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Repost: How to Winter Sow Seeds Outdoors

Square Foot Gardening List - http://myweb.flinet.com/~gallus/sqft.html

It really is very easy to do.

First, let me give you a little background as to why I sowed the
seeds during the Winter. I live in a very small house, a cottage
actually and I simply do not have room for a light set up, also
any window space I have must be fought from the cat and "Prinny"
likes to look out on the street and watch the world go by, so I
have to give her a windowsill. She's a good cat and deserves her
place in the sun.

I got hooked on seed trading, and as you all know seed trading is
like Pokeman......you gotta have 'em all. I had tons of seeds, I
had them all. Though I am not a novice at gardening I am a novice
at growing seeds, this was my second season doing so. Because of
my lack of experience with growing seeds, and not having a light
set up, I always traded for "easy to grow" seeds: I had to start
them in the windowsill or out on the patio in flats during Spring
and Summer which I did the previous year with good success too.

I was thinking a lot last Winter about how I was going to start
all these seeds, I needed an easy way out. I knew that many seeds
needed to be pre-chilled, and I knew that many plants will reseed
outdoors without our intervention. I thought about this for a few
days and put 2+2 together. I would so them into flats, and take
them outside for the Winter, if all went well then they would
germinate in Spring.

I am a true believer in "recycle and reuse". I had been saving my
take-out containers from the Chinese restaurant (not those typical
white boxes that have a metal handle and white rice inside), I was
saving the foil pans that have a separate clear plastic lid,
they're usually round or rectangular. These containers were just
perfect......plus I didn't have to go to a store and open up my
wallet (hmm, look at all the moths fly out), if I can get away
without having to lay down a buck I will. I did need soil though
and so I went to Walmart and got their brand which is the cheapest
I could find.

Seed selection:

Take a look at a seed catalogue, most will have some sort of
notation about a seed's germination requirements, or you'll pick
up a few clue-in phrases. Look for these terms:

Needs prechilling (freeze seeds, refrigerate seeds, stratify for x
amount of days or weeks)
Needs Stratification
Will Colonize
Self Sows
Sow outdoors in Early Autumn
Sow outdoors in early Spring while nights are still cool
Hardy Seeds
Seedlings can withstand frost
Can be direct sown early

Look for names that might indicate an origin in a temperate climate:

Siberian
Chinensis
Polar
Alpine
Orientale
Canadensis
Russ (or variant indicating Russian origin)
etc

Think about your own garden, and your neighbors' gardens too. Do
you find plants that have volunteered each Spring and shown up as
seedlings that you didn't sow? These are very good choices. (let's
say that your orange marigolds have returned in Spring as
volunteer seedlings.......you can then be pretty well assured that
gold, or lemon, or African or French varieties will also reseed
for you too, when it comes down to it a marigold is a marigold is
a marigold).

I like Park's Seed Catalogue, it has a great germination table
right in the middle of the catalogue. They have a numbered guide
indicating the best germination requirements for seeds. I took a
yellow highlighter and went down that numbered list and
highlighted all the numbers that would be appropriate for Winter
Sowing, then I carefully went through there list of seeds and
highlighted the varieties that corresponded to the correct
numbers. This is how I chose which varieties I would Winter Sow. A
lot of catalogues, not just Parks, will have a germination table,
or some sort of info like that, look at them, study them, and
learn.

To make a flat you take the foil container (of course it's clean,
washed in hot soapy water) and a paring knife. Stab a few slits in
the bottom of the pan, this is for drainage. Now fill the pan with
soil to about a half inch from the top. Give it a real good drink
and let it drain. I do this in my kitchen. (I have a sprayer on a
hose at the sink and I use this for the watering, works well and
doesn't gouge out holes in the soil.). After the pan has drained
sow your seeds and pat them down. Cover them with more soil to the
correct depth if necessary. I like growing plants with tiny tiny
seeds, they're really just the very most easiest sow. Sprinkle
them on top of the soil, pat them down, and that's that.

Now you need to put the lid on BUT.........and this is the very
most important step.......take the knife and poke several slits in
the clear plastic lid. This is for air transpiration. Think about
it, you're making a little mini greenhouse. If you don't vent the
air that is heated by the sun then you'll cook your flat and the
seeds won't germinate. You've baked them to death. Okay, put the
lid on secure by folding down the foil rim. Now the seeds are
sown.

Uh oh.......back it up, I forgot a step that you may wish to use,
labeling. I didn't label mine as I like suprises, however this
concept may pop the heads of gardeners who enjoy having everything
"just so". Get some freezer tape, or any tape that you know will
work well after being frozen. Pull off a six inch piece and write
on it with a laundry marker (or a sharpie) the variety name. Stick
it to the outside bottom of the flat. You can do this before or
after sowing, if you do it after make sure you wipe the bottom of
the flat well, freezer tape doesn't really adhere as good as you'd
like to a damp surface. The label is on the outside bottom of the
flat because the sun can't bleach it down there. I haven't yet
found a marker that won't bleach out in my strong Long Island sun.

All right, the flat is now sown and covered (with little slits in
the top, yes? don't forget!!). Now take it outside to somewhere it
will be safe for the Winter. I put them on a picnic table top away
from my curious puppy. I learned my lesson, I lost a flat of
daylilies, the first I sowed this way, because I put them on the
ground under a bush and the puppy found them and thought the flat
was a toy and promptly killed it by shaking it to death. After
that all the flats went up on the table out of her reach. Sad
loss, but an excellent lesson.

Now you just wait it out. When the weather warms the flats will
freeze and thaw repeatedly as Winter gives way to Spring. This
action of freezing and thawing out helps loosen the seed coat
(you'll often see the term "nick or file seeds prior to sowing" in
germination databases: this is to duplicate Mother Nature's work,
now you don't have to do that anymore).

Amazingly, just when Winter is about to break, and you're still
getting nightly freezes, the first of your flats will begin to
germinate. When I saw this I thought that the seedlings were
goners, but they thrived. I guess the seeds know when it's okay to come up.
Now is the time to check the moisture in the flats, on an above
freezing day open them up and if they look like they need a drink
give them one. The excess water will drain away. Don't forget to
replace the lids tightly.

As your seedling grow start widening the slits in the covers, once
a week or so make the slits a little bit bigger, eventually you'll
have more open areas than covered and you'll be able to transplant
the seedling into the garden because they are completely hardened
off. I have put in seedlings that barely had their first set of
true leaves and they thrived in the ground.

After transplant care is typically the same as for indoor sown
seedlings, they need a drink, just a little bit of food (10%
strength after their first week in the ground, then increase
slowly as the season progresses. After about eight weeks and a few
feedings your seedlings will be able to take a full strength
feeding.

Alternate seed flats:

I have used plastic milk jugs and 2 litre soda bottles too, just
cut around the middle almost all the way through. Make the
drainage slits. Fill with dirt, water, drain, sow, cover with more
dirt (the same procedure as above). Tape the cut edges together
and simply remove the cap for air transpiration.

Cardboard orange juice or milk containers can be used with a
baggie too. Cut them in half, horizontally or vertically, make the
drainage slits and sow your seeds by the same method above. Slip
the flat into a baggie, tie it closed with a twist tie or a knot
and use the knife to make a few slits for air transpiration. put a
few slits in the baggie at the bottom too (drainage).

Coolwhip tubs: Make the drainage slits, sow your seeds as above.
Take a scissors and cut out the center of the lid, leaving about
an inch around the inside of the rim. Put a piece of saran wrap
over the tub, put on the lid. This holds the saran wrap "window"
snugly. Take the knife and make some slits in the saran wrap for
air transpiration.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

So that's how to do it, if I remember something that I have
forgotten I'll post an addendum, but I think I have it all
covered. The major principles of outdoor Winter Sowing are
selecting the appropriate seeds, and providing adequate drainage
and adequate air transpiration. Do all these and you'll have a
success.

Did all my flats germinate? NO! I had about eighty or so of these
made and I had eight not germinate. Was it the seeds? was it the
method? was it me? I don't know. But I did have around seventy
flats that did germinate. Outside!

I forgot to mention that I also used four kiddie pools too. These
were used the summer before as container gardens (lots of soil,
lots of big slits for drainage). I simply direct sowed these, and
didn't cover them. They got snowed on, the snow melted, it rained
while the base of the kiddie pools were still frozen and the rain
didn't drain. They all were frozen with ice at least an inch
thick.......aarrgghh, panic Panic PANIC....I couldn't do anything
about it. The warmer weather came, the pools thawed and drained,
and the seeds came up! YEAH!

That's it. As you see it's not hard to do at all and I sowed these
flats at my leisure throughout the Winter. Everyone talks about
going bonkers in January and February because they can't get out
and do any meaningful gardening, and there are only only a few
varieties of seeds can be successfully sown this early
indoors....frustration and gardening fever sets in. While all the
other gardeners were chomping at the bit I was being self
indulgent and playing with dirt and mud and seeds at my own lazy
bones pace.

I took a leap of faith, I kept the faith, and I was rewarded. I
believe in this method, it works, it really works. Too much
emphasis has been made on indoor sowing under lights. It takes up
time, it takes up space, white flies take to the air, damp-off
kills your effort, your seedlings, your spirit. Did I forget to
mention that there was NO EVIL DAMP-OFF? The freezing action
killed whatever nasties that are in the soil that cause young
innocent seedlings to perish so tragically, so sadly. And it is
sad, you take a lot of time and care, they're sometimes like
children, it's really depressing when they perish.

I encourage everyone to try this Winter Sowing method, if you want
to hold back some seeds the first time you try it that's great.
Save some seeds to sow indoors of a variety you have placed in a
Winter flat, compare the differences in the seedlings, and then
the plants when they mature. Learn from what you observe.

Make your life and garden easy, let it flourish with flowers,
grasses, bushes, and trees you thought you couldn't even consider
trying before now.

Good luck to you all!

Trudi Davidoff


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