This sounds like a great idea, tried cutting up a few jugs that I was going to wintersow some seeds, I think I might put a coffee filter over the spout. As I was leaving the house this morning, I glanced at my neighbor's recyclng bin, they have small kids & had a bunch of Costco gallon milkjugs-they're the perfect size! I asked her if I could take them, so she wouldn't think I was scrounging in her recycling bin...they're almost square, & I have one of those plastic bedding bags to place them in until it warms up-thank you again for the tip!

If the containers are frozen they might look dry but not be dry. The moisture will be released as the container thaws. If the containers are not frozen and look dry, no condensation, then they will need to be watered. For me, bottom watering works the best and the bigger the container used for water the more jugs/2Ls will fit inside and less time it will take. I tried using my misting setting on the water wand but found that the jugs weren't adequately watered. And it took a long time when I had lots of jugs. Bottom watering took less time and attention as one can do other things while the containers are soaking in the water. A kitty litter pan wlll hold about 6 jugs. I use an al. 12 qt. tub as that is what I had in my garage. I like the idea of a kiddie pool like Trudi uses and have been watching the curbs on g day for one. Also using a timer and sprinkler as Trudi suggests should work well. Though I haven't looked into this option because I have no outside electrical plugs and assume that one needs electricity to make that work. Once the tops are completely off or open I use a watering wand on shower at low pressure. That low pressure thing is very important as don't want to blast the seeds/seedlings.

I know this isn't free but you could ask at freecycle for used styrofoam insulation. We did that in my sons room and had to tear it up a bit to make it fit. We ended up taking the walls down and rebuilding with regular insulation so we left the boards in the eaves for insulation there. I think it was ten dollars or so for a pack of four? They are about an inch thick and would be easy to cut or break to size. I also wanted to mention that I have a strawberry pot, I put it in my unheated garage and wrapped an old yoga mat around it. I plan on cutting that down to fit into some of my containers this year.

I used a variety of containers. Here's what it looked like in the midst of a planting out day. zinnias, petunias, and other annuals were started in cups. Half of them I didn't even bother with covering them as I started them in late April. How I covered my containers after April 1st. I took off all the tops and used a single sheet of 6mil plastic. I had cut slits, about 2" across every 6 inches. I used a bandsaw and folded the plastic to make the slits. Very easy and quick. A sharp knife would accomplish the same thing. Others went into my hoophouse. By this time, it was open during the day and closed at night. Kind of like a really big ziplock bag. Other containers on my first day planting out, February 12. I was nervous. But they survived.