After watching your original winter sowing video, I went out and planted some cabbage in a milk jug. Actually two milk jugs. Here in MS, I'm not sure it is altogether necessary, but I wanted to try it. Anyway, they turned out great and are in the garden now. Thank you for sharing.
Fantastic! This past winter I only did 2 milk jugs of Giant Larkspur. I started them the end of March and they are doing well. The ones that didn't do as well for you was the same ones I had trouble with two winters ago. I had 45 jugs sown. Four did nothing. Ten got wiped out after germination from algae. The rest did well. They were mostly veggies and herbs. This year I set up my portable greenhouse on the south side of the patio against the house.That was the end of March hoping it would act as a giant milk jug. I think it is working. The Rosa Bianca Eggplant is up and some tomatoes. I used Organic Vermiculite to cover all the seeds this year. It doesn't look like algae will be much of a problem this year. The greenhouse is 19 inches by 27 inches by 65 inches high. We are in zone 4a northern NY. I had to shovel a lot of snow to roll out the greenhouse lol. It was nice to see your success! I enjoyed the reveal! Take care!
Hello, just saw your video and I wanted to give you a suggestion. Try sowing your columbine seeds directly where you want them to be as soon as you see the seed heads appear and dry out. Last year, I did just that and they sprouted for me, overwintered and are still doing good right now. I am expecting them to look good once it starts to warm up in my zone which is zone 6A. Hope this helps.
Thank you. This year my snapdragons got very leggy. I think next year I will try and spread out the seeds by picking up one at a time with a toothpick. Hopefully that will help them not flop over. I will show how them look in the garden after transplanting that they are a bit wonky.
I just happened to watch this. I see now it is 2022, but as fun to peek at yours as it is to peek at my WS. I live in Montana. My calendula self sows. Your Fox glove look great! I have tried fox glove seeds many times, but only had success as WS! But it was too hot for them; no partial shady spot. My 2023 WS look pretty good last year was a complete failure. I set my plants out in June.
It is fun to open the containers and find all the seedlings. My calendula also self sows. I will be trying to collect foxglove seeds this year to see if those will have even better success with winter sowing. Happy gardening. 😊
It's funny I feel a connection to the seeds I swap, like my grandbabies hahahaa. Wow your containers were sooo happy. I like how you put the date on the containers, good idea.
I'm hoping my strawfowers self seed. So I need to keep an eye out for the seedlings. Those guys were exploding out wow. I need some more colors for next year.
I feel bad that the seedlings are not quite making it but I think it was because the container was small and they were so crowded in there. I think a few will make it but many didn't like the transplant. I still have a few left so I will try again.
Wow! Your winter sowing was definitely worth it. They look amazing. Mine are not doing so great. April has been so cold. I will give my winter sowing about 3 more weeks. Happy gardening
Thanks. Overall I'm happy with the results - can't win them all LOL. Mine were very puny until it really started to warm up. Perhaps yours will put on some growth once it warms up more.
Your winter sowing seeds were so successful! I haven't opened mine yet but it's been an extra cold spring here and I can tell there isn't much action yet.
Weather is warming up quick here. We went from having a few weeks of cool spring weather to quickly now starting to feel a little like the start of summer. Weather has been pretty inconsistent.
Overall great success! I did have some good ones but there was a lot of algae and my biggest disappointment were zero delphiniums and zero dalmatian peach foxgloves ☹️ next year I will try doing the solo cups or pots inside a Rubbermaid tote. I think more convenient. Thanks for sharing 😊
Thanks. We had a very wet March so that tends to bring on the algea. While the solo cups in a tote may be more convenient just be sure to keep an eye on the water as they will dry out a lot faster. For the ones that have algea you can open them and let them air out a bit. Typically that is an indication of not enough air flow. Crossing fingers that seedlings may show up a bit later for you.
I live “tiny” and have been so so inspired by your channel because I am not able to start any seed trays due to living in less then 300sqft. But this is so do-able! I can start early with them being stored outdoors! So so inspired. Question for you! I live in zone 7, What dates would you start different seeds? I feel like a list and the dates of when you started them would be so helpful! Thanks for the inspiration!
I can probably make room in my house but I don't want to deal with all the care that growing indoors requires so I find this method so useful for me. Generally I like to start my winter sowing first week of February as most years it is consistently cold from then until March. However, every year is a little different. I would say for zone 7 you should start in early February for any perennials and hardy annuals. Any cold sensitive annuals you should start in mid to late March as sometimes we get a freeze in early spring that can kill off those sensitive seedling. Happy gardening!
Warm-loving plants like cosmos (and zinnia's etc.) can be winter sown, but not in the fall or winter. They need to be winter sown in (early) spring, as late frosts can kill them if they already germinated.
They were about to start blooming in about mid-June. Here is my garden tour video showing them just about ready to bloom ua-cam.com/video/b6RmkaK2Tgc/v-deo.html (10 min mark). They were still going strong in September ua-cam.com/video/R52rXp7CiDs/v-deo.html (7 min mark).
I had no success with Columbine as well. Except Aquilegia Canadensis, which is self-seeding in my garden. I also noticed that seeds collected in my garden are often better than bought seeds. I wonder if it has something to do with freshness.
I’m in Long Island, NY. My winter sown seeds, from reliable sources, don’t look nearly as nice as yours. I planted the seeds individually. It looks like you scattered yours. Did you plant the seeds at the depth on the packet? What soil mix did you use? Did you water them during the winter? Any other suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks.
Thanks. The seeds for most of the flowers are super tiny so I did end up scattering them. Since most are super small those need to be sown just on the surface and not covered, which I did, If the required to be covered quarter of an inch then I would sprinkle and cover lightly with soil. I used just regular Miracle Grow potting soil. I did water a few times throughout when there was no rain or snow to ensure they were kept moist. I feel that the main thing is to ensure you use potting soil and not seed starting soil and ensure that you supplement with water when it hasn't rained in a week or so. Also, once they germinated, if a night was dropping down to 32 or lower I ensured I covered them with a frost cloth to protect them. Hope that helps.
My thumb is not fully green yet, but it seems that the ones that did not germinate, the soil is very very wet and there's algae. Did you have a lot of rain this year? Next time, perhaps add more large drainage holes in the bottom and place it where it can drain more freely?
I do get a lot of spring rain in my area and that has been an issue in the past. Typically it tends to happen to me in smaller containers. It isn't always just from being too wet but can also be from not enough air circulation. Have to balance out more drain holes vs having to water them because they will dry out too quickly.
Hi Monica you seem to have very good luck it is so nice to actually see the results Thank You for showing us..I have a question for you,I bought a green house actually I was reading about some other fan on your videos she has the same one it’s just a small greenhouse its65in.high,27w.and19deep..The only I would like to know when is a good time to start here inSt.Catharines Ontario Canada.And do I cut the tops off the jugs ..please could you reply ..l thing I have already sent you some questions before and I would really appreciate hearing from you!!!!
I have never tried starting seeds in a small greenhouse - only in plastic jugs so unfortunately I can't really provide much advice on how to go about using that method. Perhaps you can find someone who has used a portable greenhouse and how they used it to grow their seedlings. With the winter sowing method, growing flowers, the opening in the jug is to allow for the soil and seeds to be watered by the snow and rain. Then when temperatures warm up the seeds germinate. However, if sowing tender annuals or summer veggies winter sowing is not usually started until March. Starting seeds in early February with winter sowing I only do perennials and frost hardy annuals.
Thanks. I buy mainly from Select Seeds and Johnny's. I had some old foxglove seeds from Floret but I also buy Burpee seeds from big box stores and this year I tried out some strawflower seeds from Etsy sellers. Just a matter of what I can get my hands on.
Here are some of my other videos on winter sowing flower seeds: Winter Sowing Supplies 10 Essentials: ua-cam.com/video/WPHgpaaLSzY/v-deo.html Flowers I'm Winter Sowing in 2023: ua-cam.com/video/duAP06u6qEQ/v-deo.html Winter Sowing - Best Flower Seeds and When to sow: ua-cam.com/video/BAGsGtVSwBg/v-deo.html Winter Sowing Step by Step Guide (2021): ua-cam.com/video/FgUKLh2J8gc/v-deo.html Winter Sowing Reveal - Spring 2022: ua-cam.com/video/kIJpldn6I5A/v-deo.html Winter Sowing Reveal - Spring 2021: ua-cam.com/video/49VCZEL7utk/v-deo.html How to Transplant Winter Sown Seedlings into the garden: ua-cam.com/video/5-BfrIyiUAY/v-deo.html
You are not too late. Being that you are likely in a colder zone than I am, you can start in mid-February through March. If you have any seeds that need cold stratification may want to be sure to start those in February.
I tried to seed them lightly so I don't have too many in the container germinating. If they are not too crowded just be sure the soil is nice and moist. You should be able to pry them apart very easily. Otherwise just divide it up like you would brownies - cut them up into chunks and just plant the whole chunk. the strongest ones will grow. You can always thin out once you see which ones take off.
Caps must be off to allow rain and snow to get in and water the containers. I didn’t have to water very much as we get a pretty good amount of snow in the winter and rain in the spring. Only if there hasn’t been any precipitation in a couple of weeks or if the soil seems like it is starting to dry out would I water.
Not for me. My garden is heavily mulched so doesn’t allow for the seeds to reach the soil and if it does no light because of the 2 inches of bark mulch But thank you.
@@MonicaKatie Thank you. I'm moving into my own home next month and I want to winter sow to get a jumpstart. I'm excited that I will have my own yard. I've been living in apartments for a long time so I could only plant in pots.
@@ShabbyChicBoho congratulations! That’s so exciting. Winter sowing is such a great and economical way to add lots of plants to the garden. Good luck and enjoy 😊
Oh my goodness this was like unwrapping presents on Christmas morning!! 🌸
Right?! It is so great to open them and see all the seedlings. A happy day. ☺
After watching your original winter sowing video, I went out and planted some cabbage in a milk jug. Actually two milk jugs. Here in MS, I'm not sure it is altogether necessary, but I wanted to try it. Anyway, they turned out great and are in the garden now. Thank you for sharing.
That's awesome. Cool weather crops do great in winter sowing containers.
You're inspiring me to give this procedure a go next winter, what great results 🌺🌸🌺
Thanks. I love to inspire others.
Fantastic! This past winter I only did 2 milk jugs of Giant Larkspur. I started them the end of March and they are doing well. The ones that didn't do as well for you was the same ones I had trouble with two winters ago. I had 45 jugs sown. Four did nothing. Ten got wiped out after germination from algae. The rest did well. They were mostly veggies and herbs. This year I set up my portable greenhouse on the south side of the patio against the house.That was the end of March hoping it would act as a giant milk jug. I think it is working. The Rosa Bianca Eggplant is up and some tomatoes. I used Organic Vermiculite to cover all the seeds this year. It doesn't look like algae will be much of a problem this year. The greenhouse is 19 inches by 27 inches by 65 inches high. We are in zone 4a northern NY. I had to shovel a lot of snow to roll out the greenhouse lol. It was nice to see your success! I enjoyed the reveal! Take care!
Wow, you are in a very cold zone. Sounds like the greenhouse is working out well for you. Happy gardening.
Love this series on WS
Thank you! So glad you are enjoyed it.
Hello, just saw your video and I wanted to give you a suggestion. Try sowing your columbine seeds directly where you want them to be as soon as you see the seed heads appear and dry out. Last year, I did just that and they sprouted for me, overwintered and are still doing good right now. I am expecting them to look good once it starts to warm up in my zone which is zone 6A. Hope this helps.
Thanks. I don’t need any more columbine but thanks for the tip.
You had great success with your containers, the plants look great! You have a lot of planting ahead of you.
Yes, a good year. Can't wait to have lots of flowers.
@@MonicaKatie Flowers are the best!
Your results are absolutely beautiful! Thanks for sharing this.
Thank you so much! 😊
Great results! I'm inspired . . . going to winter sow my Snapdragons next time.
Thank you. This year my snapdragons got very leggy. I think next year I will try and spread out the seeds by picking up one at a time with a toothpick. Hopefully that will help them not flop over. I will show how them look in the garden after transplanting that they are a bit wonky.
I just happened to watch this. I see now it is 2022, but as fun to peek at yours as it is to peek at my WS. I live in Montana. My calendula self sows. Your Fox glove look great! I have tried fox glove seeds many times, but only had success as WS! But it was too hot for them; no partial shady spot. My 2023 WS look pretty good last year was a complete failure. I set my plants out in June.
It is fun to open the containers and find all the seedlings. My calendula also self sows. I will be trying to collect foxglove seeds this year to see if those will have even better success with winter sowing. Happy gardening. 😊
It's funny I feel a connection to the seeds I swap, like my grandbabies hahahaa. Wow your containers were sooo happy. I like how you put the date on the containers, good idea.
I'm hoping my strawfowers self seed. So I need to keep an eye out for the seedlings. Those guys were exploding out wow. I need some more colors for next year.
I feel bad that the seedlings are not quite making it but I think it was because the container was small and they were so crowded in there. I think a few will make it but many didn't like the transplant. I still have a few left so I will try again.
I left a bunch of strawflowers to self seed but I don't see any seedlings in my yard. Hope you have better luck.
Wow! Your winter sowing was definitely worth it. They look amazing. Mine are not doing so great. April has been so cold. I will give my winter sowing about 3 more weeks. Happy gardening
Thanks. Overall I'm happy with the results - can't win them all LOL. Mine were very puny until it really started to warm up. Perhaps yours will put on some growth once it warms up more.
Your winter sowing seeds were so successful! I haven't opened mine yet but it's been an extra cold spring here and I can tell there isn't much action yet.
Weather is warming up quick here. We went from having a few weeks of cool spring weather to quickly now starting to feel a little like the start of summer. Weather has been pretty inconsistent.
Wow!!! I am inspired by your winter sowing.
Thanks 😊
Overall great success! I did have some good ones but there was a lot of algae and my biggest disappointment were zero delphiniums and zero dalmatian peach foxgloves ☹️ next year I will try doing the solo cups or pots inside a Rubbermaid tote. I think more convenient. Thanks for sharing 😊
Don't give up yet. Just set them aside for another month.
Thanks. We had a very wet March so that tends to bring on the algea. While the solo cups in a tote may be more convenient just be sure to keep an eye on the water as they will dry out a lot faster. For the ones that have algea you can open them and let them air out a bit. Typically that is an indication of not enough air flow. Crossing fingers that seedlings may show up a bit later for you.
You have wonderful results!
Thanks 😊
I live “tiny” and have been so so inspired by your channel because I am not able to start any seed trays due to living in less then 300sqft. But this is so do-able! I can start early with them being stored outdoors! So so inspired.
Question for you!
I live in zone 7,
What dates would you start different seeds? I feel like a list and the dates of when you started them would be so helpful!
Thanks for the inspiration!
I can probably make room in my house but I don't want to deal with all the care that growing indoors requires so I find this method so useful for me. Generally I like to start my winter sowing first week of February as most years it is consistently cold from then until March. However, every year is a little different. I would say for zone 7 you should start in early February for any perennials and hardy annuals. Any cold sensitive annuals you should start in mid to late March as sometimes we get a freeze in early spring that can kill off those sensitive seedling. Happy gardening!
Warm-loving plants like cosmos (and zinnia's etc.) can be winter sown, but not in the fall or winter. They need to be winter sown in (early) spring, as late frosts can kill them if they already germinated.
😊
Beautiful plants
Thank you :)
Hi, thx for ur videos, by the way, I always direct sow colubine in July, and definitely a success! greetings from Europe!
Thanks
I would love to hear when you saw blooms on your strawflowers that were wintersown. So curious.
They were about to start blooming in about mid-June. Here is my garden tour video showing them just about ready to bloom ua-cam.com/video/b6RmkaK2Tgc/v-deo.html (10 min mark). They were still going strong in September ua-cam.com/video/R52rXp7CiDs/v-deo.html (7 min mark).
I had no success with Columbine as well. Except Aquilegia Canadensis, which is self-seeding in my garden. I also noticed that seeds collected in my garden are often better than bought seeds. I wonder if it has something to do with freshness.
This was my first time trying seeds from my garden and these did not disappoint. I will probably collect more seeds this year.
I’m in Long Island, NY. My winter sown seeds, from reliable sources, don’t look nearly as nice as yours. I planted the seeds individually. It looks like you scattered yours. Did you plant the seeds at the depth on the packet? What soil mix did you use? Did you water them during the winter? Any other suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks.
Thanks. The seeds for most of the flowers are super tiny so I did end up scattering them. Since most are super small those need to be sown just on the surface and not covered, which I did, If the required to be covered quarter of an inch then I would sprinkle and cover lightly with soil. I used just regular Miracle Grow potting soil. I did water a few times throughout when there was no rain or snow to ensure they were kept moist. I feel that the main thing is to ensure you use potting soil and not seed starting soil and ensure that you supplement with water when it hasn't rained in a week or so. Also, once they germinated, if a night was dropping down to 32 or lower I ensured I covered them with a frost cloth to protect them. Hope that helps.
My thumb is not fully green yet, but it seems that the ones that did not germinate, the soil is very very wet and there's algae. Did you have a lot of rain this year?
Next time, perhaps add more large drainage holes in the bottom and place it where it can drain more freely?
I do get a lot of spring rain in my area and that has been an issue in the past. Typically it tends to happen to me in smaller containers. It isn't always just from being too wet but can also be from not enough air circulation. Have to balance out more drain holes vs having to water them because they will dry out too quickly.
Hi Monica you seem to have very good luck it is so nice to actually see the results Thank You for showing us..I have a question for you,I bought a green house actually I was reading about some other fan on your videos she has the same one it’s just a small greenhouse its65in.high,27w.and19deep..The only I would like to know when is a good time to start here inSt.Catharines Ontario Canada.And do I cut the tops off the jugs ..please could you reply ..l thing I have already sent you some questions before and I would really appreciate hearing from you!!!!
I have never tried starting seeds in a small greenhouse - only in plastic jugs so unfortunately I can't really provide much advice on how to go about using that method. Perhaps you can find someone who has used a portable greenhouse and how they used it to grow their seedlings. With the winter sowing method, growing flowers, the opening in the jug is to allow for the soil and seeds to be watered by the snow and rain. Then when temperatures warm up the seeds germinate. However, if sowing tender annuals or summer veggies winter sowing is not usually started until March. Starting seeds in early February with winter sowing I only do perennials and frost hardy annuals.
Excellent video 1
Thank you! Cheers!
My calendula and Columbine didn’t germinate in the jugs either. Enjoyed the video!
Just saw someone else whose calendula didn't germinate - maybe bad year for winter sowing those? Who knows. Glad you enjoyed.
I planted some in a pot and they are growing like mad. Go figure lol
Thank you for sharing. What great success! Where do you get your seeds?
Thanks. I buy mainly from Select Seeds and Johnny's. I had some old foxglove seeds from Floret but I also buy Burpee seeds from big box stores and this year I tried out some strawflower seeds from Etsy sellers. Just a matter of what I can get my hands on.
What was the date of your reveal? When do we take the plants out of the milk jugs?
Openend April 29. Trasplanted mid-May.
Here are some of my other videos on winter sowing flower seeds:
Winter Sowing Supplies 10 Essentials: ua-cam.com/video/WPHgpaaLSzY/v-deo.html
Flowers I'm Winter Sowing in 2023: ua-cam.com/video/duAP06u6qEQ/v-deo.html
Winter Sowing - Best Flower Seeds and When to sow: ua-cam.com/video/BAGsGtVSwBg/v-deo.html
Winter Sowing Step by Step Guide (2021): ua-cam.com/video/FgUKLh2J8gc/v-deo.html
Winter Sowing Reveal - Spring 2022: ua-cam.com/video/kIJpldn6I5A/v-deo.html
Winter Sowing Reveal - Spring 2021: ua-cam.com/video/49VCZEL7utk/v-deo.html
How to Transplant Winter Sown Seedlings into the garden: ua-cam.com/video/5-BfrIyiUAY/v-deo.html
That's weird about the dill and calendula. I have only ever tried starting them indoors.
Yeah, calendula has always worked well for me so that is an odd one. It was my first time growing dill so who knows if I did something wrong.
Do you have drainage holes
Yes
Hello, is it to early or to late to do something like this in Massachusetts ?
You are not too late. Being that you are likely in a colder zone than I am, you can start in mid-February through March. If you have any seeds that need cold stratification may want to be sure to start those in February.
How in the world do you separate the crowded seedlings? I had great success with my winter sown flowers but I didn't know how to separate them
I tried to seed them lightly so I don't have too many in the container germinating. If they are not too crowded just be sure the soil is nice and moist. You should be able to pry them apart very easily. Otherwise just divide it up like you would brownies - cut them up into chunks and just plant the whole chunk. the strongest ones will grow. You can always thin out once you see which ones take off.
Once seeds are sown in containers for winter how often did they need to be watered and did you leave a cap on the container please.
Caps must be off to allow rain and snow to get in and water the containers. I didn’t have to water very much as we get a pretty good amount of snow in the winter and rain in the spring. Only if there hasn’t been any precipitation in a couple of weeks or if the soil seems like it is starting to dry out would I water.
@@MonicaKatie thank you. I'since found your excellent tutorial video on how to sow winter seeds .
What zone are you in
NJ 6b
What kind of soil did you use
I used regular Miracle Gro potting soil.
Columbine self sows
Not for me. My garden is heavily mulched so doesn’t allow for the seeds to reach the soil and if it does no light because of the 2 inches of bark mulch But thank you.
What kind of potting soil do you use please and thanks?
Just regular old miracle grow potting soil in the yellow bag
@@MonicaKatie Thank you. I'm moving into my own home next month and I want to winter sow to get a jumpstart. I'm excited that I will have my own yard. I've been living in apartments for a long time so I could only plant in pots.
@@ShabbyChicBoho congratulations! That’s so exciting. Winter sowing is such a great and economical way to add lots of plants to the garden. Good luck and enjoy 😊