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Whether or not Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow this morning, you know spring is not quite right around the corner. But you’ve been ordering seeds and trading seeds and planning your garden all winter, and you’re eager to start sowing – what to do? Winter sowing is the answer!
Winter sowing may seem like a contradiction in terms, but it's something Mother Nature has done for ages. Seeds drop to the ground in summer or fall, and when conditions are right, they start to sprout. The lucky ones sprout in good soil, in sheltered locations, at just the right time, and they grow into sturdy spring seedlings. The extra protection of the winter sowing method creates ideal "natural" conditions, increasing the chance of success for any given seed.
The USDA National Agricultural Library glossary defines the winter sowing method as "a propagation method used throughout the winter where temperate climate seeds are sown into protective vented containers and placed outdoors to foster a naturally timed, high percentage germination of climate tolerant seedlings."
If you look through some of the threads in the DG Winter Sowing forum, you'll see that people use a creative variety of containers. Ideally, containers should have space for at least 3-4 inches of potting mix plus several inches of headroom for the seedlings. They must have drainage holes in the bottom. Vent holes in the top are also needed to let in rainwater and to release built up heat. Containers should be clear or translucent so light can reach the seedlings.
Milk jugs and plastic soda bottles make great winter sowing containers. Remove caps for ventilation. I use a serrated bread knife to cut them (be careful). With milk jugs, I cut most of the way around, leaving a "hinge" at the handle and adding punch holes for a twist-tie to hold the top and bottom together. With soda bottles, I cut two slits to form a tab on the top so the two halves nest firmly together with no need for tape.
Using bins, boxes, or laundry baskets to corral your winter sowing containers helps in several ways. They keep the wind or the neighbor's dog from scattering the containers up and down the block. Containers can be grouped according to their contents. An appearance of organization also counteracts the hilly-billy look of hundreds of assorted recyclables.
I've used cardboard boxes or old propagation trays with small holes in the corners to hold containers. Water from the hose or from rainfall drains out slowly, giving the seedlings a chance for a good drink without leaving the containers sitting in water. This year, I'll also sow seeds in pots and put them inside clear storage boxes, with holes for ventilation and drainage.
Find a good location for your containers. They're meant to go outside in the cold , the rain, and the snow. But you don't want them to be flipped over by windy weather or to be cooked by bright afternoon sun. A somewhat sheltered location that gets morning light is ideal. Most of my winter sowing containers get tucked under the bench on my deck. They're out of the way there, and they're protected from strong winds and harsh sun.
Sow seeds into moist, good quality potting mix. Garden soil or cheap potting mix can end up compacting into dry little bricks. Polymer moisture crystals help to keep the mix from getting too soggy or too dry. Adding crystals lets you successfully winter sow in more shallow containers, also. I treat shallow containers similarly to indoor seed starting trays -- once seedlings are well started, they're transplanted to larger, deeper containers.
Germination isn't necessarily lower with winter sowing, so don't sow seeds too thickly. Since I tend to sow with a heavy hand, I often sow seeds in rows so they're easier to thin or transplant.
Label your containers! Markers fade, and sticky labels fall off with winter weather. Writing directly on the container or on vinyl labels with a paint pen seems to work best for many people. Using more than one method to label your seedlings is a good idea. Trying to identify dozens of lost-label seedlings in spring is a challenge you'd probably rather do without.
What seeds can be winter sown? Many seeds actually need cold treatment, often called cold stratification, in order to stimulate germination. Winter sowing provides those conditions naturally. Try winter sowing for those seeds that Tom Clothier's germination database suggests moving between warm and cool temperatures to stimulate germination, as well as for seeds with the notation "Out" on The Seed Site's germination database. Seeds that can be direct sown in fall, or plants that often self-sow or naturalize in your area, are great candidates for winter sowing,
February is a good time to start winter sowing around here. The usual January thaw has come and gone, and with luck the more tender seeds won't sprout until after the late spring freezes. Following experienced winter sower Illoquin's advice, I start with tree and shrub seeds and with perennials hardy enough to reseed in my zone. Hardy annuals and other perennials will follow, and by March I'll be sowing half-hardy annuals.
In addition to the advice and encouragement to be found on the Winter Sowing Forum, DG has a brand new resource! The Winter Sowing Database is under development, and more information is being added all the time. Currently, reports are being entered under either common names or botanical names but are arranged alphabetically by botanical name. To add information to the database, go to the link at the bottom of the PlantFiles entry for the plant. For ongoing discussion, see the series of "Winter Sowing Data Base" threads in the Dave's Garden forum. [2]
So don't be discouraged by a groundhog's shadow! Cut up a milk jug, add a few inches of moist potting mix, and sow a pinch of hardy perennial seeds today. Celebrate six more weeks of winter by dreaming of hundreds of spring seedlings. Happy Groundhog's Day!
Photo of Phil courtesy of Alan Freed, c. 2006. SeePunxsutawneyPhil.comfor details of the annual Groundhog's Day festivities in Punxsutawney, PA and more!
All other photos by Jill M. Nicolaus. Flowers are all plants grown in my garden from seeds I winter sowed.
[1] Thanks to Illoquin for sharing her winter sowing expertise. What I thought had been annual procrastination on my part turns out to be a good thing!
[2] Thanks to all the enthusiastic gardeners who got first the Winter Sowing forum and then the new database underway. Without your generous sharing of information, experience, tips, photos, and seeds, our gardens would be far less fabulous!
About Jill M. Nicolaus
Better known as "Critter" on DG, Jill gardens in Frederick, MD. This week, I've been cutting lavender, putting up pluots (plum-apricot fruits), and pulling weeds (always, LOL). I love being outside in the cooler morning -- coffee cup in one hand, watering hose in the other -- watching the birds and butterflies among the flowers.(Images in my articles are from my photos, unless otherwise credited.)
Posted by hellnzn11 (from Rosamond, CA) on February 3, 2008 at 11:29 PM:
Jill that encourages me to try again, I have not had good luck in the past with seedlings and have always started them in doors where if they survive the damping off plight, they die as soon as they get the cold shock or heat outside.
I will try again with renewed hope. Thanks Jilly
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Posted by critterologist (from Frederick, MD) on February 4, 2008 at 12:00 AM:
Yes! The fact that the winter sowing technique pretty well eliminates the need for the "hardening off dance" of moving plants in and out and all about is a great advantage! When the weather warms up, you take the covers off the containers (some do this gradually by cutting larger and larger holes in the tops)... if you get a sudden cold night, you might put the lids back on, especially during the first few days, so I suppose there is a little "hardening off"... But getting winter sown seedlings accustomed to conditions outside their covered containers is much less of a leap than bringing pampered indoor seedlings out into the wind and chill of springtime!
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Posted by hellnzn11 (from Rosamond, CA) on February 4, 2008 at 2:09 PM:
Happy me
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Posted by MistyPetals (from North Augusta, SC) on February 7, 2008 at 11:03 PM:
For a new gardener, suffering in zone 7, this is truly an appreciated article. I'm going outside to play in the AM, Thanks a'million, Jill.
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Posted by critterologist (from Frederick, MD) on February 7, 2008 at 11:50 PM:
Have fun! :-)
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Posted by MistyPetals (from North Augusta, SC) on February 8, 2008 at 8:56 PM:
I did. I did. I found pansies at the local BIG BOX store for 10 cents per six pack. Can you believe it? Oh, that was fun!
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Posted by critterologist (from Frederick, MD) on February 8, 2008 at 9:09 PM:
Go! Go!!
:-)
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Posted by MistyPetals (from North Augusta, SC) on February 11, 2008 at 7:10 PM:
Oh, Critterologist, you're only encouraging me. And wow, what a great time I'm having. Today, I visited another BIG BOX store. There were Early Golden Acre cabbage and Grand Rapids lettuce seeds for a dime, and let me see, what else...oh, yeah, the Mammoth red cabbage seeds and the Morning Glory and seeds at .30 were a treat. I'll tell you, this is amusing to my Thrifty Shopper muse.
OK, the seed catalog came today. Time to get serious. lol
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Posted by critterologist (from Frederick, MD) on February 11, 2008 at 7:17 PM:
I think lettuce and cabbage are traditionally sown in cold frames, so they'd probably do really well in WS containers...
:-)
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Posted by Anitabryk2 (from Long Island, NY) on February 14, 2008 at 8:46 AM:
Well done Jill. It was informative and a good read! Thanks for taking the time!
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Posted by kqcrna (from Cincinnati, OH) on February 14, 2008 at 5:10 PM:
Nice job on the article, Critter.
Karen
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Posted by critterologist (from Frederick, MD) on February 14, 2008 at 5:22 PM:
I've learned a lot from both of you on the WS forum, so I'm glad you liked it! :-)
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Posted by hellnzn11 (from Rosamond, CA) on February 17, 2008 at 1:15 AM:
I already see my first head popping up Jill. I planted some in ground but I have a lot of water and soda bottles. If they start looking green, I will plant more so I have different bloom times.
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Subject: Great Article!
Posted by doccat5 (from Fredericksburg, VA) on February 2, 2008 at 3:15 AM:
Well done, Critter. Good information and great article. Thanks for sharing:)
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Posted by critterologist (from Frederick, MD) on February 2, 2008 at 3:22 AM:
I'm glad you enjoyed it! What do you think you'll run out of first... seeds, containers, cold weather... ?
There are only a few seeds I start inside this early, so it's fun to have another way to satisfy that need to plant something. :-)
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Posted by doccat5 (from Fredericksburg, VA) on February 2, 2008 at 4:01 AM:
Hopefully it's the cold weather!!! I'm tired of this already.
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Posted by Dea (from Frederick, MD) on February 2, 2008 at 10:46 AM:
Going to do some of this tomorrow - thanks for the timely article !
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Posted by garden6 (from Lansing, KS) on February 2, 2008 at 11:46 AM:
Great article Jill... the gorgeous blooms are very encouraging to the wintersower, newbie or not!
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Posted by sallyg (from Anne Arundel Co., MD) on February 2, 2008 at 12:06 PM:
ya dun it again-----I just love your style and concise information.
noticed you used one of my faves again in picture-
the famous not-chocolate -daisy : ^)
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Posted by sannajane (from Eureka, CA) on February 2, 2008 at 12:22 PM:
Good job Critter!!
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Posted by bbrogan1 (from Amma, WV) on February 2, 2008 at 1:24 PM:
Wonderful job critter! I thought I had missed out on winter sowing back in the fall. So great to hear it can still be done - thanks!!! And I have just the containers saved back to do this.
Betty
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Posted by Seandor (from Springfield, MA) on February 2, 2008 at 1:33 PM:
Very pleased that you stated that FEB is the time to start . . . :-)
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Posted by Indynannyof8 (from Brownstown, IN) on February 2, 2008 at 6:31 PM:
Great ariticle critter
You and all the others on the winter sowing forum are such an inspiration...
Veronica
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Posted by art_n_garden (from Colorado Springs, CO) on February 2, 2008 at 7:10 PM:
Great article Jill!! Such helpful information. And I am totally getting that ..."need to plant something, anything!!"
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Posted by McGlory (from Southeast, NE) on February 2, 2008 at 9:13 PM:
Thanks a bunch, Jill. I was just lamenting yesterday that I couldn't find specific info all in one spot. You came through!
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Posted by grampapa (from Wheatfield, NY) on February 2, 2008 at 11:16 PM:
Nice job, Jill. I highly recommend winter-sowing. I first tried it last year and hope the many perennials I planted as a result will make it through the winter and bloom for me this year. I did have some bloom already last summer.
I just set out my first wintersown seeds yesterday, so I guess I'm right on schedule :0) Anybody who is interested follow some of Jill's links and give it a try!
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Posted by GreenerBeaner (from Carrollton, TX) on February 3, 2008 at 9:15 AM:
Thank you, Critter. DH and I just officially decided to start our first garden together and now I can't wait to get started. Your article had so much of the info I was looking for all in one place. Now I can go ahead and get started!
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Posted by critterologist (from Frederick, MD) on February 3, 2008 at 12:06 PM:
Thanks for all the feedback & kind words. I'm glad it was useful! I hope you'll all head over to the winter sowing forum... you'll find loads of great ideas, inspiration, encouragement, hot tips, and friendly discussion. I'm not ready to replace starting seeds under lights with winter sowing, but by doing both I sure end up being busy during spring planting! :-)
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Posted by Bookerc1 (from Mackinaw, IL) on February 26, 2008 at 11:10 PM:
Oh, wow, this is exactly what I needed. I just got my seed packets from Parks today, and it was just KILLING me to not be able to start planting. So. . .you can just set them out in snow and cold weather, and they'll be OK?? I've done all the little cells inside before, without great success, and have just been itching to do something different this time!
What happens if weather warms up, seedling sprout, and then it gets bitterly cold again? Do they all die? Do you bring them inside? Cover them? I guess I still think of them as tender little babies. . .
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Posted by critterologist (from Frederick, MD) on February 27, 2008 at 12:25 AM:
Booker, what to do with little seedlings during a cold snap depends a lot on what the little seedling is, and on how cold it's getting. The containers do provide some protection, like a cold frame, but any leaf that touches the plastic tends to get frostbitten IME. If it's getting *really* cold, I'll consider moving sprouted containers into the unheated garage temporarily... you don't want to move them into the warm house, because then you have to harden them off again -- and one of the joys of winter sowing is not having to harden off all those little seedlings!
Some people don't baby their WS seedlings at all, they just figure that some will make it and some won't, and if they sow a bunch of stuff they'll have plenty to plant out... I probably mess with mine more than most, because of all the years of babying the ones grown under lights!
You'll find loads of good advice and encouragement over on the Winter Sowing forum, too. :-)
Winter sowing may seem like a contradiction in terms, but it's something Mother Nature has done for ages. Seeds drop to the ground in summer or fall, and when conditions are right, they start to sprout. The lucky ones sprout in good soil, in sheltered locations, at just the right time, and they grow into sturdy spring seedlings. The extra protection of the winter sowing method creates ideal "natural" conditions, increasing the chance of success for any given seed. 
If you look through some of the threads in the DG 
Milk jugs and plastic soda bottles make great winter sowing containers. Remove caps for ventilation. I use a serrated bread knife to cut them (be careful). With milk jugs, I cut most of the way around, leaving a "hinge" at the handle and adding punch holes for a twist-tie to hold the top and bottom together. With soda bottles, I cut two slits to form a tab on the top so the two halves nest firmly together with no need for tape. 
Sow seeds into moist, good quality potting mix. Garden soil or cheap potting mix can end up compacting into dry little bricks. 
What seeds can be winter sown? Many seeds actually need cold treatment, often called cold stratification, in order to stimulate germination. Winter sowing provides those conditions naturally. Try winter sowing for those seeds that 
