Category Archives: Winter sowing

New class coming up starting early 2026!

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Many gardeners look to extend their season on both ends of the year-earlier in the spring and later in the fall. Climates have much to do with limiting those options unless you want to either buy a greenhouse (permanent, expensive, and pest issues) or do a lot of extra work at home. Seeding trays, heat mats, watering, table set-ups, and light management can burn even the most dedicated gardener out. 

Next year I have a new class to offer. It’s a winter sowing class. It will be shorter in length than my other 9 classes, but you’ll really  like this. You will particularly like the lack of work it requires and the big impact it will have on your early spring gardens.

This will be at my home and space will be limited. Keep an eye out-this is going to be a really fun one to attend. Combining this will the all the things in the square foot gardening system, you’ll have the biggest and baddest garden around. 

 

Last of the winter sowing

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If you’ve never tried winter sowing and love to garden but don’t have all the fancy lights, space and time to start seeds inside, this is the method for you, 

Any plastic container that’s see through or clear works perfectly. Plastic gallon milk containers, food containers, restaurant to-go containers, you name it. A heated screwdriver is used to poke holes in the bottom for drainage, and then a few on top for heat to escape. Add your soil, seeds, water in completely, and then close up the container. Place them is the sunniest spot outside in your yard. Then let mother nature work its magic. 

If you’re using milk containers you don’t need the top cap. Throw that out. In a few weeks your seeds will begin to germinate. As your plants begin to get bigger and the weather warms, you may need to open up the tops. At some point you’ll be able to plant whatever you’ve grown right into the garden. With no hardening off. No hassle with starting seeds indoors, messy counters, watering, replanting into bigger pots, or managing lights. 

The time to start is now. You might have another month to do it here in northern Utah, zone 7. This last sowing for me is lemon balm and then 3 different varieties of lettuces. Getting ready for another epic gardening season. 

Winter sowing and time to transplant

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I’ve written in the past of winter sowing-a method of planting that requires no fancy lighting, no hardening off, and really no work to speak of. There is little care to worry about other than making sure things under the container don’t dry out.  

This is simply a plastic milk container that’s been cleaned out and then filled with moistened potting mix. You then seed heavily, tape the container shut and then put it outside in the sunniest location you have. Remove the cap-you won’t be needing it. This serves as your venting  so things don’t heat up too much. The cold doesn’t matter for lettuces. They know when it’s time to come up,. 

We had two pretty heavy snowfalls this year when I went out and couldn’t even see the container. It was totally covered in snow. I sowed this on Jan 15 and it was ready to be separated and planted on Feb 24th. This small container was enough to seed 2 full squares of lettuce. Thats 8 “bunches” of lettuce, not 8 individual heads. These come up in big mounds. You can see what it will eventually look like from a picture I posted last  year. Big, billowy lettuces ready for you to harvest, clean, and eat. 

Five and a half weeks later. And, you did no work. šŸ™‚

 

The garden diary

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I love the idea of keeping track of what happens in the garden during the year. I looked at my sun box today and tried to remember what and when I planted. Besides the accuracy when doing this, it’s also good to remember challenges and success from the previous year, crop rotation, and any other things you might have learned. 

This is a box planted on 11/27 of last year. I love growing lettuces because I try to have a salad every night of the growing season. Even in winter, although those greens are very different. This will be ready in about two and half to three weeks from now. I’ve got another box which was planted later which will be harvested shortly after this box has been exhausted. 

By the time both of these boxes are done, my raised beds will take over for the rest of the season with salad greens and all the other crops I love to grow. The boxes will be put away until early fall, and the space taken up by them will be planted in perfect time for my summer items. 

This will give you the earliest garden

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It’s called winter sowing. Save a plastic container like the one in the picture. I poke 9 holes in the top and 9 in the bottom. I do that by heating up the tip of a Phillips head screwdriver over the gas flame on the stove. Then push it through the plastic. Easy. Mark the top of the container with whatever you plan to grow. This one is half rosemary and thyme. 

Moisten soil with warm water and fill container to the top. Now add your seeds. Lots of them. Thinly cover with more soil and close the top. Then leave the container outside in your sunniest location. Do no work. Check container on occasion to make sure it doesn’t dry out. 

In 2 months you will have a container stock full of whatever you planted. You can now start dividing up the starts and putting them in your garden. 

Seeds know when to come up. The beauty with this method is there’s no work until it’s time to start breaking them up to plant and also no need to harden off. The seedlings have already come through harsh weather and are used to the elements. For those who start seeds inside  (and I do), you know the extra work of  hardening off, which takes a week or more depending on weather.