Let's talk winter gardening. If you are like me, you are probably itching to get your hands back in the soil. We usually think of spring/summer as the time to garden, but winter is a great time to start planning your garden and even start some 'cool season' seedlings.

Many gardeners choose to buy seedlings from a local garden center in the spring, which I did for years until I started the farm. Personally, I struggled with starting seeds indoors. I usually have a million things going on, and I would forget to water them, burn them under the lights, or I didn't harden them off properly and end up with thin, spindly plants. As a result, my ambitious 12 flats of seedlings usually ended up with 12 plants total.

What if you didn't have to worry about the perfect temperature, distance from the light, and hardening off? Enter winter sowing.

Winter sowing involves planting seeds outside in winter and forgetting about them until the weather starts to warm up. Ya, hear that? Plant and forget. Okay, I am in.

The winter sowing techniques I am about to explain, mimic the natural cycle of cold and warmth plants go through in the wild. Have you ever found volunteer plants in your garden from something you had planted the previous year? Those amazing little plants grow from seeds that fell to the ground in fall, froze during the winter, and sprouted during the warm spring months. They tend to have strong roots and mature quicker than plants started indoors.

The first thing you need to know, whether you are reading this from SE Ohio or the Pacific NW; we each have a hardiness zone associated with the region we live in. The hardiness zones are a map used as a guide to know what plants will grow in your area. When you buy a plant at a local garden center, you will find the hardiness zone listed on the tag. I am in zone 6b, so, for example, if a plant is hardy in zone 6-8, it would not be hardy in zone 5 because the lower the number, the colder the temperatures. (-5 to 0 °F/-20.6 to -17.8 °C. ) If you don't know what zone you are in, you can use this link to this USDA zone map, enter your zip code, and you will see.

In this post, I will talk about three types of plant classifications: perennials, annuals, and cold-hardy annuals, also sometimes called cool flowers.

Perennials are plants that will come back each year in your zone.

Annuals need to be planted annually and are too cold in your zone.

Cold-hardy annuals are plants that can take a light frost but will not survive the winter in your zone without protection.

Most perennials that you start from seed need to be chilled before starting them. This just means they get placed in your refrigerator or freezer. Depending on the time of year, I have more seeds in my freezer than actual food. This process is called stratification and allows the seed a period of dormancy before gradually warming up. Some seeds also have a hard outer covering that protects the embryo and needs to be removed before the seed can germinate. In nature, the outer shell is removed in several ways, including passing through the digestive system of birds or other animals and freezing.

Winter sowing lets both of these processes occur without any effort from you. An example of a plant that requires cold to start is milkweed. It self sows easily in the wild, but it can be a struggle to start intentionally indoors, so winter sowing is perfect for this.

So what type of seeds work for winter starting? Most perennials work great for this, as well as cold-hardy annuals. Most seed packets tell you if they are cold-hardy. This process doesn't work for all seeds, of course, so I've listed some suggestions of seeds that will work and what to look for when choosing your winter sowing seeds.

Some keys phrases to look for when selecting seeds to try are:

Cool flowers
Self-sowing
Cold hardy
Perennial

Here are some examples of plants you can start outside:

Annual Flowers

Nigella

Milkweed

Bachelor’s Buttons

Stock

Poppies

Bells of Ireland

Calendula

Snapdragons

Perennials

Echinacea

Yarrow

Saliva

Rudbeckia

Milkweed

Vegetables

Carrots

Spinach

Broccoli

Cabbage

Kale

Beets

Herbs

Peppermint

Chives

Thyme

Horseradish

There are plenty more options. These are just to give you some inspiration. I love this simple project because it's an inexpensive way to try something new, and it is also great to try as a homeschooling project for kids.

Here is what you need to get started.

What do I grow in?

For winter sowing, you need a container with a clear top to act as a mini greenhouse. This includes milk jugs, take-out containers with clear lids, and tin foil pans with dome tops.

One common mistake we spring-hungry overzealous gardeners make is starting too early. January or early February is the perfect time to start your seeds outside to avoid the warm snaps in December followed by freezing that can kill those precious little seedlings.

Steps

1) Select your container and poke several drainage holes in the bottom. You can use a box cutter or drill for this. You also want to put some holes in the lid for ventilation and let some water in.

2) If you are using a milk jug, cut the top off about five inches up from the bottom. Leave about an inch uncut to act as a hinge.

3) Fill your container with 3-4 inches of potting soil. Seed starting mix works for this, but regular potting soil is also okay to use.

4) Moisten the soil thoroughly, making sure to remove clumps.

5) Sprinkle the seeds on top of the soil. Check your seed packets to see if the seeds need light to germinate. Most seeds need a light cover of soil.

6) Lightly tamp the seeds down. You want to make sure the seeds have good soil contact. This will ensure better germination. If the seeds don't require light to germinate, sprinkle with soil.

7) Label the seeds! You can use regular plant tags inside the container or write on the container with a garden marker or wax pencil. Sharpies don't work outdoors. Permanent markers are not so permanent after all.

8) Secure the lid on your container. Duct tape works great for this.

9) Find a place outside that will get light and rain and will not be carried off by the wind.

10) Wait. My favorite part! Letting the seeds and soil do their magic in the dark is the best part of starting seeds, in my opinion. Especially when I don't have to think about lights, temperature, and watering.

When the weather starts to warm up, you will need to check your container and see if it needs water. As the weather gets warmer and the seedlings grow, you can cut bigger ventilation holes in the top, eventually removing the lid altogether. When the seedlings have their true leaves and look sturdy, they are ready to be transplanted.

Don't worry. We have a follow-up blog post about transplanting coming your way soon. Drop us your questions and tell us your success stories. We would love to hear them.

Get growing,

Floral Musings

Winter Seed Starting