Winter Sowing

 Last winter I tried something new...Winter Sowing.

Have you heard of it?

It's a fun way of starting your seeds outdoors in winter rather than starting them indoors. 
I've started seeds indoors many times but with winter sowing you don't have to take up space inside your house. 
It's all outside and nature takes care of almost everything for you!

 I first heard about it in 2010 on a local show, Grow with Kare {here} and {here}. 
I immediately wanted to try it but had to wait a whole year.

So I got busy hoarding lots of empty milk jugs.

Which is easy to do when you have a little guy that LOVES milk!

Once I was ready to sow my first seeds I gathered up all the milk jugs and got to work.

I poked drainage holes in all the bottoms with a drawing compass, which worked awesome. 

Then I used a utility knife to cut along 3 sides of the each jug, leaving one side in tact for a flap.
After that I filled the jugs with about 3" of soil and planted the seeds.

I planted only a few varieties of seeds at first. 
Like kale, cilantro, lavender, lupine, english daisy, poppies, sweet peas and columbine.
{I didn't winter sow all of the seeds pictured above. Some I planted directly into the garden, like the cosmos, zinnias, beans and corn.}

 Once I had the seeds planted I used a strip of clear duct tape to hold the top flap down and 
then placed the jugs on our deck on the south side of our house where there's plenty of sunshine.
Then I sat back and waited.

15 days later, this is what I had!
Lots of fresh little seedlings. It was so exciting!

Then I decided to plant more seeds like morning glories, sunflowers, pumpkins, 

snap dragons, tomatoes, parsley, basil, 4'oclocks, sage, peppers and more.

The milk jugs were taking over our deck!

Another 6 weeks passed and this is what I had in early May. 

Flourishing plants ready to be planted in the garden!

It was such a fun experience! I will definitely do it again. 

Some seeds worked better than others, so here's a rundown of how everything worked for me:

1. Kale - grew beautifully, but the rabbits devoured it once it was in the garden.

2. Cilantro - sprouted well but shriveled up once I took the jug top off in late spring.

3. Lupine - did well but didn't bloom*.

4. English Daisy - did well but didn't bloom*.

5. Poppy - seedlings did well but shriveled up once I planted them in the garden.

6. Columbine - did well but didn't bloom*.

7. Sweet Pea - did ok, not very hardy or strong looking but did bloom one small flower.

8. Lavender - did well but didn't bloom* {still smelled heavenly though}.

9. Morning Glory - all varieties did well.

10. China Rose - didn't sprout at all, I think these were old seeds.

11. Snap Dragons - did well, looked hardy and lush but didn't bloom {which I thought was weird since it's an annual}.

12. Dahlia - did well and had a few blooms.

13. 4 O'clocks - did ok, not very hardy looking but did have a few blooms.

14. Pumpkin - seedlings did well and looked so hardy but in the extreme heat of the summer they ended up dieing off.

15. Sunflowers - all varieties did well.

16. Parsley - didn't do well at all, barely sprouted.

17. Tomatoes - the plants did well but my harvest was dismal, only about 2 roma and 4 cherry.

18. Peppers - seedlings did well but, like the pumpkins, they died off in the garden.

19. Sage - did well.

20. Sweet Basil - did well.

* It's common for perennials started from seed to not bloom the first year. Maybe this summer I'll get some blooms?