I live in PA near Gettysburg, started Winter Sowing 11 years ago and learned along the way. The first year I planted perennials, cool weather crops, and summer ones as well in the middle of a very cold winter. What I found out was the perennials did fine, with misting. The cool crops did well as well, but the summer ones did germinate, but as soon as we got some cool/cold weather in March, or April, they really suffered, or died. I adjusted to this by deciding to grow tomatoes, peppers,, eggplant etc on March 1st, which was about 8 weeks before our last spring frost. They all did fine then because I didn't have to deal with the threat of the frost for the most part damaging them. I also bought a small greenhouse, 4x8, which fit right over one of my raised beds This allowed me to start my other Spring crops in this, as well as the summer WS seeds for that extra protection in the jugs. I had an unreal crop of everything. Tomatoes pop out of my compost bin all the time, but that is Mother Nature at her finest.
I am in MN and the ziploc bags worked best for me and was the easiest. Didn't have to save all those jugs, didn't have to cut the jugs and tape and all that. Maybe it is because we get so much snow and cold here that I had such good luck. thanks for sharing all your info. I didn't do it this year and am so mad at myself. I could of saved so much money!
Water jug method works the best for me ! It’s a mini greenhouse and easy ! 🥰 Cleveland Ohio is cold, but put in south area of your yard and just forget about it ! Good luck 🍀
In Zone 6B in Michigan I winter sow in jugs in early to mid March and have great results by the time they go out into the landscape in mid May. I will pop my seeds in the freezer for a few weeks prior, that need stratification. Great video!
I love that method. Thank you so much for sharing your success and timeframe. We are a month ahead of you. I was thinking today that some of my jugs don't have much growth (my other ones that area along my fence) so I may leave them in a little longer this year. Thank you for watching. I really appreciate it!
@@thesoutherndaisyllc You’re welcome! I sowed 72 jugs 😬😂 So my goal was beginning of March, but I was finally done by mid March. I sadly don’t do anything on a small level. Lol
Maybe put the bags standing up in a shallower tote. Since the bags are flexible, they'll fill up the entire space with soil while still keeping them separate.
Very interesting result. Mow that you have the tote, maybe next time try to put soil directly in the bin and plant a row of whatever and label them. You can easily take the seedlings out using a fork. The more soil you have, the less chance of drying out.
Not warm enough the for your zinnias and mexican sunflowers….i would guess when temps go up youll see more germination. Snaps and lettuce love cool weather
I did winter sowing this year. Ran out of milk jugs. So is went to the dollar tree, bought cake takers. Cut holes in the bottoms and I half dollar size hole on the top. Results were fabulous in the cake takers. I also put coffee filters on the bottom to help with the wicking of the water into the soil. The care takers are reusable, no duck tape since they clip shut. I also put 2 clips on the sides that didn’t have the slide clips that are on the cake takers. Will do again next year with more vegetables. I started my seeds in early February, zone 5-indy
I did winter sowing for the first time this year Are used milk jugs and plastic bread containers I live in New Jersey, and we had a pretty wet and cold winter My jugs actually froze at one point, but I didn’t change anything and continued with my experiment. Here is the list of what I sowed English Daisy Carnations Milkweed Broccoli Asparagus Brussel sprouts Cabbage Cauliflower Parsley Thyme Red onion Radishes I’m please to report that everything made it through the winter and it is now in the ground! The only one that did not do great was the red onion I still have it in the milk jug under observation to see what happens to it. This is definitely going to be my go to method for growing seed I’ve the winter.
Great to see the results of the different methods. I felt the same as you about the tote method. Mine dried out too much as well last year. Your snaps look great!!
A thought for your plastic bin: If the relative humidity inside of the bin was higher, there would be less evaporation and need to water. I grow some species of mushrooms inside of plastic bins inside. They need lots of air flow and humidity, so what people do in those instances is they put about half inch to an inch of perlite in the bottom of the tub and dampen that. In mycology, you would normally put a wire rack on top of the perlite so the grow bags don't touch the perlite directly. I think doing the same thing here but putting the containers directly on the damp perlite could also offer a place for some water to wick up. into those containers, while also providing extra moisture to maintain a high humidity environment.
I'm winter sowing for the first time this winter. I agree that the milk jugs work the best. I've started some of mine in 5 gal water (Culligan jugs) using pots and cups inside of them. I find they work great but they do dry out much more. However, getting lots of seedings sprouting in them. I also used clear containers from the deli that chicken comes in. I don't care for them for several reasons. In the beginning they stayed too wet even tho I put several drain holes in the bottoms. And, every time I pick them up it disturbs the soil because they are not ridged enough. Got lots of tiny sprouts but due to lack of container height nothing can grow very tall in them. I used them for ground cover seeds. After the seeds sprouted I put my jugs and containers in my large wagon and Gorilla cart so I could wheel them onto my porch for protection on the cold nights. The porch is screened in and has floor to ceiling drapes so the porch stays about 7 degrees warmer. Twice I had to bring them into the garage due to very low temps. Started most of them in January and some in February and have sprouts in most of my jugs. I find it is still the simplest way to start seedlings. I'm going to plant the brassicas in the garden tomorrow but still have 3/4 weeks for the warmer things to grow bigger before our last frost. I live in zone 6b.
I am new to winter sowing but just wondering if you put the plastc bags inside the bin would you have more protection from the bags being jostled, giving a more micro climate within the bin (needing less water)? You could put scewers through the tub to keep the bags upright. Maybe trying a little plastic wrap over cups that within the bin? I may try an experiment with all of these options. Thank you for all the inspiration to try different methods. I love your enthusiam and sense of adventure. Thank you for sharing your adventures!
Loved the experiment! I also wondered about the ziploc bag method, but I didn't try it probably because I saved so many milk jugs over the summer to use for the winter. I also tried to propogate some cuttings from shrubs via the totes container method. I was so hopeful that I'd have a bunch of new shrubs, but I don't think any of them survived that January cold snap, although I'm keeping them around just in case they decide to wake up as it gets warmer. My milk jugs have done better this year than last, and I'm guessing because I moved them so they'd get more sun this year. Your lettuce looks way better than mine.
Hi Kim I did winter sowing for the first time. It's great I used the water jug method. I live in southern Oregon zone 8 b what a crazy winter. I planted lettuce, dill, parsley, celery and chives. Everything came up great now I get to plant them. Thanks for the great videos.
We winter sow in our breezeway, but we started this year about mid March and planted some after that. Trial and error is gardening. Tomatoes are growing. Green peppers are growing inside under grow light. Then afternoon sun gives them all strong sun for several hours. So cool to see things grow.
Great video and information. My winter sowing did great this year but now I am a little confused about how to separate these tangled up plants and get them growing in the garden. A video about how you do that would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you for sharing! I love the jug winter sowing method and have never tried the other methods. After watching your experiment, I believe that I will stick with the jug method.
I opted to do the bins and stuck to cool flowers and perennials. I’m pretty happy with my results. I planted out 8 varieties of flowers today. Only 40 more to go.. 😅
I just commented in your first video about the big tubs getting hot. I have found the jugs have the best ecosystem for each plant. You just need to not overwater or move them around so they don’t sit in direct sunlight. I haven’t done bags but I think you might break the plants trying to get them out.
Hi Kim 🌺 well done .I loved all the experiments you did for planting seeds .I also like to do experiments. I put the seeds in ground or containers and cover them with nylon and also other ways like I put the mango and poinciana seeds in moist kitchen paper and put them in a covered box,they grow well . Kim the trees in my area( red bud) now they are blooming with beautiful pink flowers . Have awonderful day .🌺🌻🌺
Love your experiment. I think I'm going to combine the bin with the zip locks by putting the prepared bags inside the bin to give them stability... maybe! We'll see.
Zone 6A - I have similar results as you. My big containers were tough to keep hydrated. I added a small bowl of water last week inside each large container. It is helping. My overall results were not as good as I hoped this year. Our winter has been strange also. I bought a "GREENSTALK" and having amazing results with strawberries & lettuce. : )
I'm trying winter sowing this year. I may be a little late but we're gonna see. I don't have milk jugs because my family doesn't like milk but I have gallon buckets we're trying it out with
I always start seeds in ziplock bags with paper towels then move them to tiny seedling pots. I’ve never seen just a ziplock bag of soil and seeds! That’s awesome!
Hi, good words of encouragement & kindness, I've only done the milk jugs, I started mine with a friend in Feb. & finally see some germination on my columbine & coneflower, starting to pot up Dahlias this afternoon & keep in garage until last frost date, which ours is after Mother's Day here in Ohio , enjoy the day, happy gardening!!!
First time watching your channel n now a new subscriber. I winter sowed for the first time, but not sure when to put my plants in the grown or how to take care of them once they out grow the jugs. I live in zone 8b/9 Florida. Wondering if I sowed to soon?
Thank you for sticking around. I so appreciate you. I just posted a video yesterday that will help you. Go to almanac.com and get your last frost date. You can use that as your target as to when you will get prepped to get the plants out. Watch that video. It’ll help you.
No way!!! So the one and only seed that did not germinate at all that I sowed all indoors, winter sowing and direct sowed was Verbena. How crazy is that? I’m formerly 7b too.
I have the winter jugs out in my shed and will pop in a cutting from time to time. I just discovered a oak leaf hydrangea in a jug. It’s big enough to transplant. I love a plant surprise. Thanks for the video.
Thank you to much for sharing everything whether it is a success or a learning experience. I live in NY in zone 5a or 6 (depends on what site I look at). I have not been able to do any winter sowing this year because January-present the weather has been extremely different than any other year I have seen in my 52yrs. Yesterday was in the low 70’s and this morning big we woke up and the high for today is suppose to be 37. We haven’t had hardly any snow this year and the temps all winter have been at least 30 degrees higher than any other year. I am so very disappointed that I was unable to do any winter sowing in fear wasting seeds and having them rot from all of the rain we have had, which has always been snow in past years. I may go ahead and try to do sunflowers and a few other hardy flowers and herbs that maybe able to take such wonky weather and temps we have had for months now. I won’t know unless I try. That’s how I learned last year. Last year was the first time I did winter sowing, and to be completely honest, I was skeptical. But I figured couldn’t hurt to experiment . So I had all sorts of containers, and I planted flowers, herbs, and brassicas and peas. I was astonished with so much that had taken and did great. But, we had a normal winter when it came to the temperatures. So basically what I’m gonna try this year is an experiment just like last year was. I’m not gonna know unless I try. 😊
I used the jug method last winter it worked very well except 2 jugs ended up with mold but it was a very wet early spring. I am doing it again this year but will wait until the end of February to begin. It's supposed to be in the 50s all next week. I don't want them to sprout then die. When we get our subzero weather before spring.
Honestly, if they do sprout, just cover them up if the temperatures get crazy cold, you just have to protect them a little bit more. The way our weather has changed so much. It’s a little bit hard to know what to do sometimes. So I protect mine and if, you feel like you need to move them then move them. I don’t think it’s necessary but you have to do what you feel most comfortable with.
This is my first year winter sowing! Kim thank you for all your info and inspiration! I’m in zone 7/7b. I tried to get a head start on my spring garden with lettuces and snap peas. Overall they did great, but my Romaine lettuce was eaten up by a mean bug. The snap peas are at least a foot tall (in a very well cleaned kitty litter jug). The other lettuces (in 2liter bottles) are busting out. I grow Tom Thumb, Merlot and Marvel of Four Seasons, which are all easy and have grown quickly. With the Romaine, I started more seeds late, in the pot they’ll grow in and under a solid cover to disallow bugs..we’ll see how they do..that’s typically a delicate and difficult plant for me to start.. I tried some hummingbird friendly plants(in jugs), some salvia and beebalm and agastache, which are slow but looking good. I also sowed zinnia and, like yours, were gobbled up after they sprouted. They must be tasty when young. For the fun of it, I put a sweet potato in one jug, to see if I could get slips, but alas..no sprouts at all there. Note to self, don’t waste your time on that next year..
My WS sweet peas are all Planted out and 6 in tall. I am Not going to pinch them as the heat comes so quick here in MS I never got flowers. I also planted sweet peas in an open container and they are up as high as the ones in a jug. Will start zinnias and cosmos in their old jugs now. I lost my Tithonia to a 28 degree night as they were so big I had the container opened. Lesson learned. I tackled pruning my huge Natchez Crepe Myrtle tree with confidence after viewing your tree pruning video. Thanks!
I just placed my bin outside earlier this week. In Minnesota, zone 4b, we've had a very long and severe winter. So, I think my timing will be just right. I've tried the jug (or berry or lettuce containers) in the past to zero success. Either wind or critters tumbled them. I will say, I found bins at Target that are about half height as yours. That may be better at keeping contents moist. I went to water mine a couple days later and they were still quite wet inside. We're finally getting warmer temps so I'll keep my eye on them. Perhaps too warm. 80s forecasted for next week. 😱 I'm going to start my indoor sowing this week. Our typical avg. last frost is May 15. But this year isn't typical. First time watching you. I adore your personality. 😊
I used the tote (plastic container) method. It worked really well for me & am going to start late today to plant them out. I also had a few plastic jugs but just not my fave method.
Great video! I winter sow in mid January in Wisconsin with temps of 25 below zero in the winter and everything sprouted. I have not moved the milk jugs once…. I just make sure the snow doesn’t cover the holes. 🌸🌸🌸🌸
Thank you so much for sharing. Last year I didn't move mine this year I did because it got so warm that the seedlings were sprouting and cooking. It went against the winter sowing rules but I wanted plants so I was happy to break them :-)
@@thesoutherndaisyllc I truly love your videos and cannot wait to see more. This year I planted 50% seeds and bought 50%……. Next year I’m buying petunias and all the rest will be only from seed! Thank you also for mentioning the soil should not be a seed mix but regular soil and maybe that’s why I didn’t have as much success……. The lady’s mantle didn’t even sprout. Next year will be glorious!! 🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸
Yes, the bag method I’m using a throw away foam bowl. I was concerned about the jostling of the roots. The cheapest thing I could find was foam bowls as I didn’t think the paper would hold up. I’m in Z5a, WI and the heavy snow broke the marshmallow sticks and needed replaced. I think it’s a great method for quickly germinating some seeds that will be planted out quickly like lettuce, but I just direct sow lettuce. It’s still cold and snowy at times yet here and will need to watch bags. In the jugs last week the statice and yarrow popped up. Concerned they may freeze, but I see the in ground poppies are green and tulips and daffodils are an inch up so I left them. I did take my garden sprayer to use a light spray and water the inside of all the jugs once. Like you said it’s been crazy weather which is creating a bit more babysitting than normal because of temp swings. Ugh, you have green grass already! It takes forever here! Next week we will Hopefully see steady 50s during the day.🎉 Hope you see more sprouts. Not sure, but did your potting soil have a lot of wood? And I hope the slugs aren’t eating sprouts before you see them👀
I have used my salad spinner to sieve big chunks from potting soil. 😊 It's sort of fun. Then toss the wood onto my gardens as mulch. (I ran the apparatus through my dishwasher afterwards.)
Maybe you could rig up a water spout(s) on the container so that it doesn’t need to be opened. It seems that it is successful otherwise. This is the 1st that I’ve ever heard of winter planting, so I’m definitely not experienced but I am pretty mechanically inclined.😅
I am so surprised you had to water the plants in the plastic tote. I had the opposite issue. I'm in zone 7b (Long Island) and just had to move my pots into my unheated greenhouse. They were doing wonderfully in the tote until all the rain came. They were completely flooded. There were actually puddles on top of the soil it was so bad. I'm really hoping they'll dry out. I also used the biodegradable brown pots so that may have also helped hold moisture. Although in my case, there's actually mold on the outside of them. Hopefully it all works out!!
@@thesoutherndaisyllcI didn't winter sow this year. I'm rebuilding my garden with new Vego beds so I didn't want to sow anything until I had a place to plant. It'll be a big job as I need to run all the irrigation first once I build the beds.
Well….😬 for years I did. Hauling them in the greenhouse and back out. This year I forgot them during our few days of 12 degree weather and let’s just say 😵 lol
An experiment I will try on indoors seed sowing in potting mix instead of seed sowing mix. It would be great to skip the step of fertilizing seedlings and not having the horrible fish fertilizer smell!
I tried fish once and went to Espoma liquid fertilizer. Same happened with using cinnamon for mildew, ect. that didn’t work and was nauseating last year. Yea, don’t use fish fertilizer inside😂
I don’t see a need to water from below as the watering with the mist works great for me. Feel free to try any ideas you like and let me know what happens. Remember that the supplemental watering isn’t always necessary just if you don’t have rain or snow.
I live in PA near Gettysburg, started Winter Sowing 11 years ago and learned along the way. The first year I planted perennials, cool weather crops, and summer ones as well in the middle of a very cold winter. What I found out was the perennials did fine, with misting. The cool crops did well as well, but the summer ones did germinate, but as soon as we got some cool/cold weather in March, or April, they really suffered, or died. I adjusted to this by deciding to grow tomatoes, peppers,, eggplant etc on March 1st, which was about 8 weeks before our last spring frost. They all did fine then because I didn't have to deal with the threat of the frost for the most part damaging them. I also bought a small greenhouse, 4x8, which fit right over one of my raised beds This allowed me to start my other Spring crops in this, as well as the summer WS seeds for that extra protection in the jugs. I had an unreal crop of everything. Tomatoes pop out of my compost bin all the time, but that is Mother Nature at her finest.
Thank you! First time winter sowing n I have been wondering how this work. Thank you for sharing n answering my questions.
You are a WS pro! Thank you for sharing your experience and knowledge. What’s your favorite seeds to grow this way?
I am in MN and the ziploc bags worked best for me and was the easiest. Didn't have to save all those jugs, didn't have to cut the jugs and tape and all that. Maybe it is because we get so much snow and cold here that I had such good luck. thanks for sharing all your info. I didn't do it this year and am so mad at myself. I could of saved so much money!
Well, you know what? You can do it this upcoming year. Would you want to share what you grew and the bags and any tips that you have for it?
Water jug method works the best for me ! It’s a mini greenhouse and easy ! 🥰
Cleveland Ohio is cold, but put in south area of your yard and just forget about it ! Good luck 🍀
Me too. Thank you so much.
In Zone 6B in Michigan I winter sow in jugs in early to mid March and have great results by the time they go out into the landscape in mid May. I will pop my seeds in the freezer for a few weeks prior, that need stratification. Great video!
I love that method. Thank you so much for sharing your success and timeframe. We are a month ahead of you. I was thinking today that some of my jugs don't have much growth (my other ones that area along my fence) so I may leave them in a little longer this year. Thank you for watching. I really appreciate it!
@@thesoutherndaisyllc You’re welcome! I sowed 72 jugs 😬😂 So my goal was beginning of March, but I was finally done by mid March. I sadly don’t do anything on a small level. Lol
How do you know what weeds need to frozen first and what seeds need that?
Maybe put the bags standing up in a shallower tote. Since the bags are flexible, they'll fill up the entire space with soil while still keeping them separate.
Yeah, I need to work on my winter sewing tote. I didn’t do it this past year. I need to do it this year.
Very interesting result. Mow that you have the tote, maybe next time try to put soil directly in the bin and plant a row of whatever and label them. You can easily take the seedlings out using a fork. The more soil you have, the less chance of drying out.
Not warm enough the for your zinnias and mexican sunflowers….i would guess when temps go up youll see more germination. Snaps and lettuce love cool weather
I did winter sowing this year. Ran out of milk jugs. So is went to the dollar tree, bought cake takers. Cut holes in the bottoms and I half dollar size hole on the top. Results were fabulous in the cake takers. I also put coffee filters on the bottom to help with the wicking of the water into the soil. The care takers are reusable, no duck tape since they clip shut. I also put 2 clips on the sides that didn’t have the slide clips that are on the cake takers. Will do again next year with more vegetables. I started my seeds in early February, zone 5-indy
I did winter sowing for the first time this year
Are used milk jugs and plastic bread containers
I live in New Jersey, and we had a pretty wet and cold winter
My jugs actually froze at one point, but I didn’t change anything and continued with my experiment.
Here is the list of what I sowed
English Daisy
Carnations
Milkweed
Broccoli
Asparagus
Brussel sprouts
Cabbage
Cauliflower
Parsley
Thyme
Red onion
Radishes
I’m please to report that everything made it through the winter and it is now in the ground! The only one that did not do great was the red onion
I still have it in the milk jug under observation to see what happens to it.
This is definitely going to be my go to method for growing seed I’ve the winter.
Thank you for another wonderful video. You have a great attitude.
Great to see the results of the different methods. I felt the same as you about the tote method. Mine dried out too much as well last year. Your snaps look great!!
I don’t know how I missed your message. Thank you my friend. 😊
I love your attitude and encouragement. Thank you for taking the time to share your experience!
A thought for your plastic bin:
If the relative humidity inside of the bin was higher, there would be less evaporation and need to water.
I grow some species of mushrooms inside of plastic bins inside. They need lots of air flow and humidity, so what people do in those instances is they put about half inch to an inch of perlite in the bottom of the tub and dampen that. In mycology, you would normally put a wire rack on top of the perlite so the grow bags don't touch the perlite directly. I think doing the same thing here but putting the containers directly on the damp perlite could also offer a place for some water to wick up. into those containers, while also providing extra moisture to maintain a high humidity environment.
Thank you for your wisdom. I appreciate you for sharing. 😊
Thanks for the information. What if you used a combo of the cups and the plastic bags? Sounds like a winning combo. Happy Gardening!
I'm winter sowing for the first time this winter. I agree that the milk jugs work the best. I've started some of mine in 5 gal water (Culligan jugs) using pots and cups inside of them. I find they work great but they do dry out much more. However, getting lots of seedings sprouting in them. I also used clear containers from the deli that chicken comes in. I don't care for them for several reasons. In the beginning they stayed too wet even tho I put several drain holes in the bottoms. And, every time I pick them up it disturbs the soil because they are not ridged enough. Got lots of tiny sprouts but due to lack of container height nothing can grow very tall in them. I used them for ground cover seeds. After the seeds sprouted I put my jugs and containers in my large wagon and Gorilla cart so I could wheel them onto my porch for protection on the cold nights. The porch is screened in and has floor to ceiling drapes so the porch stays about 7 degrees warmer. Twice I had to bring them into the garage due to very low temps. Started most of them in January and some in February and have sprouts in most of my jugs. I find it is still the simplest way to start seedlings. I'm going to plant the brassicas in the garden tomorrow but still have 3/4 weeks for the warmer things to grow bigger before our last frost. I live in zone 6b.
Yes i did video on milk jugs but never thought of ziplock bags 🎒 neat idea!!!
It is neat to try but wasn’t a huge success for me so I won’t put a ton of effort into them again.
I am new to winter sowing but just wondering if you put the plastc bags inside the bin would you have more protection from the bags being jostled, giving a more micro climate within the bin (needing less water)? You could put scewers through the tub to keep the bags upright. Maybe trying a little plastic wrap over cups that within the bin? I may try an experiment with all of these options. Thank you for all the inspiration to try different methods. I love your enthusiam and sense of adventure. Thank you for sharing your adventures!
Loved the experiment! I also wondered about the ziploc bag method, but I didn't try it probably because I saved so many milk jugs over the summer to use for the winter. I also tried to propogate some cuttings from shrubs via the totes container method. I was so hopeful that I'd have a bunch of new shrubs, but I don't think any of them survived that January cold snap, although I'm keeping them around just in case they decide to wake up as it gets warmer. My milk jugs have done better this year than last, and I'm guessing because I moved them so they'd get more sun this year. Your lettuce looks way better than mine.
Hi Kim I did winter sowing for the first time. It's great I used the water jug method. I live in southern Oregon zone 8 b what a crazy winter. I planted lettuce, dill, parsley, celery and chives. Everything came up great now I get to plant them. Thanks for the great videos.
We winter sow in our breezeway, but we started this year about mid March and planted some after that. Trial and error is gardening. Tomatoes are growing. Green peppers are growing inside under grow light. Then afternoon sun gives them all strong sun for several hours. So cool to see things grow.
Great video and information. My winter sowing did great this year but now I am a little confused about how to separate these tangled up plants and get them growing in the garden. A video about how you do that would be greatly appreciated.
Just cut into small squares and plant . It is called hunk of seed sowing. The fittest will survive. I do this will small seeds.
Thank you for sharing! I love the jug winter sowing method and have never tried the other methods. After watching your experiment, I believe that I will stick with the jug method.
Honestly, I am with you. I just have such great success with the jug method that I’m sticking with it as well.
I opted to do the bins and stuck to cool flowers and perennials. I’m pretty happy with my results. I planted out 8 varieties of flowers today. Only 40 more to go.. 😅
I just commented in your first video about the big tubs getting hot. I have found the jugs have the best ecosystem for each plant. You just need to not overwater or move them around so they don’t sit in direct sunlight. I haven’t done bags but I think you might break the plants trying to get them out.
Hi Kim 🌺 well done .I loved all the experiments you did for planting seeds .I also like to do experiments. I put the seeds in ground or containers and cover them with nylon and also other ways like I put the mango and poinciana seeds in moist kitchen paper and put them in
a covered box,they grow well . Kim the trees in my area( red bud) now they are blooming with beautiful pink flowers . Have awonderful day .🌺🌻🌺
Love your experiment. I think I'm going to combine the bin with the zip locks by putting the prepared bags inside the bin to give them stability... maybe! We'll see.
Great idea! Let me know how it goes for you!
@@thesoutherndaisyllc thanks. I will.
Zone 6A - I have similar results as you. My big containers were tough to keep hydrated. I added a small bowl of water last week inside each large container. It is helping. My overall results were not as good as I hoped this year. Our winter has been strange also. I bought a "GREENSTALK" and having amazing results with strawberries & lettuce. : )
I'm trying winter sowing this year. I may be a little late but we're gonna see. I don't have milk jugs because my family doesn't like milk but I have gallon buckets we're trying it out with
You’ve got this!!!!
I tried the ziplock method for ginger. Worked wonder! Took about a month for gingers to establish roots and sprouts in ziplock bags under shaded area.
Oh thank you so much for sharing. Would you mind telling what zone you’re in?
I always start seeds in ziplock bags with paper towels then move them to tiny seedling pots. I’ve never seen just a ziplock bag of soil and seeds! That’s awesome!
Hi, good words of encouragement & kindness, I've only done the milk jugs, I started mine with a friend in Feb. & finally see some germination on my columbine & coneflower, starting to pot up Dahlias this afternoon & keep in garage until last frost date, which ours is after Mother's Day here in Ohio , enjoy the day, happy gardening!!!
First time watching your channel n now a new subscriber. I winter sowed for the first time, but not sure when to put my plants in the grown or how to take care of them once they out grow the jugs. I live in zone 8b/9 Florida. Wondering if I sowed to soon?
Thank you for sticking around. I so appreciate you. I just posted a video yesterday that will help you. Go to almanac.com and get your last frost date. You can use that as your target as to when you will get prepped to get the plants out. Watch that video. It’ll help you.
Very informative. Thank you for sharing.
I had great success with ziplock bags last year. Verbena bonariensis did amazing! (Zone 7 b)
No way!!! So the one and only seed that did not germinate at all that I sowed all indoors, winter sowing and direct sowed was Verbena. How crazy is that? I’m formerly 7b too.
I love crape myrtle, would love to have one of the smaller ones but I don’t think they’d grow here in the pacific nw. . beautiful though
I have the winter jugs out in my shed and will pop in a cutting from time to time. I just discovered a oak leaf hydrangea in a jug. It’s big enough to transplant. I love a plant surprise. Thanks for the video.
Thank you to much for sharing everything whether it is a success or a learning experience. I live in NY in zone 5a or 6 (depends on what site I look at). I have not been able to do any winter sowing this year because January-present the weather has been extremely different than any other year I have seen in my 52yrs. Yesterday was in the low 70’s and this morning big we woke up and the high for today is suppose to be 37. We haven’t had hardly any snow this year and the temps all winter have been at least 30 degrees higher than any other year. I am so very disappointed that I was unable to do any winter sowing in fear wasting seeds and having them rot from all of the rain we have had, which has always been snow in past years. I may go ahead and try to do sunflowers and a few other hardy flowers and herbs that maybe able to take such wonky weather and temps we have had for months now.
I won’t know unless I try. That’s how I learned last year. Last year was the first time I did winter sowing, and to be completely honest, I was skeptical. But I figured couldn’t hurt to experiment . So I had all sorts of containers, and I planted flowers, herbs, and brassicas and peas. I was astonished with so much that had taken and did great. But, we had a normal winter when it came to the temperatures. So basically what I’m gonna try this year is an experiment just like last year was. I’m not gonna know unless I try. 😊
Don't sunflowers germinate practically overnight? I wouldn't bother winter seed sowing them. Just poke directly into warm soil.
I used the jug method last winter it worked very well except 2 jugs ended up with mold but it was a very wet early spring. I am doing it again this year but will wait until the end of February to begin. It's supposed to be in the 50s all next week. I don't want them to sprout then die. When we get our subzero weather before spring.
Honestly, if they do sprout, just cover them up if the temperatures get crazy cold, you just have to protect them a little bit more. The way our weather has changed so much. It’s a little bit hard to know what to do sometimes. So I protect mine and if, you feel like you need to move them then move them. I don’t think it’s necessary but you have to do what you feel most comfortable with.
This is my first year winter sowing! Kim thank you for all your info and inspiration!
I’m in zone 7/7b. I tried to get a head start on my spring garden with lettuces and snap peas. Overall they did great, but my Romaine lettuce was eaten up by a mean bug. The snap peas are at least a foot tall (in a very well cleaned kitty litter jug). The other lettuces (in 2liter bottles) are busting out. I grow Tom Thumb, Merlot and Marvel of Four Seasons, which are all easy and have grown quickly. With the Romaine, I started more seeds late, in the pot they’ll grow in and under a solid cover to disallow bugs..we’ll see how they do..that’s typically a delicate and difficult plant for me to start..
I tried some hummingbird friendly plants(in jugs), some salvia and beebalm and agastache, which are slow but looking good. I also sowed zinnia and, like yours, were gobbled up after they sprouted. They must be tasty when young.
For the fun of it, I put a sweet potato in one jug, to see if I could get slips, but alas..no sprouts at all there. Note to self, don’t waste your time on that next year..
Potatoes need more water
And deeper soil. Cut jug higher, close to the neck n give more water
My WS sweet peas are all
Planted out and 6 in tall. I am
Not going to pinch them as the heat comes so quick here in MS I never got flowers. I also planted sweet peas in an open container and they are up as high as the ones in a jug. Will start zinnias and cosmos in their old jugs now. I lost my Tithonia to a 28 degree night as they were so big I had the container opened. Lesson learned. I tackled pruning my huge Natchez Crepe Myrtle tree with confidence after viewing your tree pruning video. Thanks!
I just placed my bin outside earlier this week. In Minnesota, zone 4b, we've had a very long and severe winter. So, I think my timing will be just right.
I've tried the jug (or berry or lettuce containers) in the past to zero success. Either wind or critters tumbled them.
I will say, I found bins at Target that are about half height as yours. That may be better at keeping contents moist. I went to water mine a couple days later and they were still quite wet inside.
We're finally getting warmer temps so I'll keep my eye on them. Perhaps too warm. 80s forecasted for next week. 😱
I'm going to start my indoor sowing this week. Our typical avg. last frost is May 15. But this year isn't typical.
First time watching you. I adore your personality. 😊
I just subscribed to your channel. Fixing to do this method with the milk jugs. Great video!
Awesome! Thank you! I really appreciate that so much
I used the tote (plastic container) method. It worked really well for me & am going to start late today to plant them out. I also had a few plastic jugs but just not my fave method.
Great video! I winter sow in mid January in Wisconsin with temps of 25 below zero in the winter and everything sprouted. I have not moved the milk jugs once…. I just make sure the snow doesn’t cover the holes. 🌸🌸🌸🌸
Thank you so much for sharing. Last year I didn't move mine this year I did because it got so warm that the seedlings were sprouting and cooking. It went against the winter sowing rules but I wanted plants so I was happy to break them :-)
@@thesoutherndaisyllc I truly love your videos and cannot wait to see more. This year I planted 50% seeds and bought 50%……. Next year I’m buying petunias and all the rest will be only from seed! Thank you also for mentioning the soil should not be a seed mix but regular soil and maybe that’s why I didn’t have as much success……. The lady’s mantle didn’t even sprout. Next year will be glorious!! 🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸
Yes, the bag method I’m using a throw away foam bowl. I was concerned about the jostling of the roots. The cheapest thing I could find was foam bowls as I didn’t think the paper would hold up. I’m in Z5a, WI and the heavy snow broke the marshmallow sticks and needed replaced. I think it’s a great method for quickly germinating some seeds that will be planted out quickly like lettuce, but I just direct sow lettuce. It’s still cold and snowy at times yet here and will need to watch bags.
In the jugs last week the statice and yarrow popped up. Concerned they may freeze, but I see the in ground poppies are green and tulips and daffodils are an inch up so I left them. I did take my garden sprayer to use a light spray and water the inside of all the jugs once. Like you said it’s been crazy weather which is creating a bit more babysitting than normal because of temp swings.
Ugh, you have green grass already! It takes forever here! Next week we will Hopefully see steady 50s during the day.🎉
Hope you see more sprouts. Not sure, but did your potting soil have a lot of wood? And I hope the slugs aren’t eating sprouts before you see them👀
I have used my salad spinner to sieve big chunks from potting soil. 😊 It's sort of fun. Then toss the wood onto my gardens as mulch. (I ran the apparatus through my dishwasher afterwards.)
Maybe you could rig up a water spout(s) on the container so that it doesn’t need to be opened. It seems that it is successful otherwise. This is the 1st that I’ve ever heard of winter planting, so I’m definitely not experienced but I am pretty mechanically inclined.😅
That's a great idea! I’m gonna think that one through.
I am so surprised you had to water the plants in the plastic tote. I had the opposite issue. I'm in zone 7b (Long Island) and just had to move my pots into my unheated greenhouse. They were doing wonderfully in the tote until all the rain came. They were completely flooded. There were actually puddles on top of the soil it was so bad. I'm really hoping they'll dry out. I also used the biodegradable brown pots so that may have also helped hold moisture. Although in my case, there's actually mold on the outside of them. Hopefully it all works out!!
How’s your growth this year?
@@thesoutherndaisyllcI didn't winter sow this year. I'm rebuilding my garden with new Vego beds so I didn't want to sow anything until I had a place to plant. It'll be a big job as I need to run all the irrigation first once I build the beds.
@@strgazr04 oh how exciting! I know you will love them
How were you able to maintain your ferns mine always die back
Well….😬 for years I did. Hauling them in the greenhouse and back out. This year I forgot them during our few days of 12 degree weather and let’s just say 😵 lol
I am a first time viewer. I enjoyed your video and learned from your experiment. Thank you
Welcome! I’m so excited to hear from you. I hope this is a long fun journey ahead for you
An experiment I will try on indoors seed sowing in potting mix instead of seed sowing mix. It would be great to skip the step of fertilizing seedlings and not having the horrible fish fertilizer smell!
I tried fish once and went to Espoma liquid fertilizer. Same happened with using cinnamon for mildew, ect. that didn’t work and was nauseating last year. Yea, don’t use fish fertilizer inside😂
Another method is to plant in pots or in the ground and put a plastic soda cover. I’ve only done this with rose cuttings.
What if you water the ones in the bin from below!
I don’t see a need to water from below as the watering with the mist works great for me. Feel free to try any ideas you like and let me know what happens. Remember that the supplemental watering isn’t always necessary just if you don’t have rain or snow.
How’s about keep the water about 1” in the bin a few times a week so they don’t dry out and no water log? This could work.
Maybe put the ziploc bags in the milk jugs?
Lol! "Plants are my passion, singing is not"...tee shirt!😅
The truth lol
Did you have success winter sowing tithonia and zinnia before? I'm asking because I believe these are warm loving and don't survive cold temperatures.
Yes, I had success with both of them germinating in winter sown containers. Once the soil warmed they sprouted and did great.