We typically start our vegetable seedlings in our unfinished basement, but what if you can’t afford grow lights, and none of your windows have enough sunlight? Or what if you don’t have that kind of space? Or don’t have the time to make paper pots? Maybe you always forget to water them, or find the hardening-off process stressful. Well if any of those situations sound familiar, then alternatively, you could just go ahead and start some of them outside, even in the snow.
Table of Contents:
Intro – 0:00
What is Winter Sowing? – 1:17
How to Winter Sow – 2:17
Benefits – 5:29
When to Winter Sow – 6:06
Other Youtubers on Winter Sowing:
Please check them out, and tell them we sent you 🙂
Growit Buildit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SKXY6dl-5Tk
Little Garden on the Prairies: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLBLzuoZhsRBVSq8rpq34vVZwk4vMP4DDF
Esther’s Gardening Adventures: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLguaVQqEAnIUkHd85gtfgoj4CX9JAILY0
I have been winter sowing for the past three years with very good success. I’ll be honest. I’m truly in love with this method! I just want you to know that you can plant more than cold hardy vegetables, herbs and flowers. You can grow just about anything and everything with this method. I have had great success growing peppers, eggplants, tomatoes, pumpkins, sunflowers, etc. I think you can see my point. Warm climate plants love to be winter down too.
So good to hear from you. Another great video, giving me some inspiration here in a still snowbound Saskatchewan
Please post more videos, please 🙂
Planting directly in the ground with the plastic over the top as a cloche allows the growing soil to maintain a better, more even temperature due to the buffering of the soil/earth/planet. Exposing a small amount of soil to temperature fluctuations above ground increases plant stress. And it’s just an unnecessary ticktock thing.
Technical question: Should the container lids be put back on or not. Your video shows without but it’d seem more sensible to put them on?
This guy is just saying shyt, he doesn't do this , nobody ever does, don't show how to do stuff unless you can do it , the cartoons are not reality , you are fucking people up not helping
Love your creativity with growing! What part of Ontario are you? I’m in Prince Edward County.
Your plastic bottles can be heated and rolled into clear sheet. Now what possible uses could there be for clear, heat and pressure/vacuum formable plastic ?
Thank you for video! I’m going to try this today. It’s cold and we had a light snow today. I was hopeful spring was here, but as usual…surprise!!! Zone 5b Pennsylvania.
Sounds like I can still do this. It's going to be 40s by day and 20s by night.
I really love wintersowing, this is my second year. I wintersow herbs and flowers with great success!
Your neighbours must think you guys love to acumulate trash.
Always enjoy it when there‘s a new video from you guys. I tried winter sowing for the first time this year, seeds germinated well. My only beef with the method is that one still has to do all the pricking/planting out. A Swedish woman, Sara Backmo on youtube, has videos where she winter sows directy in the beds instead of containers which eliminates the later fiddly work. And I don‘t have all those containers anyway as we don‘t‘ buy that kind of stuff. So next year I‘m going to try her method.
I love the way you end with the birds–how fitting!
I'll have to try this next year. Just one thought; hang on to the bottle caps; you may need to drill vent holes and put them back on to protect seedlings from slugs as spring really kicks in.
i will definitely try this out
Thank you! I'm tired of babysitting seedlings and electric costs.
Very cool!!
Delighted to see you are still making great videos….I remember when you were living in the van! I pop on occassionally and it is happymaking to just hear your voice!
What I have had some success with is placing the containers on top of branches to aid with drainage, and air flow from the bottom.
Your timing was fine.
There is a really good Facebook group for winter sowing. The moderators are vigilant about removing non-winter sowing material (almost too much). There is a lot of great information there.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/wintersown
I started lavender indoors without any cold stratification, and they came up well, so you're probably fine. I used winter sowing for most of my medicinal herbs this year, things like chamomile and feverfew, mugwort, angelica, marshmallow, calendula, skullcap, anise hyssop, echinacea, etc. Everything has germinated wonderfully, and they are growing on well. I will use this method every year, and am thinking of expanding it to vegetables next growing season.
Loved the hidden joke in the CC!
This is such a game changer… thanks from Grey County!