Category Archives: Winter sowing

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. 🙂

 

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. 

Winter sowing of cilantro

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First put together 10 weeks ago, this cilantro is now ready to be separated and placed into squares. So far I’ve put them in 7 squares-28 plants, with about 5-7 more squares to go. Winter sowing is such a good practice. I took an empty olive oil container, cleaned it out, and then cut it around the mid-line. After filling it with moist soil, I added the cilantro seed, watered in again gently, closed the container with scotch tape, removed the top cap, and then placed it in my gardens which are covered with plastic and spun bound fabric.

There have been days where I pulled the plastic back to vent because it can really get warm under covers. I’ve done no work with this container. Try this easy technique next winter to enjoy an early spring garden. The seeds just know when it’s time to come up. One of the best things about winter sowing is you don’t have to worry about hardening your new plants off. They’ve been living in the very cool environment from the beginning. 

All that’s left for me to do is to separate the seedlings and put them in the squares of the SFG. Four plants per square. So far I’ve planted 7 squares or 28 seedlings with a lot more to go. By the time the neighborhood starts to think about planting their gardens in a month (still too early unless they’re ready to protect from more snow/freezing temperatures), I’ll have begun harvesting cilantro. I’ve already been enjoying over wintered carrots, parsnips, tatsoi, mache, claytonia, spinach, mizuna, and salad greens. 

For those who may be interested, I have a beginning square foot garden class at my home coming up in a couple of weeks. Space is limited. See details here.