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Winter Sowing (Yes You Can Garden in Winter)

Yes, you can garden in winter, it’s called Winter Sowing. Have you ever heard of winter sowing? Winter Sowing is a method of propagating new plants for your gardens simply by starting seeds outdoors in the winter. Several years ago, I read an article in Northern Gardener Magazine written by a master gardener, with whom I later became acquainted. After seeing the results of Michelle’s winter sowing, I knew I had to try it. It’s so incredibly easy and a great way to get some beautiful perennials for your flower gardens for super cheap.

Winter Sowing Milk Jugs covered with snow

I start seeds indoors too, but maybe you don’t have the room or the money for a light setup, or the time to take care of baby seedlings. If that’s the case, then winter sowing is for you.

What is Winter Sowing?

Winter Sowing is basically a process whereby you create mini greenhouses using translucent plastic containers. Once the seeds are sown, these little greenhouses are placed outdoors in the elements and then we let nature take it’s course. There are different methods of winter sowing, but I’m going to stick with what I know and what has worked well for me year after year.

Not only can you sow perennial flowers and hardy annual flowers, but you can also winter sow tender annuals, vegetables and herbs. At the end of the post, I share a link to a document that gives specific instructions for this.

Winter Sowing - Learn How to Grow Perennials in the Winter

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There’s a ton of great information in this post!
And it can be a bit overwhelming if you’re new to Winter Sowing.
To make it easier to grasp, I’ve created a PDF printable Workbook/Guide
of this post, which includes all the information in this
Winter Sowing article.
Plus, some helpful planning charts and checklists
to help you be successful at Winter Sowing.
The Winter Sowing Workbook and Guide is
available for the low price of $7.00.
Simply click the button below and follow the instructions.
(Be sure to check the box to receive free updates to the Guide.)

 

Supplies Needed:

  • Several clean, plastic, gallon-sized milk jugs or water jugs, plastic deli containers with clear lids, 2-liter soda bottles, vinegar jugs, take-out containers or anything else you can come up with. Just keep in mind that your containers should be at least 4 or 5 inches deep and the top of the containers should be somewhat transparent, so the sun can shine through.
  • Potting mix – Don’t get too hung up on this. I’ve used cheap potting soil, a seed starting mix, miracle gro potting mix, pro-mix and a combination of whatever I had. Basically you want a good soil that is light and drains well. In the dead of winter, sometimes it’s difficult to find a good potting mix, so you can’t be too picky with your soil. Just don’t use garden soil from the ground.
  • Seeds – I love Botanical Interests Seeds. The seeds packets are extremely informative and beautiful! And, more importantly, I always get a great germination rate. You can use seeds you saved from your garden also.
  • A marker that won’t fade (I highly recommend using a paint pen and not a permanent marker.)
  • Plant tags or labels
  • Clear packing tape or duct tape (I use this heavy duty packing tape.)
  • A sharp knife or scissors
  • Free printable Winter Sowing Chart – this chart helps me keep track of what I’ve sown and the results.

Milk jug, winter sowing chart and flower seed packets

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The Best Seeds for Winter Sowing:

A large part of gardening and learning is experimentation, so if you’re curious if a particular seed will work for Winter Sowing, go ahead and try it, cause you really don’t have much to lose. Here is a list of seeds that are good candidates and ones that I’ve had success with for Winter Sowing:

Perennial Seeds:

  • coneflower
  • black-eyed Susan
  • balloon flower
  • foxglove
  • delphinium
  • shasta daisies and painted daisies
  • meadow blazingstar liatris (butterfly magnet)
  • blanket flower (gaillardia)
  • yarrow
  • veronica
  • many, many more

Annual Seeds:

  • morning glory
  • snapdragon
  • marigold
  • black-eyed Susan vine
  • cosmos
  • zinnia
  • any annual flower that reseeds itself in your garden

Winter sowing is the easiest and best way to propagate native plants. If you are looking to add natives to attract pollinators, you will notice that purchasing native plants at your local garden center can be quite expensive. Winter sowing is a great way to get those same native plants for a fraction of the cost.

Here’s a collage for pinning to Pinterest to remind you of this post later. There are more collages at the bottom of the page. Thanks for pinning!

Winter Sowing Collage

The Benefits of Winter Sowing

Okay, gardeners, this is the best part! Why winter sow? What are the benefits of winter sowing?

  • It’s crazy EASY!
  • Get a head start on spring growing.
  • It takes up no space indoors.
  • There are no grow lights.
  • No heat mats.
  • The plants don’t have to be hardened off.
  • Mother Nature does all the work!

Winter Sowing Schedule 

Remember, it’s winter sowing, not fall sowing. I’ve seen gardeners start winter sowing in the fall during a period of cold weather. Then a warm spell hits and their seeds start sprouting just to be zapped by frost when the weather turns cold again.

The best time to start winter sowing really depends on what gardening zone you are in. For colder zones like 3, 4 and 5, this is the general time frame that works best:

January, February and early March – winter sow perennials that need cold stratification.

Mid – Late March – winter sow hardy annuals like the ones listed above.

Late March – Early April – winter sow tender annuals, vegetables and herbs

If you are in warmer gardening zones (zones 6 and 7), you can bump your winter sowing up a few weeks and even start as early as the winter solstice.

Don’t get too hung up on a winter sowing schedule or a winter sowing calendar. The process is very simple and Mother Nature will figure out the timing for you.

Steps for Winter Sowing:

  • If you use gallon jugs, cut them around the middle neatly on three sides (to create a hinged lid) leaving 5 or 6 inches for the bottom of the container. You can discard the caps. 

Cutting a milk jug for winter sowing

  • Poke some drainage holes in the bottom of your container. Make sure the holes are big enough so that they don’t close over.

Poking drainage holes in bottom of milk jug for winter sowing.

  • Fill your containers, or the bottom of the jug, with 3 – 4 inches of soil. Tamp it down gently to fill in air holes or pockets. Water the soil to get it fairly moist but not soggy. At this point make sure the drainage holes in the bottom of your containers are working.

Soil in milk jugs for winter sowing.

  • Sow seeds according to the directions on the packet. If you don’t have the seed packet to refer to, as a general rule-of-thumb, the smaller the seed, the more shallow you plant it. Very small seeds are just spread on the surface of the soil.
  • After your seeds are covered, give them a light sprinkling of water (I use a spray bottle). Skip this step if your soil is already moist.
  • Write the name of your seeds on the container. Make sure to use a marker that will withstand weather elements. I also put a plant tag inside the container.
  • Next you’re going to tape the lid or top of the container to the bottom. If you aren’t using a milk jug, poke some holes in the top of your taped up container for ventilation. You want your seedlings to get watered from rain and snow. Also, in the spring the holes will serve for ventilation. And there you have it – a little green house. 
  • Place your container(s) outdoors in a sunny spot. Select a spot where your miniature greenhouses are safe from strong wind and critters, but be sure they are exposed to the elements. They need moisture from snow and rain. Some seeds like perennials need a period of freeze and thaw (called cold stratification). I put my containers on the deck where I can see the containers and watch them in the spring.
  • Now all that’s left is waiting for nature to do it’s magic. Really you’re just going to ignore those little containers for the rest of winter. Resist the urge to meddle with Mother Nature!

This what a Minnesota winter looks like. Under this mound of snow on our deck are about 20 little milk jug greenhouses.

Winter in Minnesota - Winter Sowing

Here are my little milk jug greenhouses making an appearance in early spring.

Milk Jug Greenhouse in a Mound of Snow

Winter Sowing – What to Do In Spring

When the weather starts to warm up in the Spring, you’ll be able to see your seeds sprouting. At this point you’ll need to make sure your young seedlings are getting enough water and ventilation. Poke a few more holes in the top of your containers and/or loosen some of the tape to allow for more air flow. The little seedlings will enjoy some days with the lids opened completely and then closed back in the evening.

Plants growing in milk jugs.

How to Plant Winter Sown Plants

Once it warms up and frost isn’t an issue, completely remove the lids. At some point, I will either divide and transplant seedlings into bigger individual pots or directly plant them in my garden. I have an area in one of my gardens especially for winter-sown plants. The young plants get to hang out here until they are moved to a permanent location in the gardens the following year.

Gently remove the entire clump from it’s container. You can do this by turning the container upside down on your hand. This works best is the soil is a bit moist so that it holds together. Or you can dig sections of the seedlings out of the jug. If the root mass is really bound, you can simply cut the container away from the plants.

Clump of Winter sown seedlings in gardener's hand.

Once the clump of seedlings is removed from the winter sown container, they can be divided up and repotted, or planted directly in the garden. I like to break chunks off the main clump and plant those. Some gardeners like to pull apart the individual seedlings and pot those up. It really depends on what you are planting and how thick the seedlings are.

Gardener breaking apart a clump of winter sown seedlings

My winter sown plants are always very healthy looking plants. Here are a few of my successes from my winter sowing last winter. I’ve always wanted to have a large patch of Foxgloves, so I’m working on that patch of foxgloves by winter sowing. I’ve also had great success with Painted Daisies and the bunnies thoroughly enjoy this addition to the garden. Delphinium is another easy winter sown perennial and is always a lovely addition to any flower garden.

Perennial Flowers - the results of Winter Sowing.

Depending on the perennials selected, the first year they may not flower, but the next year they will and they’ll just keep getting bigger and better each year. Is there a perennial you want to try, but don’t want to shell out the money for it? Winter sowing is a great way to get perennial plants for practically nothing. So, go ahead and give winter sowing a try; play around with it, experiment and keep track of what works best for you. You’ll be so glad you did!

There’s a ton of great information in this post!
And it can be a bit overwhelming if you’re new to Winter Sowing.
To make it easier to grasp, I’ve created a PDF printable Workbook/Guide
of this post, which includes all the information in this
Winter Sowing article.
Plus, some helpful planning charts and checklists
to help you be successful at Winter Sowing.
The Winter Sowing Workbook and Guide is
available for the low price of $7.00.
Simply click the button below and follow the instructions.
(Be sure to check the box to receive free updates to the Guide.)

Learn More About Winter Sowing

If you would like to learn more about winter sowing, below are some links to additional resources:

Here is the original article that got me thinking about winter sowing that appeared in the Jan/Feb 2009 edition of Northern Gardener magazine. janfeb09itssoweasy

Here is another article written by Michelle that talks about winter sowing vegetables. I haven’t done this yet, but I’m hoping to give it a try this year.  38-41.SowVeg-NG-Jan.Feb_

Here is an article from WinterSown.org. This article was written by Trudi Davidoff, the gardener who originally came up with the concept of winter sowing. Trudi also has a Facebook group dedicated to Winter Sowing.

Are you looking for some other gardening activities you can do in the winter? If so, be sure to check out these posts:

DIY Gardening Journal
Seed Starting Indoors
Winter Activities for Gardeners
How to Jumpstart Summer Blooming Bulbs

Whether or not you are a first time winter sower, or you’ve tried winter sowing, but could use a refresher, we’re here to help. Thanks a bunch for stopping by today to learn about winter sowing. Are you going to give it a try? Please leave a comment and let me know. Or, if you’ve already tried winter sowing, tell me about your successes.

Happy gardening (even in winter),

Joanna

p.s. Follow Gingham Gardens on Pinterest for lots of great gardening ideas and tons of gardener’s eye candy. Gingham Gardens is also on Facebook – come say “hi.”

Would you like more gardening ideas? Follow Gingham Gardens on Pinterest.

Pins to Share:

Image of Flower Seeds and Milk Jug with Text Overlay - Winter Sowing

Image of Garden Seeds with Text Overlay - Easiest & Cheapest way to grow new plants for your Garden Winter Sowing

Image of Milk Jug Planter with text overlay - Learn Winter Sowing

49 Comments

  1. Hello. This will be my second year wintering sowing because of the great success I had last year. I grow all kinds of plants and give them away to family and friends so they too can have a beautiful productive garden. I am in zone 7A and have been searching for winter sowing seeds listed out by name and when to start them not just the general type. I would love any resources suggested. This would make my life easier if I could just go down a list. Thanks in advance.

    1. Hi Nicole, congrats on your first successful year of winter sowing. I think it would be impossible for someone to come up with a list like you want. You see the point of winter sowing is supposed to be easy and low key, and a list would be nice, but would only work for you. Go with the general rules listed in this post, don’t make it too complicated. Perhaps set aside some time to do a little brainstorming and come up with your own timeframe and what you would like to winter sow and keep records from year-to-year. The printables in this post will help with that. I hope you’re not too dissappointed in my answer. Happy winter sowing, Joanna

  2. Joanna, I am so excited about my winter sowing as well! I tried sunflowers, zinnias and cone flowers last year and all flowered and were huge! The cone flowers flowered late, but stinn flowered in season one from seed. Amazing. I am in New Jersey and am a believer in winter sowing now. I have tried many times to plant from seed indoors with no luck. Now I can begin early with success! I am doing at least six for this year. I was going to put the containers right in the empty garden bed for the best exposure to light, we are very shaded, but it’s out in the open. Would it be better to have more shelter from wind with less sun or more sun and more wind exposure? Thank you!

    1. Hi Ginny – I’m so glad you’re excited about winter sowing. You don’t really need to worry about sun until around the middle of March. Then you can move your containers. But, it won’t hurt them to leave them in the sun. Really whatever is easiest for you. If you feel like your containers will stay put on a windy day, I wouldn’t worry too much about the wind. When the seeds germinate and you start to open them up, wind will make the new seedlings strong. Thanks for stopping by and come back soon. Joanna

  3. This method works for propagating hydrangeas too. I had one huge “Annabelle” variety and wanted to extend it into a hedge between our property and the neighbors. Since I could not afford the nursery stock, I took three cuttings and placed them in an oversized pot with simple water bottles as the cover and hoped for the best.. Fast forward five years and they are over 6 feet tall and wide! I’m at a new home now and have an extensive area I want to plant. I was dreading the cost associated with such a task. You have given me the tools, inspiration and hope I need to tackle this project. Thank you!

    1. Hi Lisa – thanks for stopping by Gingham Gardens. I love the idea of propagating hydrangeas too by winter sowing. I’m going to try this. Good luck in your new home and definitely try winter sowing. Happy gardening, Joanna

  4. Hey, in 2019 i waited around for the last frost to plant my seeds in the ground but the pandemic hit and apparently everyone wanted to start gardening so supply was limited on seeds, supplies, everything really.😬😬 Fast forward winter of 2020 read your article on winter sowing and was skeptical 🤨🤨at first but our winter here was intense which aided in my patience from constantly peeking.
    My container were completely buried!
    But once the snow melted and the sun came out I started to see my seedlings!!🤯🤯
    Spring is here and Looky Looky!!😳
    I planted around 60 containers and 80% of them started to sprout!
    😃😃😃😃😃😅

    1. Hello Tamika – I love this so much! I’m so happy you’re having great success with winter sowing. Be careful or you’ll get hooked… if you haven’t already. Happy gardening, Joanna

  5. First time winter sower. Trying to plan and design a drought tolerant perennial garden. I live in North Carolina 7b. Want to attract pollinators/ butterflies/humming birds. Looking to layer/ stagger ( 2in to 6 ft) . Suggestions/ favorites?
    Favorite seed companies?

    1. Thanks for stopping by Gingham Gardens. I’m excited for you. Since you are in zone 7b, you will want to get started right away. My favorite seed companies are Botanical Interests, Swallowtail Seeds, Select Seeds and Park Seed. Here is a really good article about how to attract pollinators to your garden. Beware winter sowing is addictive! Lol! Good luck and happy gardening, Joanna

    2. Hey Mark,

      For mid-to late-summer pollinators, it’s hard to beat Agastache foeniculum (anise hyssop). I’ve had entire colonies of bees covering them. And armies of butterflies. They hold up to heat and drought ok where i am (suburban Philadelphia)…not sure about your area. And they’re decent 2 to 4 foot plants. Look great in masses or as a single feature plant.

      I’ve given up catering to hummers. Too finicky. One year, they love cardinal climber, next year they won’t look at it. I just put out a feeder and plant the plants I want. They never turn down the feeder. Haha. But past years I’ve had hummers consistently on Indian Pinks (spigelia marilandica), salvia (‘Black and Blue’), Bee balm (‘Jacob Cline’), and red honeysuckle ‘Alabama Crimson’. Not sure if any of these are really drought tolerant tho. Maybe the honeysuckle once it’s established. Indian pinks like a bit of shade and maybe damp roots. I think the black and blue salvia might be ok getting dry too, if it has some shade around noon.

      Just a few thoughts. Good luck and have fun!

      1. Hello Mike – thanks for stopping by Gingham Gardens and adding such a helpful comment on attracting pollinators on the Winter Sowing post. Happy gardening, Joanna

  6. I’m in zone 8b in the rainy PNW. Would that work for winter sowing or am I missing out on a fun experiment?

    1. I think you should give winter sowing a try. Just start with 4 or 5 milk jugs. Be sure to make lots of drainage holes in the bottom and consider putting your jugs in a semi protected area outdoors. Good luck!

      1. Thank you for your reply. I’ve been searching the internet to figure out when to start. I’ve been getting mixed reviews about starting now or starting late January. I think I’ll try both and see what happens.

    1. Hi Lili – sorry for the delay in getting back to you. To become a subscriber of Gingham Gardens and to gain access to the gardening printables library, simply complete the form below.

  7. this is awesome! i have never, never thought about using recycling these items. as soon as i have some gallon cartons i am trying some seeds i have. i am in zone 7b so this should be really great. thanks for sharing and thanks for providing Michelle’s links!!

    1. Thanks a bunch! I’m happy you enjoyed the post. Just beware… winter sowing can be addictive! 😁 Have fun with it and thanks for stopping by.

  8. Joanna, I got an order of seeds in the mail yesterday and your newsletter today…it’s like a double treat. I am going to try winter sowing for the first time and I’m very excited to see how it works out. I’m curious if you have had problems with squirrels bothering your winter sowing greenhouses?

  9. Thank you for these instructions! I’ve never tried it before, but we moved into a new house last spring and are working on our back yard. I’m hoping to fill it with flower gardens and if I can save some money, it will help out a lot! I always enjoy reading your blogs and seeing your garden pictures–I’m so glad I stumbled upon your site!

    Happy planting!

    1. Wow, Lisa, this makes my day! Beware Winter Sowing can be addictive. I’ve grown lots of perennials this way. I’m happy you found Gingham Gardens.

  10. Thank you for this post , it’s a reminder. Last year following your advice I had good results with Queen Anne’s Lace & Agastache Blue Boa. Your post last year was timely. I am in a garden club & the member who was supposed to present a topic at a meeting was sick. I filled in for her at the last minute & demonstrated this. Several of them tried it with good results.This year I am going to give it shot with Formosa Lily seeds from a friend , Veronica ” First Lady” & Cone Flower” Milkshake” seeds from my garden. I hope you had a great Christmas & best wishes for the New Year,
    Good Luck, Joe

    1. Thanks for stopping by, Joe! I always appreciate your insight. Winter sowing is fun to try and fairly inexpensive especially if you save seeds from your garden. Good luck with your winter sowing and other garden planning.

  11. Wonderful idea. Will get started gardening after our roads clear. We use the same containers with the bottoms cut off leaving the lid on to cover the tomato plants that we put out too early. Perfect mini green house.

  12. Wonderful information! I’ve done time concept & it worked great. But never heard of starting these annuals this way. Could you elaborate on this. Is every step & care the same with these annuals?
    Love your site! Keep up the good work! You get a ada girl🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

    1. Hi there, Sue. First off, thanks for stopping by and taking time to comment! There is a link at the bottom of the post of an article written by a master gardener that gives directions on starting annual flowers and vegetables by winter sowing. Basically it’s a timing thing and you start them much later than you start perennial seeds. Give winter sowing a try. Joanna

  13. Great way to get a head start! I love Foxgloves and wish I had bunches of them! Now and then I have one come back,. Thanks for sharing with SYC.
    hugs,
    Jann

  14. Hi Joanne, I just happened to see your info on winter sowing on Pintrest. It mAkes me want to try it soon. We love gardening and trying new things.

    1. Hello, thanks for stopping by and taking the time to leave a comment. Good luck with winter sowing and come back soon. Joanna

  15. Great post! I’m definitely going to try this. I usually buy my perennials at a local garden center. They’re very healthy, but very pricey. Thanks, again.

    1. Hi Debbie – thanks for stopping by. I’m glad you enjoyed my post on winter sowing. Once you get started, you’ll be hooked. There’s a facebook group called Winter Sowers that is very supportive if you have questions. Good luck!

  16. Great article and thank you for pointing me to it. I’ve been saving my water jugs to use for this purpose. I definitely want to try Verbena bonariensis this way, as I’ve had no luck growing in pots. I may also try some foxgloves this way. I start them in pots quite successfully but I think I’ll try this to and see what works best. I winter sow poppies in place but I might do a few this way so I can decide where they will go later.

    1. Thanks for stopping by, Erin. I’m a long time reader and fan of your blog. Good luck with your winter sowing attempts.

  17. What great ideas! I always wondered how gardeners in colder climates tend to their gardens in colder weather. I’m spoiled here in Southern California and am able to garden most of the year. If I move to a colder place again I’ll know what to do with my garden in the winter. Thanks for sharing!

    1. Thanks for stopping by, Ann. Sunny Southern Cal would feel so good about now. It’s been crazy cold here in Minnesota.

  18. Hello! I too love flowers. I am excited to see this post and I definitely plan to try it out this winter! We have a greenhouse mostly finished, but this will be great for giving me jump on the season. I’m already thinking about who I can ask to save milk jugs for me! 🙂

    I blog at http://www.ofbooksandblooms.com. I would be happy to see you there if you get a chance. 🙂

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