Winter Sowing 🥶🍀🪻
Winter sowing is the act of planting seeds, particularly native northern plants and those that require cold stratification, in mid-Winter, rather than waiting for warmer weather 🌬🌧❄️
Winter sowing has several benefits ☃️✅️
-Best way to awaken dormancy from native/northern seeds that require 1-3 months of cold stratification and moist soil, especially those that need a false spring and then return to cold (as we're likely to have several of these in Zone 8b)
-Allows early germination and success of the strongest seeds most suited to your local environment
-When done in jugs or some other type of mini-greenhouse increases the temperature, and increases how early and vigorously seeds germinate
-Allows you to have many of your flowers, bushes, and fruit trees planted very early (mid-January to early March) so you can focus on annual food crops as your yard or greenhouse warm up
It's also a pretty easy process, mostly done with recycled materials! ♻️
The easiest way to winter sow seeds is to save excess plastic jugs - milk, juice, even vinegar bottles - anything with clear or slightly opaque plastic 🫙
1. Rinse out your jugs, use a wood burner/heated screwdriver/whatever is easiest to poke holes in the bottom
2. Cut them roughly in half, leaving a good amount of space in the bottom area
3. Fill with soil, ideally deeper and with slightly more starting nutrients than a typical seed mix - this will give you flexibility to let things grow in and not need immediate up-potting
4. Scatter your chosen seeds - prioritize wildflowers, native bushes/trees, fruit trees, and anything that says it requires cold stratification. Avoid hot weather annuals like tomatoes, peppers, and eggplants that will suffer in the cold nights
5. Cover very lightly with soil and water deeply, since this is a pretty closed system you'll only need to water about once a week until real growth or warmth sets in
6. Label inside and out, then use tape to reconnect the two halves. Put lids back on to retain heat and humidity, if can't be found can use styrofoam, aluminum foil, or plastic wrap rubber-banded on
Winter sowing is an easy process that let's you get a headstart on planting, increases germination rates in native plants and wildflowers, and uses recycled materials to grow more food 🌱🫐🍎🪻🌿
Message me for any questions, I'll discuss troubleshooting and alternatives later this week 💚
[ID: Two pictures; the first shows 3 1-gallon jugs, half full with dirt, and labeled things like "oregon grape" and "juneberries." The Second shows a long line of these jugs of varying types lined up against a garden fence, each closed and labeled.]
