so well this year- but I am very curious to hear what your results are this coming year. Was your late winter/early spring weather significantly different this year versus last?
The weather between 2021 and 2022 spring was incredibly different. I live in Columbus, Ohio, so we may have had similar weather with this year having longer stretches of cooler temps late into May, as opposed to last year, when the warm stuff came in March, and stuck around for the duration of the growing season. I will gladly share pictures of my cold weather sowing to your FB page this next year, if you like.
I’ve been thinking about winter sowing in order to get a leg up on the short growing season. I’ve just gotten an indoor seeding set up and think I’ll stick with it. As for the lettuce, arugula and spinach I’ll go with the cold frame again. Thank you for your thorough video. I’ll check out more of yours. Subscribed.
I have an idea for you. Those outer leaves from your cabbage plants can be cooked up like Collard greens. They look and taste exactly like Collards. It made for a nice side for a few nights. I would assume that you could do the same with the other Brassicas.
Thanks for information. Now I know that broccoli along with a few others can be planted first in garden in mid April. We usually get summer plants in mid June due to colder night temps and so much weather fluctuation. Going to try this next year. Winter sowed tomatoes, peppers, watermelon etc this year and the plants are really doing well. Some bombed. Our winter sowing is in our closed in breezeway. Will do some outside next year. Again thanks for info. Every little bit of food will help to get us through inflation with less stress.😊Also, composters are in sale at Aldis now in our area. Usually they are there in the spring. $60
Wow! A lot of info and work on your part. Interesting. I’m Z5a and we also had early heat, but this is first year for winter sowing and collards and celery. My collards and chard were Huge! The celery limped along and planted in 3 different places and the shaded were much bigger and still growing, but no way those nice stalks you have. The cabbage were fantastic and the Deadon cabbage is still going. We have trouble getting beets, radishes to bulb and carrots take forever without getting very big. Sometimes I think it’s variety. I know I’m hooked on winter sowing as I don’t like babysitting seedlings, the mess, cost and room it takes. I think for me the only veg I will grow inside would be onions because they need the head start, unless I buy them again. Will look for Calvin and give it ago. Maybe it will be a nice surprise like the onion harvest this year. First year for large onions and it’s a sure winner. Too bad we don’t like collards and chard as they grew really well. Great video Jen and like you gave the dates!
Update: I’ve since learned that celery will bolt if too cold- I thought it was weird, but that’s what I read. All the cabbages and brassicas did excellent. The only cabbage was red cabbage that suffered heat because it was such a dark red color.
I'd love a video on your companion flowers! I never know what to grow here in zone 6 when it comes to flowers (total flower newbie), but your garden looks beautiful and looks like it brings in lovely pollinators.
Hi Valerie- I'm not a 'by the book' companion planter, but mainly focus on interplanting flowers that will bring in pollinators & beneficial insects (AND are easy to grow!). I will certainly try to get a video made!
A few great pollinator attractors are horsemint, borage and sunflowers. Marigolds are excellent repellents for bad bugs and put them all over. Any flower with pollen and especially flowers with multiple buds the bees go crazy for. They hybridized some flowers to be pollen less like sunflowers for indoor cut flowers. Nice for that, but not good for pollinators.
Thanks for sharing the results of your experiment. I also tried winter sowing here in Wisconsin zone 5b. I had mixed results too, with lettuce, spinach and kale performing well. Broccoli and cauliflower fared poorly as did peas. I plan to stick with indoor sowing. I need to find a reliable seed starting mix, the Burpee mix I have been using didn't produce vigorous starts as it had in the past.
For a reaonably priced mix, I've had pretty good results with ProMix. I use their Organic Soil mix and All Purpose Mix for starting seeds. I gave up on the Burpee mix after last year- I traced back my infestation of fungus gnats to that source... grrrr.
I’m just using potting soil for WS as I used a suggestion from another channel to use coconut coir. What a mess. It molded and had to throw the flats. I tried it in some of the WS as well and there wasn’t enough nutrients to grow. I also used Black Gold Starter with bad results. Potting ol’ was best. Coconut coir I learned has salts as well.
Great update Jenna. I had decent luck winter sowing. Annual Flowers like Bells of Ireland, snapdragons, marigolds and Dahlias (seeds) did awesome. I found flowers worked best. I did try tomatoes, sunflowers, peppers they did well took a bit to catch up but they did & are out performing some i started inside. I definitely will use the method for herbs & companion planting flowers next season. I did 150 jugs most did fantastic including hot weather crops. My one bummer was artichokes. I really wanted it to work out but it didn't. I didn't want the plant for the choke just the beautiful flower.
Thanks for sharing your results! It's just so hard to decide which way to go, winter sowing definitely could save time, or indoor space... but you just don't know what you will get, especially for our Ohio weather, so unpredictable....
Eventually I want to be spending most of my winter in Florida. So I'm experimenting with winter sewing milk jugs. Mostly because I've been buying many plants and because I can go a few days without giving it attention
Great informative video. My winter sowing wasn’t great this year. In Ohio as you are so weather might have been the issue. Nothing got overly big and too small to individually plant so eventually I just took whole blob of plants out of container and planted the whole thing. I was amazed though that as soon as I planted things, they started thriving. My beets and kale and kohlrabi did great but they were really too close together so didn’t get really big. 🤷🏻♀️. It still is kind of therapeutic though messing with it all as the winter months drag on it’s nice to do something gar-deny to do. 😁. I have a small seed starting inside system too which I enjoy during the cold months. Even that didn’t do the same as previous years. Your cauliflower and broccoli looked so nice!! I did have my brassicas covered and yet those darn cabbage worms still found their way in. 🤷🏻♀️
Thank you! You bring up such a good point- this is very therapeutic to do in the middle of winter 💚. Those cabbage worms are sneaky little buggers-- sorry to hear that they got to your brassicas!
Well, Jenna, you know I'm a fan of winter sowing lol. You saw the photos where I used my little greenhouse to do it. Tomatoes, peppers, and eggplant. Though it is a slower start, I have fruit on the peppers and tomatoes. I will get a late harvest if Mother Nature cooperates. The egg plants have blossoms now. If we would have had the usual quantity of pollinators this year, the winter sown plants would be farther along. Not so many blossoms would have fallen off prematurely. We planted the usual flowers etc for them, but for some reason they were far and in between. Two years ago I winter sowed in 45 milk jugs. I had leafy greens, white tomatoes, all types of Italian herbs including actual Italian Sage. I also had a few Marigolds. Mostly I started perennials. I had about a 70% success rate that year. This year I had F-1 Roma, Cherokee Purple, and Thorburn Terra-Cotta tomatoes. Also Rosa Bianca eggplant and King of the North peppers. I like the fact you did a comparison. This was a great show! Two years ago I started everything in February and March. This year it was April 1st. I'll shovel the snow and use the greenhouse again this winter. I love to experiment! Enjoyed, take care!
@@GrowfullywithJenna I'm not very science minded lol! Hahahaha I was an art major in high school and a history major in college and I retired as an ironworker. I blame the fact that I didn't plant any Borage this spring. I usually spread around 3 or 4 packets of it. We still had the usual flowers they like though. But, I'm probably just all wet on the matter lol.
@@michaelmarchione3408 Oh, how funny- I am an art history major! I also thought myself not very science minded when I was taking courses in school, but I find that when I apply it to 'real life' it becomes fascinating!
Do you add any fertilizer in your winter sowing? What potting mix do you use? Onions worked great with winter sowing, zones 6b/7a! I love your videos giving specifics on dates things are started, planted, harvested. It's very helpful!
Very informative video - Thank you so much!! The Chamomile thing - I think it’s that Chamomile is more like a “wild flower” - even in my 4b/5a zone the best chamomile I get is self sown. Always lovely and hardy.
Last year I sowed chamomile in the late summer, it overwintered and didn't flower until May/June the following year, so maybe it likes having a period of cold weather. I get that the point of the jugs is that there isn't any specialized equipment, but for a serious gardener, I don't see the point. Make a few cold frames or low tunnels and sow directly into the soil or into flats in the cold frame. But I am interested in seeing your cold stratification experiment, hopefully you'll do an indoor version and a direct sowing as well to compare with.
Good to know- thank you! And I would tend to agree- I think I'd rather just use cold frames or low tunnels versus all the individial jugs, but to each their own! And I will certainly try to do the indoor comparision- that's a great idea!
@@GrowfullywithJenna I think there is still less babysitting the jugs. They are open to get water and you don’t need to lift the cover. They are also easy to get the seedlings separated and portable. Some plants may need different conditions and they are easily moved.
Jenna, impressive garden and tips ❤️ dry hot year here so my garden took a dive, however, I’m not too discouraged 🫤 thank you for sharing your knowledge 👍👏✌️
This is awesome! I just did a bunch of perennial flowers, herbs, and cold hardy vegetables for the first time. I am also trying English lavender and German chamomile from what I have read they both require cold stratification. Did you put the indoor chamomile seeds in the fridge?
Thank god, someone thats in ohio like me that i can actually get advice from instead of trying to make something fit my zone! So happy i found you!
I'm happy you found me too! Love hearing from fellow Ohioans!
I really appreciate how you carefully document everything by video (e.g., indoor start pic, transplant pic, harvest pic). It helps this beginning gardener see what things look like at different stages. I'm sure it's a lot of editing work. Thanks!
Thank you, Ingrid- it's really wonderful to hear this. It is a lot of editing work, and I don't think folks necessarily realize just how much time is spent doing that portion of it ☺.
100% agree with this!
@@GrowfullywithJenna your amazing editing work is truly much appreciated - love your channel & am learning a lot. I tried out Winter sowing last year for the first time (zone 6 MO)... my spinach seemed not to like it AT ALL (didn't even show up), but my lettuce worked well.
What she said!
My comment will probably get lost but whoever reads this.. you got this! whatever you are going through will get better hang in there 💛
I hope everyone that needs to see this does!
This is probably my favorite thing about gardening. Trying something, taking note of what worked and didn't work for your garden, then making adjustments and planning new ideas for next year.
Yes, yes, yes! Agree with this SO much!
I live in zone 5a in the Idaho mountains. This year I tried planting in the snow mid March(2 feet still in March). I used a method that was a direct sow as demonstrated on the MIgardener TH-cam page. It was a huge win! Planted 3 veggies-lettuce, spinach and Kale. Since we live off grid, we don’t have an option of heat/lights for early seed starts so this was awesome. I was harvesting lettuce by late May, Kale and spinach a couple weeks later. Plants were strong and vigorous. I’ll definitely be doing this again!
I'm so glad to hear this! And you bring up a great point- for off the grid folks, this is a fantastic option!
I’m 5a and will try this also next year. Last year did winter sowing in jugs and love it!
5b here. I also did the direct sow. On sunflower plants. Loved the results.
That sounds amazing! Do you literally mean you direct sowed on top of the snow?
@@clb50I cleared snow off down to about 6-8 inches, then put down 2 ish inches of potting soil, sowed the seeds and covered them with vermiculite, then covered them with the clear plastic tote. It worked AWESOME for me!!!! I got the idea from MI Gardeners TH-cam channel info…. Doing that again this year and also going to try some milk jug winter sowing!
I am 6a Ohio and I winter sowed tomatoes successfully!
Nice!
Was that outside in ground winter sowing ? .... or was it winter sowing inside under grow lights ?
I like the cold frame made with straw bales...👍
Sometimes you just gotta use what you've got sitting around 😄
This was my second year winter sowing, Zone 6 Massachusetts and I've had 100% success. I don't have space for indoor seed starting. I did transplant when the plants were quite small and gave them protection with row covers. I don't bother WS spinach, arugula, or peas because they can be direct sowed so early anyway.
Nice! Glad to hear it!
Same here. Had such a mess last year because I used a suggestion from another video to use coconut coir and ended up throwing some flats because of mold. WS is the way to go for me!
I start my cool crops in late Dec/early Jan. and hot plants tomatoes/peppers/canteope/melons . . . in February. Have had Great Success! Kansas 6a
Glad to hear you've had great success!
I’m in the same zone and just starting out-when do you transplant?
Definitely asparagus and strawberry seeds just amazing results.
Good to know!
The idea behind winter sown is alot of gardeners don't have space or a greenhouse to start seeds. Winter sown change the game. Also the plants are less likely to get leggy and there also hardened off.
Yes, which I explain in depth in the first video of this series: th-cam.com/video/Rc73y7IH6A8/w-d-xo.html
And partially highlighted here @14:17. Good option to know.
Thank you for painstakingly tracking the winter sown with the indoor starts--fascinating!
Glad you enjoyed it!
I must say, you are the only gardening channel that I watch complete videos of. Not only are you knowledgeable but you are close to my zone I'm 6b Erie, PA. I love it, keep the wonderful videos coming Jenna.🌱😁🌱 Happy gardening As for your Collards, it could have been root disturbance that caused them to bolt, I had Bok Choy do the same thing.
Thank you so much!!
And such a great point on the root disruption- I did have some mole tunneling in that portion of the garden... so that definitely could have contributed!
me too!
Another Erieite here! Looking at trying winter sowing this year! Thanks for the tip on the bok choy!
I love WinterSowing. I don't have the space indoors to start seeds. Starting tomatoes via WingerSowing has been the best method for me. I've tried indoor growng years ago with no success.
Glad to hear it works well for you!
With your plants that bolted, you might consider transplanting smaller plants. With winter sown plants, the roots are quite vigorous when the top growth is still small. I have great results transplanting WS plants when they are quite small, and the cold-tolerant ones well before last frost dates.
Thanks for the tips!
How big are your plants when you transplant, and how early did you move them? Doing this for the first time and trying to learn from people with real experience!
Thanks for the practical video! I’m new to winter sowing, but a good friend of mine starts even tomatoes this way sucvesfully - and we live in southern Finland.
Thank you so much! Most things I hear about winter sowing are 100% positive and I feel like this is a more honest assessment. I like starting indoors but I also like the idea of not doing as much work so thanks for the pros and cons
Happy to share!
I had incredible success with winter sowing. My onions were amazing! Same with cabbages and kales. I was able to get some nice perennials for my apothecary garden too. But the true winner, the hollyhocks are taking over my garden!
That's awesome! I'm so glad to hear this!
WS worked for large onions or green onions? Great to know if for large as WS will be my thing from now on.
I threw in some old hollyhock seed this year an they got quite huge. I was wondering the same thing about a secret take over of the flower bed🤣
@@dustyflats3832 I did it for the large storage onions!
When did you place your onion seeds in a jug outside for winter sowing? I'm in zone 6a ohio. Usually onions need to be started indoors in around January.
I took and put dirt in a cardboard box and set inside a white plastic bag……I planted kale, cabbage, bush peas spinach. I put my boxes where they only had partial sun rather then hot sun all day. I put a paper cup in the middle of the box with some holes around it. I then closed the bag around the cup tying with string like a gift. The small cup allowed water to get in …the holes I put around the box and the bag kept the seedling s from flooding. Small holes to keep slugs etc out…when ready to plant I place the box in the ground or into a food safe tote and no disturbance to the roots…the box decomposes.
I use sticks and make a tent over my plants and hang tulle over them clipping with sewing clamps you use for material…light weight and water proof.
I buy plant cloth to cover them if it gets cold…..the tulle netting is cheap from Amazon…..nice ground cover to keep cats from using the dirt around your plants to dig….also put as protection for plants in my greenhouse. I’ve never had any bees or birds get caught in them to answer that question.
I keep my greenhouse closed with a screen door on one end and window on the other with a fan on a timer to move air.Kept birds out from nesting and hungry ground hogs, cats etc from coming in.
It was my best year for cucumbers I ever had, no damage by insects. To pollinate I just shook the stems with flowers. I have plenty of flowers, dandelions, herbs etc for the pollinators all around the farm….
Thanks for sharing, Carrie!
Thanks for including the insect damage. Helps me know I’m in good company Jenna!
This was the first time I have heard of this. When I saw your title I thought you were direct seeding seed that would overwinter outside and come up in the Spring. I have a friend back in Ashtabula Ohio who has great success with many things that way, notably kale and onions and parsnips. His parsnips grow like weeds! It's insane the amount that comes up.
I have never grown celery but it has been on my mind since I have learned of and used mirepoix in my cooking. I've been teaching myself to cook for a number of years now.
I pulled my zucchini out today, basically because I didn't want anymore and my garden is overrun. lol Oh and I dug up some potatoes because I am going to need some in an upcoming meal.
Always a pleasure to hear from you. Keep up the good work!
I do some of that too- kale, carrots, onions... all seem to work well when sown in late fall and overwintered till spring. I'll have to try parsnips now!
I didn't start growing my own celery till a few years ago- for some reason I had it in my head that it was difficult to grow here. But it's actually quite easy as long as you feed it- and tastes much better than the grocery store stuff. We use a lot of it in soups & stews.
I'm about at that point with the zucchini too 😆... which reminds me- I've got some giant ones out in the garden right now that I need to pull & feed to the chickens! They love zucchini!
@@GrowfullywithJenna what do celery like for fertilizer? Yours were beautiful!
Awesome idea. One can start early and decrease stress of timing to start rather than trying to start by what the foretasted weather will be in the NW, which nearly never does what weathermen say. Plus, I've no grow light system,other space for the light system (other than on top of the washing machind/dryer, or green house. Time to start saving milk jugs.
Thank you so much for posting this video. It is very helpful to see comparison of plants started indoors vs winter sowing. I'm currently working on my winter sowing project and your video saved me a lot of time. After watching your video I decided to start perennial flowers using winter sowing method. I agree, perennials will most likely be a success. I will also give a try with tomatoes and peppers just to see what happens and post a comparison video later in the year. You definitely saved me some time with trying to winter sow leafy greens.😊 Thank you!
You're welcome! I'd love to hear how your tomatoes & peppers do!
I’m experimenting also with peppers, tomatoes and onions, but main crop inside until I know. They say toms and pepps will catch up once planted in comparison to indoor sown.
My concern is onions, I just don’t think they will get big enough-we’ll see.
All the brassicas and leafy greens did well for me in Z5a winter sow last year. Not sure what happened to Jenna’s. I never grew chard or collards before, but they were huge. 😂and we didn’t like chard and if I knew how to fix collards I may have enjoyed them. The weird thing I read about celery is a cold snap will make them bolt. Mine grew very well in WS, but the stalks stayed skinny and I never grew before. This year I will pay more attention to water and think that is key because Jenna has clay and I have sand. That clay has a lot of nutrients and holds water well and she had impressive stalks. I think her WS celery may have needed transplanting sooner. Not sure if they were both same variety.
I did winter sowing for the first time this year. It was mostly an experiment for me, but I will do it again next year. The only issue I've ever had starting seeds indoors is the gardening off process. I usually lose them at that point, so winter sowing saves me so much!
Glad to hear it!
Also marigolds! I do marigolds from seed every year by just throwing them on the ground and they do great. but I did them in the winter song jugs they were fabulous! I will do them every year
ooh interesting! When did you start those as a winter sow?
I did them in March utah zone 6 but this next winter I'll do them Jan-march and experiment
Good to know as I was just saying the marigolds and zinnias are just looking Great and a frost is soon. It would be nice to get them going sooner.
I did winter sowing for the first time, and had incredible success on some not so cold hardy things like tomatoes and peppers, but they didn't even sprout until May in New England, but incredibly healthy starts. I also had incredible luck with flowers such as poppies, statice, strawflowers, dahlia seeds, carnations, lupine, and yarrow. I am definitely going to try again. My brocolli didn't head and my cabbage got hit by cabbage moths....my bad for not covering. Definitely will try again.
I definitely want to try the flowers- especially poppies, so I'm glad to hear this!
@@GrowfullywithJenna you will like poppy results! Did great!
The broccoli could have got too hot or maybe the variety. Mine grew really tall and not the most impressive heads like I bought from local plant grower and he said variety was imperial. I remember they got tall also, but larger heads and both took awhile. However the July starts this year for fall planting we’re much shorter , but bigger heads. Z5a
Love when channels discuss fails - Same celery issue & thought it was just me; coming in but never took off - 6b SE PA - LOVE YOUR EXCELLENT INFORMATION - THANK YOU!
I think it's important to share the fails- so I'm glad to hear this!
Great Video Jenna. Love that you give the exact dates of sowing, transplant and harvest. Gives me a lot to think about and apply to my zone 6 new hampshire garden. Haven't tried winter sowing myself but my March sown seedlings seem to do pretty well even in the snow.
Thanks! I'm always impressed by just how very cold-hardy some of these plants are! I'm glad to hear your March sown seedlings fared well.
Great video, you did a great job showing pros and cons of this system thanks
Thanks!
07:50 I live in a similar climate zone in the northern hemisphere. In order not to be affected by spring frosts here, even if the weather is hot, sowing is done after the day of Hıdırellez.
Hidirellez day is considered as Saint George day in your culture.
Plants sealed up in a milk jug can withstand some frost.
@@harrymyhero I didn't know this. thank you. I just want to say, Whatever the conditions in my region, Saint George (Hıdırellez) day is expected to plant the seedlings prepared at home in the field. Seedlings planted before the day of Hıdırellez do not give high yields even if the weather is hot.
@@youngchemist Where are you located?
@@traciekowalski7664 Turkey, Central Anatolia region. It is not the coastal areas that get warm sea air in March, but the interior parts that are still cold in Spring.
Interesting! It looks like that would have been April 26th this year?
Do you follow this timing even for frost-tolerant crops like broccoli & kale?
Last year I winter sowed zucchini as an experiment. It worked out great. I winter sowed tomatoes. they would have done great but something attacked them so had to start over. I winter sowed Cucumbers which sprouted early april but then a cold snap came and killed them. So it's definitely a results may vary.
Thanks for sharing your results!
Interesting. I have a small unseated greenhouse that I throw the jugs in that sprouted with cold tender plants. I could use small heater if necessary. Good to know, thanks.
This was my third year winter sowing. I planted about 150 jugs each year, with about half annual flowers and perennial herbs and flowers. Overall germination was 75-80 of total with those that did not germinate mostly the same as those that would not germinate other years: pretty consistent. Exception- My tomatoes hardly germinated and half of those were stunted and eventually died or produced malformed plants and fruits. (What ever the widespread tomato issue is, I still can’t pin it down). In Ind 6a. While I will use my new small polycarbonate greenhouse more for seed starting this next year, I will still WS a majority of my plants, mostly because of the convenience. Great video
Great to hear from someone who has done this so extensively, Rebecca- thank you for sharing your experience!
Reviewing your take on winter sowing. Going to try all sorts of different plants, with back ups in the grow room.
Hope you have a fabulous 2023 garden!
Thanks, you too!
That’s what is on my agenda also. I need to figure out tomatoes, peppers and onions. Want to get to a point where the mess can be outside. Planning on a re-do of lean-to greenhouse this year and if I can do it efficiently I may use that going forward. Eli in the Garden said her tomatoes produced earlier, but they stopped earlier than her neighbors. That could be variety I don’t know. I have seen that the warm season crops quickly catch up though. I will still start some indoors this year and a few of those questionable 3 in WS jugs.
I love the WS technique and hopefully our weather here in WI is going to remain cold from here on out as you know the rain was very unusual for us. Been too warm to start jugs, but I didn’t do it until mid March last year when I discovered it.
Yep, I've grown chamomile from seeds for three years. This 4th year, I'm only winter sowing. Because they are just too easy winter sown to take up space indoors. The cold simply lets them grow more slowly. Resulting in round plants. Im Toledo, Ohio.
Also, I would haircut tall chamomile before it blooms.
Great tip!
Wow, your celery looks fantastic! I might have to give Kelvin a shot!
Thanks! It’s a great variety!
Very professional video, thank you! I have winter sown twice, last year and this year. This year was pretty unsuccessful due to bad soil issues. I usually grow warm season vegetables and perennial flowers. Many flowers were very successful last year with W S method. I also had success with tomatoes and peppers last year. This year I had maybe 20% germination. I don't have a good indoor grow light set up so WS is really handy for me. I don't want to draw negative consequences because of this year's failure and I will try WS again next year.
I love your channel Jenna and I feel lucky that we are both in Ohio so I can learn especially from your experience!
Thank you, Krisztina! I'm glad to hear you won't give up, I do think WS is a good option for folks that don't have a good indoor light setup!
Good to know about tomatoes and peppers as I did mainly cool weather in WS. I really love WS as I’m tired of babysitting the indoor mess.
Simply amazing is all I can say Mrs. Jenna. We both had the same problem with the weather going from winter to summer with in two weeks. Got to hot to quick is the answer to your questions. Thank you for the information and tour on how your year panned out so far. Stay safe my friend and have a wonderful weekend!
Boy did you ever! I was shocked when I watched your latest video!
Meanwhile, here in Ohio it feels like fall in the middle of August-- very, very weird!
Hope you have a great week, CB!
I will have to try the Kelvin celery. I have not had any luck with it in zone 7b
Ooh- I hope you do!
Amazing Jenna 👍😱, great advice & video. Grew up in Pittburgh & the winters can be brutal as you know in the Northeast ! Lol thx again & be well . 👍😘
Thank you, Bob!
Thank I like when you give the dates you saw and transplant it gives a better idea when to sart
You're welcome!
Your garden looks delicious!!! A big food jungle! You rock that pair of jeans too ;)
Thank you!
How exciting to get a kitchen remodel. Been there…it’s totally worth it! Hope we get a tour.
I know it will be... I have to remind myself of this every day without my kitchen though 😆
I really appreciate that you show your fails, very encouraging for me not to throw in the towel 😁 I have been trying to be a gardener for a few years now, I'm a serious wanna be, but usually have a lot of fails, this year was much better for me, but still have a long way to go 😁 is a lot more fun when you end up with something to eat 🥰
I still have a lot of fails every single year! But it does seem each year gets a little better and I learn a little more. Best of luck to you!
Love how detailed all your info is!
Thanks, Bree!
Really fun results. I experiment with new seeds and varieties every year. I would suggest trying flowers to winter sow next year. Snapdragons, rudbeckia, coreopsis, coneflower, calendula, double peony poppies etc
Poppies are at the top of my list for next year!
Foxglove, poppies, lavender, coneflower, snaps all did excellent! I failed on foxglove though, don’t think I transplanted soon enough and the soil wasn’t right as they stayed very small, but they popped up!
Well Jenna after gardening for 35 + years I must say that in my area in Southern Ontario....I believe that even if you start early like mid March, if the weather doesn't co-operate with you then you may as well not start here till you can plant out in say May 10 ish....I think that in these last 10 years March can have nicer weather than April.....so in the future I will just not expect to plant out much before this time....moisture ( mother nature's way ⛈)....has been very unpredictable as you know....I think you have had way more then me! Every year is different and every crop has its success and failure....you just have to keep on with the program....squash....vine bugs are really tough to predict....this year they got me....I thought I had waited long enough....so next year will be another try....all your stuff looks good....even with your little ups and down....my Cauliflower ,cabbage and broccolini was the best I have ever grown....but the white cabbage butterflies seemed to be a full month later than usual....so I think this helped alot....
Agree on the cabbage butterflies- I think the first generation got killed back by the late cold snap we had, because they were much later for me this year as well. I saw a similar pattern with the cucumber beetles. And our weather is absolutely unpredictable as well-- speaking of, right now it feels like fall in midwestern Ohio... which is nearly unheard of for mid-August! I just tend to plant everything out in the hopes that something will work!
Potato direct sow in October. North of Ohio x 100 miles. (Don't cut per eye) I just planted the little ones back.
I planted mine on November 9th last year and had decent results!
Very interesting! I used winter sowing last year primarily because I didn't have supplies or room for an indoor seed starting set up. I had great success! I do live in AL not sure how that affects results.
I will say, my swiss chard and spinach did not thrive. Lettuce was a big win! Tomatoes, peppers, squash and the herbs I tried did well too. Every year is a learning opportunity!Happy gardening!
I'm glad to hear you had great results!
7:50 regardless of how good your grow lights are, you cannot duplicate sunshine! The difference in growth habit is due to the stocky growth right, from the beginning, for the winter sown plants. I found the same with tomato transplants vs volunteer tomato plants in the garden.
That is very true!
Nice experiment! I do both winter and Indoor seed starts just because it's fun but as a back up in case of pest pressure.
Love this approach of using them as a back up!
I direct sow my spinach in late Feb early March in zone 5a and its delicious, strong. Then I let a few go to seed, drop seed and I have a little "wild" patch along with what I direct sow.
Great tip!
I'll definitely experiment with winter sowing next year. Thanks!
Oh good! Happy sowing!
Great video! I am in South carolina where we have mild winters, for the past 2 years I have winter sown tomatoes, peppers and flowers with great results the plants were very sturdy and didnt have to worry about hardening them off. I also had the same problem with my celery, the plants were so tiny that i gave up on them.
That is awesome!
I wonder if celery and onions may need to be started indoors. I will try comparing this year with those and tomatoes and peppers. One TH-cam vid did experiment on production differences and found she had tomatoes sooner with WS, but her neighbors were still harvesting later in summer when hers were done. Not clear on varieties either so not all conclusive.
I’ve WS three years. Good results 1st year, great results 2nd year, total bomb 3rd year! Good germination but plants just didn’t grow well to be ready for transplant. Don’t know why. Controllable variables were same/ similar, new jugs, same brand starter, varied dates of sowing, watched for drying out and watered few times. I didn’t record temp fluctuations which might have been the culprit. Also, not sure if I used same amount of soil in jugs. Soil was again hard to get and pricey and I may have skimped a bit. But since the plants were small therefore footballs relatively small, I’m not going to jump on that. I threw most away but a few are just now maturing after being potted up but probably won’t mature in time. I’ll still try again as it opens a whole world of possibilities to those who can’t sow indoors. The cost is very low, the effort minimal, and the potential reward great.
Very interesting! I suspect this goes to show that weather can be a huge variable in success!
Wow! Thank you for documenting all of that! Just thanks!! I did winter sowing one year with great success and one year, not so great. But I think I’ll try it again next year. Wow! This was such great info!
Thanks, Carol! I'd love to hear how it goes for you next year!
Thank you. I’m still learning I switched over 100% container gardening making adjustments. Again your ve informative.
You're most welcome!
Oh my goodness your kale!!! I'm in the desert and mine get about 1 foot tall. Although maybe I'm cutting it too soon because I'm anxious to use it.
There is something about the soil here that things like kale & collards just love!! (It probably means I should be eating more of them 😄)
@@GrowfullywithJenna You can send some to me cuz I LOVE it!
You mentioned a list of perennials that you had made to try winter sowing with at 15:30 - could you share that with us? I live in a 6b/7a zone that I think is comparable to yours and this is something I’d like to try too, but wasn’t sure what plants might work best. Thanks!
This year I'm trying the following via winter sowing, some are perennial, some annual: Italian Flat Leaf Parsley
German Chamomile
Zloty Lan Chamomile
Tall White Sweet Alyssum
Marshmallow
Comfrey
Valerian
Giant Solomon's Seal
Soapwort
Flanders Poppy
Baical Skullcap
@@GrowfullywithJenna comfrey? Like from seed or root cutting?
Hi Jenna
Your zenias, sunflowers look great too, I have a Lomi too. I'm single so I run it every so often put a lot of grass weeds in there along with my cooking failures I try 😁. The rabbits are killing my plants. I use that liquid fence seems to help. I sprinkle my electric shaver hair around that works too. I'm another Ohio person.
Thanks, Michael!
Sorry to hear about the rabbits- I've resorted to fencing pretty much everything in- and if I can't fence it, I put insect netting over it- seems to keep the rabbits off.
I've recently started collecting the dogs' fur when we brush them- I'm hoping that will have a similar effect to your shavings!
Thank you, Jenna. I learn new things each garden season. I have enjoyed following you since I am in North Central Ohio. I would love to know if you follow other gardeners/homesteaders in our zone or in Ohio. I'm always looking for new ideas and info. Happy harvesting! 😊
I would also like to know this. I just found your channel and I want to start gardening in mid Ohio since we moved up here 12 years ago. Love your channel ❤️
Thank you, Tracie!
I have to be honest, I'm not big on watching TH-cam (I know that seems contradictory 😆) so I don't have a great sense of what's out there. But one of my goals this winter is to find some fellow Ohio garden TH-camrs, as I've been asked this question before and would like to spread the word.
I know Sandals & Steeltoes is based in NE Ohio th-cam.com/users/SandalsandSteelToes, and Greg over at 'Some Room to Grow' is in Zone 5 and dealing with many of the same issues that we are in Ohio th-cam.com/users/SomeRoomtoGrow I'm hoping too that some folks will see this comment/question and let us know of any additional channels!
@@GrowfullywithJenna not Ohio, but still zone 6:... OFFGRIDwithDOUGSTACY :)
Not in OH, but here’s my list for Z5 a/b:
This channel of course😊, Gardener Scott-CO, Susan’s In the Garden-WA (she has 2 books out), MIgardener-SE MI, The WI Vegetable Gardener, WI Garden and of course when I need high energy😂James Prigioni-NJ and he is a warmer zone, but can still apply what he does in Z5 within reason, Esther’s Gardening Adventures-MD also in warmer zone , but she has great tips and does allotment gardening and a fun nature about her, and Hollis and Nancy’s Homestead-FL for their technique as I’m going back to long raised beds.
Europe: GrowVeg as Ben always has great tips and nice organized vids and In The Garden With Eli & Kate as they are about same latitude in Scotland, but warmer because of ocean and she uses greenhouse extensively in which there is something to learn.
I do watch a few others from warmer zones, but I glean off what I can and variety info not so much.
I enjoy all the experiments. I am especially interested in your miniature tomato plant experiment. Also, I enjoy your content as it is a needed grounding break from the National News.
Thanks! I'm SO excited about the tomatoes- they've grown so fast and are already covered with flowers!
Love your over winter sowing video, so much great information, thank you !!!!!! 😊❤ your ohio gardener
Really great, informative video. Thank you for sharing your experiences!
Thank you! Hope you guys are getting all settled in at your new place!
I just started WS sunflowers and will continue as the jugs become available.
Hope they do great for you!
Great information and nice documentation Jenna! Takes patience to make a video like this. Kudos! 👍
That Lomi unit is pretty slick, Jenna.
Chamomile. We started inside and got leggy results, too. No idea why that might be Jenna.
Well, if you are not I am not. 😎
Thank you! Interesting on the chamomile! Looks like I'll have to do some further testing- maybe indoor start versus winter sown versus direct sown, possibly also cold stratifying the seed itself and sowing. And yes- that Lomi is a lot of fun! Every time I open the lid at the end up the cycle I have to show the whole family what I made 😂.
thanks for the information was gonna do that last year but could not find bagged dirt and get everything together. ready for it this year I have limited time this really helps 🤗
Glad you're ready for it this year! Best of luck!
I used the Winter sow method to grow artichoke and was able to get one plant to survive. I haven’t harvested any artichoke yet
The winter sowing video I have been waiting for for so long!!!
Great work!
I hope you enjoyed it!
I know this is a year later....but regarding chamomile....I just read that herbs tend to grow lanky and stretch if started indoors, so maybe winter sown got the correct lighting. 😀
Would you share the list for the things that need to be cold stratified 😊
I appreciate you and your video's so much!! Thank you for sharing!
Thank you!
Wonderful videos on the winter sowing I. Containers method. Question about the cold frame you made with the hay bales. Do you ha e a video on how to make that?
Thanks! I don't have a video specifically on that, but I do show my process of making it in this video at about 9:50 th-cam.com/video/Gi2PwR60vkw/w-d-xo.html
Guess I need your t shirt. BEET THE SYSTEM. WONDERFULLY informative. Got lucky planting in April. 1st grow. Have had 50 salads with homegrown veggies and lettuce and carrots and big tomatoes real soon and 1 cauliflower. Many cabbage moths. They everyone
And of course your great advice and wonderful ways to look forward to. Maybe make a video with kids doing some garden choirs might make a difference in their attitudes?. Love sent
I got that t-shirt here: www.etsy.com/listing/224856301/beet-the-system-mens-funny-vegetable-pun?show_sold_out_detail=1&ref=nla_listing_details Looks like it's sold out now, but hopefully she'll get some back in stock soon.
Glad to hear you're enjoying so many homegrown salads-- yum!!
And I do have one video involving kids in the garden: th-cam.com/video/8E1X1GN8Cic/w-d-xo.html though I may need to make an update as I they are so much more grown up now!
Saw your wonderful video and cute kids. Have fun. Make some apple cider or blueberries with I e cream
So much good information! I'm glad you shared your results - it makes me feel better about my experience. It was really hit or miss!
I feel like some of it definitely had to do with the weird spring we had this year! The trouble is we never know what kind of spring we're going to get!
@@GrowfullywithJenna that makes sense! I really did well with my north window tin foil surround experiment and that I could control a bit better. This spring was just so back and forth and so wet!
Good morning, Jenna. I’ve tried the winter sowing twice; once in 2021, and again this year. My attempts were both made with big Steralite tubs and clear solo cups as pots for tomatoes and a small selection of flowers. Last year worked beautifully, almost too well because the tomatoes had almost outgrown the totes by mid April. This year, not so much. By the end of April my plants were only a couple of inches tall. I’ll be attempting it again this coming winter, just to see if this year was just a fluke. Peppers will still be started in the house on a grow mat. 😊
Good morning, David. Thanks for sharing your winter sowing experience with me! Sorry to hear the tomatoes didn't fare so well this year- but I am very curious to hear what your results are this coming year. Was your late winter/early spring weather significantly different this year versus last?
The weather between 2021 and 2022 spring was incredibly different. I live in Columbus, Ohio, so we may have had similar weather with this year having longer stretches of cooler temps late into May, as opposed to last year, when the warm stuff came in March, and stuck around for the duration of the growing season.
I will gladly share pictures of my cold weather sowing to your FB page this next year, if you like.
I’ve been thinking about winter sowing in order to get a leg up on the short growing season. I’ve just gotten an indoor seeding set up and think I’ll stick with it. As for the lettuce, arugula and spinach I’ll go with the cold frame again. Thank you for your thorough video. I’ll check out more of yours.
Subscribed.
For a jump start here in my climate, I think the indoor sowing is the way to go!
I have an idea for you. Those outer leaves from your cabbage plants can be cooked up like Collard greens. They look and taste exactly like Collards. It made for a nice side for a few nights. I would assume that you could do the same with the other Brassicas.
Thank you, Charles! I've done this with cauliflower and we actually found we liked them better than collards! I'll have to give the cabbage a try!
Thanks for information. Now I know that broccoli along with a few others can be planted first in garden in mid April. We usually get summer plants in mid June due to colder night temps and so much weather fluctuation. Going to try this next year. Winter sowed tomatoes, peppers, watermelon etc this year and the plants are really doing well. Some bombed. Our winter sowing is in our closed in breezeway. Will do some outside next year. Again thanks for info. Every little bit of food will help to get us through inflation with less stress.😊Also, composters are in sale at Aldis now in our area. Usually they
are there in the spring. $60
You're welcome! And yes- those cold tolerant veggies will put up with cold temps and frost quite well- especially once they are established!
I love my Lomi!
Glad to hear it!
Wow! A lot of info and work on your part. Interesting. I’m Z5a and we also had early heat, but this is first year for winter sowing and collards and celery. My collards and chard were Huge! The celery limped along and planted in 3 different places and the shaded were much bigger and still growing, but no way those nice stalks you have. The cabbage were fantastic and the Deadon cabbage is still going. We have trouble getting beets, radishes to bulb and carrots take forever without getting very big.
Sometimes I think it’s variety.
I know I’m hooked on winter sowing as I don’t like babysitting seedlings, the mess, cost and room it takes. I think for me the only veg I will grow inside would be onions because they need the head start, unless I buy them again.
Will look for Calvin and give it ago. Maybe it will be a nice surprise like the onion harvest this year. First year for large onions and it’s a sure winner. Too bad we don’t like collards and chard as they grew really well.
Great video Jen and like you gave the dates!
Glad to hear your collards & chard did so well! And I do agree- the variety has a lot to do with it!
Update: I’ve since learned that celery will bolt if too cold- I thought it was weird, but that’s what I read. All the cabbages and brassicas did excellent. The only cabbage was red cabbage that suffered heat because it was such a dark red color.
I'd love a video on your companion flowers! I never know what to grow here in zone 6 when it comes to flowers (total flower newbie), but your garden looks beautiful and looks like it brings in lovely pollinators.
Hi Valerie- I'm not a 'by the book' companion planter, but mainly focus on interplanting flowers that will bring in pollinators & beneficial insects (AND are easy to grow!). I will certainly try to get a video made!
A few great pollinator attractors are horsemint, borage and sunflowers. Marigolds are excellent repellents for bad bugs and put them all over. Any flower with pollen and especially flowers with multiple buds the bees go crazy for. They hybridized some flowers to be pollen less like sunflowers for indoor cut flowers. Nice for that, but not good for pollinators.
Thanks for sharing the results of your experiment. I also tried winter sowing here in Wisconsin zone 5b. I had mixed results too, with lettuce, spinach and kale performing well. Broccoli and cauliflower fared poorly as did peas. I plan to stick with indoor sowing. I need to find a reliable seed starting mix, the Burpee mix I have been using didn't produce vigorous starts as it had in the past.
For a reaonably priced mix, I've had pretty good results with ProMix. I use their Organic Soil mix and All Purpose Mix for starting seeds. I gave up on the Burpee mix after last year- I traced back my infestation of fungus gnats to that source... grrrr.
I’m just using potting soil for WS as I used a suggestion from another channel to use coconut coir. What a mess. It molded and had to throw the flats. I tried it in some of the WS as well and there wasn’t enough nutrients to grow. I also used Black Gold Starter with bad results. Potting ol’ was best. Coconut coir I learned has salts as well.
Great update Jenna. I had decent luck winter sowing. Annual Flowers like Bells of Ireland, snapdragons, marigolds and Dahlias (seeds) did awesome. I found flowers worked best. I did try tomatoes, sunflowers, peppers they did well took a bit to catch up but they did & are out performing some i started inside. I definitely will use the method for herbs & companion planting flowers next season.
I did 150 jugs most did fantastic including hot weather crops. My one bummer was artichokes. I really wanted it to work out but it didn't. I didn't want the plant for the choke just the beautiful flower.
I'm glad to hear you had decent luck, Kittie! But that is a bummer on the artichoke- the flower is beautiful!
Thanks for sharing your results! It's just so hard to decide which way to go, winter sowing definitely could save time, or indoor space... but you just don't know what you will get, especially for our Ohio weather, so unpredictable....
So very true!
I know the feeling, it is the same in WV. The weather is so unpredictable.
Eventually I want to be spending most of my winter in Florida. So I'm experimenting with winter sewing milk jugs. Mostly because I've been buying many plants and because I can go a few days without giving it attention
Great informative video. My winter sowing wasn’t great this year. In Ohio as you are so weather might have been the issue. Nothing got overly big and too small to individually plant so eventually I just took whole blob of plants out of container and planted the whole thing. I was amazed though that as soon as I planted things, they started thriving. My beets and kale and kohlrabi did great but they were really too close together so didn’t get really big. 🤷🏻♀️. It still is kind of therapeutic though messing with it all as the winter months drag on it’s nice to do something gar-deny to do. 😁. I have a small seed starting inside system too which I enjoy during the cold months. Even that didn’t do the same as previous years.
Your cauliflower and broccoli looked so nice!! I did have my brassicas covered and yet those darn cabbage worms still found their way in. 🤷🏻♀️
Thank you! You bring up such a good point- this is very therapeutic to do in the middle of winter 💚.
Those cabbage worms are sneaky little buggers-- sorry to hear that they got to your brassicas!
Great Video Jenna. Thank You.
You're so welcome- thanks for watching!
@@GrowfullywithJenna Oh I always do. Since I am subscribed to your channel i get new video feeds as soon as you post them on TH-cam.
wow great video, editing is so good
Thank you!
wow! glad i found your channel. nice garden.
Thank you, Tom! Welcome to the channel- I'm glad you're here!
Wonderful content as usual Jenna. I have plenty of milk jugs. Will be trying this out in zone 8b this coming winter.
Thanks! Glad to hear you're going to be trying it out- happy sowing!
Oh wow this is a great information thanks for sharing
You are so welcome
Amazing. Thank you.
Glad you liked it!
Your amazing love you love your channel!
Thank you so much!
We just started some milk jug greenhouses yesterday. Too early perhaps (we're in zone 6b), but I couldn't not plant seeds for one more gosh darn day.
Not too early for winter sowing!
Well, Jenna, you know I'm a fan of winter sowing lol. You saw the photos where I used my little greenhouse to do it. Tomatoes, peppers, and eggplant. Though it is a slower start, I have fruit on the peppers and tomatoes. I will get a late harvest if Mother Nature cooperates. The egg plants have blossoms now. If we would have had the usual quantity of pollinators this year, the winter sown plants would be farther along. Not so many blossoms would have fallen off prematurely. We planted the usual flowers etc for them, but for some reason they were far and in between. Two years ago I winter sowed in 45 milk jugs. I had leafy greens, white tomatoes, all types of Italian herbs including actual Italian Sage. I also had a few Marigolds. Mostly I started perennials. I had about a 70% success rate that year. This year I had F-1 Roma, Cherokee Purple, and Thorburn Terra-Cotta tomatoes. Also Rosa Bianca eggplant and King of the North peppers. I like the fact you did a comparison. This was a great show! Two years ago I started everything in February and March. This year it was April 1st. I'll shovel the snow and use the greenhouse again this winter. I love to experiment! Enjoyed, take care!
Indeed! And I very much appreciate that you shared your process with me.
What do you think is going on with your pollinators this year?
@@GrowfullywithJenna I'm not very science minded lol! Hahahaha I was an art major in high school and a history major in college and I retired as an ironworker. I blame the fact that I didn't plant any Borage this spring. I usually spread around 3 or 4 packets of it. We still had the usual flowers they like though. But, I'm probably just all wet on the matter lol.
@@michaelmarchione3408 Oh, how funny- I am an art history major! I also thought myself not very science minded when I was taking courses in school, but I find that when I apply it to 'real life' it becomes fascinating!
Do you add any fertilizer in your winter sowing? What potting mix do you use? Onions worked great with winter sowing, zones 6b/7a! I love your videos giving specifics on dates things are started, planted, harvested. It's very helpful!
I used ProMix organic mix- and added a small amount of all natural granular fertilizer in the spring when the plants really jumped into growth.
Very informative video - Thank you so much!! The Chamomile thing - I think it’s that Chamomile is more like a “wild flower” - even in my 4b/5a zone the best chamomile I get is self sown. Always lovely and hardy.
Could be--- almost like I was babying it too much by starting indoors?
@@GrowfullywithJenna could be😉 I know when I’m having issues with a planting my daughter tells me I’m Lovin’ it to death 😂
@@GrowfullywithJenna also they don’t bloom as well with to much water and Love Full sun.
Last year I sowed chamomile in the late summer, it overwintered and didn't flower until May/June the following year, so maybe it likes having a period of cold weather. I get that the point of the jugs is that there isn't any specialized equipment, but for a serious gardener, I don't see the point. Make a few cold frames or low tunnels and sow directly into the soil or into flats in the cold frame. But I am interested in seeing your cold stratification experiment, hopefully you'll do an indoor version and a direct sowing as well to compare with.
Good to know- thank you!
And I would tend to agree- I think I'd rather just use cold frames or low tunnels versus all the individial jugs, but to each their own! And I will certainly try to do the indoor comparision- that's a great idea!
@@GrowfullywithJenna I think there is still less babysitting the jugs. They are open to get water and you don’t need to lift the cover. They are also easy to get the seedlings separated and portable. Some plants may need different conditions and they are easily moved.
Jenna, impressive garden and tips ❤️ dry hot year here so my garden took a dive, however, I’m not too discouraged 🫤 thank you for sharing your knowledge 👍👏✌️
Sorry to hear that- I feel like it's been such a challenging year for so many folks! Glad you're not too discouraged!
This is awesome! I just did a bunch of perennial flowers, herbs, and cold hardy vegetables for the first time. I am also trying English lavender and German chamomile from what I have read they both require cold stratification. Did you put the indoor chamomile seeds in the fridge?