One of the most popular articles ever write forNorthern Gardenerwas on winter - sow perennial . Winter sowing involve sow in seeds alfresco in mini - greenhouses , made of Milk River jugs , delicatessen container and other sealed credit card containers . The seeds are plant in damp soil , then the container are set outside . nature dethaw and freeze wheel help check open up the seeds , and as the temperature warms , the seeds will sprout and originate .
There has been a draw written aboutwinter sowing , so for how - to educational activity check outthis articlebyTerry Yockeyorthis onefrom theMy Northern Gardenblog . OrEric Johnson ’s articleon winter sowing tomatoes . Of thisvery helpful listof which vegetables , flowers and herb can be wintertime sown . Terry also put up avideothat ’s worth checking out for optic instructions . Gardeners who want to mature perennials from seeded player using the method can set out their winter sowing containers as early as January , but the summons for get vegetable seeds is timed differently .
broadly speaking , you may adjust out winter sowing containers with vegetable seeds about the same clock time you wouldstart the seed indoors under twinkle . So , for leaf beet , kale and other hardy greens , arrange the winter sowing containers outside about mid - March . Herbs also bourgeon well in containers , particularly some of the hardier ones , such as parsley , oregano and thyme . other April is a good meter to set out container with tomato seeds . The seeds will germinate when the soil and air temperatures are lovesome enough inside the container . put the container in a sunny place near the house for best results . If the weather gets really nasty ( say sudden temperatures in the teens or miserable ) , you may require to throw a blanket over them at night .
Soil, seeds and a hinged milk jug are all you need to start winter sowing.
As the seedling grow and the out-of-door temperatures tender , you will need to increase the size of the air holes in the container and eventually remove the screen entirely . As the seedling mature , you may transpose them into the garden — June 1 is a adept meter for tomatoes , earlier for honey oil .
So what is the advantage of winter sowing over sowing seeded player indoors ? First , you do n’t have to corrupt and set up lights indoors . Most habitation do not have enough sunshine to start seeds indoors without grow lights , so that is a necessary investing . secondly , the tending is somewhat easy — set them alfresco , let nature work . Once the come sprout , you will have to water them as the get bigger , of course of instruction , but you wo n’t have to go throughhardening them off . My experience is that winter sown vegetable take up out a bit slower and wimpier than those start indoors under lights , but they soon get up in the garden .
Have you tried wintertime sowing for your veg ? How did it make for ?
Containers await spring.
-Mary Lahr Schier
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