I would sometimes put my two liters in groups and put duct tape around the entire grouping to help keep them stable. I have found crates here and there and picked them up when I was able. I watch the thrift stores for those. There are also freecycle programs where you can request things. I like to use some of my big nursery pots for keeping my two liters and cups upright too.

I tie 4 of the milk jug handles together so there's a larger base. That has held through the wind we get, but I remember the winds we had in Oklahoma and it wouldn't have stayed down during that so if you have the same situation, it probably wouldn't work for you.

I use chicken wire for everything. I'd make a cage with the taller kind around the whole lot when ready, tie the ends 3 places with nylon twine (in the house then back out w/it).

Since you can't drive rebar or fence posts in frozen ground, somebody would have to come up with an idea to hold the cages down. I'd cobble something together but not sure what.

It's cheap, but I recommend having the hardware store cut it. Have you ever tried to open one of those machine rolled and tied rolls of the stuff? Not easy but I do it and cut my own w/tin snips.

It would take a pretty high wind to blow over or away my gallon jugs w/3 inches of potting soil, haven't had that problem. Smaller containers, yes, that could be a problem best solved in advance.

Otherwise I was going to suggest a cage of bales of straw, haven't hauled any of that yet. Tying is good, too, if the whole set isn't too light. That's what I'm going to do w/my half gallon jugs.

Buckets of sand spaced apart and tied two levels of cord around them. Just brainstorming here while I'm taking a break.

I've got kitty litter pails and some 5 gal buckets. You could ask for some on freecycle if anybody thinks my idea might work.

Cement blocks? Maybe.

Welcome to the madness, city!

Couple of suggestions for that wind issue:

1. Strength in numbers. The more "like" containers you have together, the less likely they are to topple. Try to keep same containers together when you put them out.

2. Shelter comes in many forms: Foundation walls, old tires, fences, old vehicles out in that back-40 of yours (not IN the vehicle, just next to it), a compost bins/pile, shrubs, even a dug trench will work if you're in an area that doesn't freeze solid and you could dig one.

THat's all I have at the moment.

Walmart has crates similar to milk crates, for about $5. I'm fortunate in that my next door neighbor owns a restaurant, so I was able to obtain a few of the milk crates.

I live up on a mesa where it is quite windy, especially in the spring, so my containers are on the most protected side of the house - the east side. I have had the 2L bottles blow around the yard, before I got the crates, but the milk jugs stay put just fine, even without the crates.

Bonnie

Milk jugs are more stable than soda bottles, one of the reasons I prefer them, with enough of them together and enough soil (at least 4 inches) Ive never had one blow away. I dont tie them together either.

I have had to use some soda bottles in the past, I just put them in the middle of the milk jugs surronding them.

Maybe you could stack some blocks or bricks or something around them?

I've bought several plastic milk crates from a local thrift store for $1.91 each. Try Goodwill or Salvation Army stores. If you want to splurge on new one, the office supply stores sell them too.

Like Marymary said, strength in numbers.

{{gwi:347998}}

Since I cut my two liters in half, the top half fits into the bottom. There is about a 2-4" overlap depending on how far I push the top half down. That lowers the center of gravity making them less likely to topple over. Once I get enough of them in place, the problem tends to go away. Now, I haven't had any horrible winds yet, but if I did, I'd wrap duct tape around 4 at a time and make a larger, more stable base.

Why do I get the feeling that Token's spice rack is sorted alphabetically? Very neat job!

Waxed produce boxes (the ones for cauliflower are pretty deep) last through the winter. I used them with my 2 litres when I started w/s.

Aren't ALL spice racks arranged alphabetically? What's wrong with that? Makes finding cinnamon a lot faster if you ask me. Does chipotle go with P for pepper or C for chipotle? Let's see, dill weed would be next...

Since wind was definitely a consideration for me, I use cardboard copy paper box lids from work as well as the plastic trays you get at nurseries when you (can I say this on the WS forum?) used to, in the long ago distant past, before there was WS, bought plants in pots. I had a few of those and set containers in them since they aren't good for much else.

Token also suggested I protect my containers from the wind if I could so I used some large, square planters to create a sort of well for them beside the front step with the foundation behind them and the planters on three sides so the wind blows over the top of them. They've been snug in there the past several weeks plus there's pretty much no direction they can go except up.

"Since I cut my two liters in half, the top half fits into the bottom. There is about a 2-4" overlap depending on how far I push the top half down."

Uh oh, maybe I won't take my bottles back for the deposit. That sounds much, much easier than taping.

Seems like a better chance of success, too, with seeds split into smaller quantities and sown into smaller jugs. It might not save much on soil, may actually take more per cubic unit than the gallon jugs.

Joan,

I had the same problem. Not corn and bean fields, but the Atlantic Ocean winds and nor'easters funneling up the bay. I use a lot of 2 liter pop bottles and one day simply asked a Coke delivery truck guy if I could have some of his 2 liter coke trays. His next question was "How many do you want?" and soon I was placing some in my car.

Last year I needed some of those milk crates and simply asked at a corner store if I could borrow some. (It helps if there appears to be a whole bunch 'around the back' if you know what I mean...) The answer was "Not a problem! Take as many as you want." :O)

Sometimes they will ask what I want them for and I tell them the truth - gardening. I don't go into detail for fear of boring them, but people like gardeners. :O)

I ask for things a lot. The worse people can do is say 'no'. As long as the request is reasonable, people are inclined to say 'yes'. Sometimes they even say that if you need more later, just let them know.

Try it. :O)

Too right Tiff..I've learned to keep my mouth shut when I'm buying seeds in January from the local nursery/come outdoor furniture/art store. That glazing of the eyes..the look..(what kind of a weirdo do I have here) attitude.

They will never promote wintersowing..people won't buy their hormone induced, water, heat-pumped, grown out of zone bedding plants if they found out how easy this was.

Rant over.

Since I cut my two liters in half, the top half fits into the bottom. There is about a 2-4" overlap depending on how far I push the top half down.

That's how I've always done mine & never taped. I lucked out one day & passed a charity drop box-you know the one "Clothing only" that ends up as a major dump! There were a bunch of 2 L holders that I felt that it was my civic duty to "tidy up". They hold my 2 L WS cotainers well in place! I agree with Tiffy-ask if it's available...and keep an eye out behind restauraunts-you'd be surprised at how many don't stack things for recycling. If you're willing to go into the weeds, you can rescue all kinds of stuff!

Ha!

Wendy, have you ever tried "educating' your local home depot or lowes garden manager yet! Now there is some fun! I was furious one day to see people buying plants way out of our zone, I asked to see them and walked them around the area, pointed to at least 2-3 things that wouldnt make it from our winter and told them they shouldnt be selling them. I recieved some rather curt replies and was told it wasnt thier job to research everything, that someone just has prepacked lots for northeast zone, so it doesnt matter if you live in maine or massachusetts or conn, they were going to ship you the same stuff. I didnt find much comfort in the answer.

Silverkelt (probable shouldve just bought my rose tone and ran instead of talking!)

Silverkelt, you never know though. I explained wintersowing to a clerk in the garden center at our local Walmart, even gave her a couple of Trudi's brochures, and she tried it herself last year. She got so excited about it that she started telling every customer who came through about it, LOL. I hope she still has her job this year!

Bonnie

Silverkelt, I know of several nursery specialists in my area that have never grown even a houseplant. They couldn't keep fake plants alive if they tried. Their job is to manage inventory and keep the plants from dying once in the store. Remind other shoppers of the Lowe's one year guarantee. If the plant fails to return, bring it and your receipt back to the store. If enough people do this, maybe they'll start to realize that they need to change the orders sent to them by nurseries who are only in business to make money. They don't care if the plant works in your zone, they get paid when the plants are delivered to the store. Just like Lowe's gets paid when you take them out of the store. Returning them and asking for a refund, with your receipt encourages them to do a little research. Yes, they can choose the plants for their store. They do have some control especially with perennials and annuals. Most definitely with shrubs and trees.

jessew, I'll be on the lookout for some cheap or freebie two liter crates. I can use shallow stiff cardboard boxes in a pinch, cut the bottoms out.

I've not done any scavenging for some time now, a good thing. All my gal jugs, half gallon, not too many juice containers but some, well almost all of those are what I've personally used and saved. I drink tap water or I'd have juge piled to the ceiling lol.

I go through one bottle of pepsi every 3 or 4 days, used to drink a lot more of it. Surprising how fast they accumulate.

I think I've got enough of everything else on hand. My only regret now that I'm on a roll is that I didn't get more of a variety of seeds, but maybe it's just as well.

It's the potting soil I'm going to need a lot more of which I will have to buy. I know a lot of what I planted already I'll probably lose, but like I told a newbie, I'm bound to get something out of it.

Thanks for all of the great suggestions.

We live 40 miles from the nearest large town and when we get there, there is so much to do there is no time to look for all of the wonderful "found stuff" that I would get when I lived in the city, so my scavenger days are over.

However, there were many other suggestion that I will try. Taping the gallon bottles sounds like the most workable idea yet. But of course, I will experiement. Today the weather is nice enough for me to set out my first attempts.

Thanks for the help, it has encouraged me to get started.

Joan

Joan,

Another suggestion ... if you have a few cinder blocks saved from some past project or borrowed for a short while from a neighbor (people living in the country seem to save items like this), stand them on end and insert a piece of lumber or pipe into the holes, both top and bottom. This makes a nice short sturdy fence you could use to tightly surround your bottles. Easy to set up and remove when not needed. If more support is needed, spread some fence wire over the top. Think Wal-Mart in the spring, when they set up and surround garden items in a section of their parking lot. This is what many of our local Wal-Marts use to section off an area of parking lot when seasonal display space is needed.

Mary

I just figured out the easiest way to do mine. We have strong winds at times, but the house will shelter some of it.

My half gallon jugs, I thought I'd cut the right length of twine or some nylon cord and tie easy loops in each end. Then I'll wrap the twine around all the jugs and use a twistie to secure the loops, tying them all together. May do another level of it in case it slips down, can run the twine through the handles of the jugs on the perimeter.

I hope it will work. I can easily open it up to check plants more closely, read labels, or move the whole group, etc., and just twist them back together again. I guess I can just pick out any jug in the group, lift it up, inspect it, deal with anything needed, and just slip it back in again without untying.

When I get to the pepsi bottles, I may do the same thing rather than try to stick them in a box or burn holes in something I'd rather not.

As I start planting out, I can just shorten the twine and tie another loop at one end and twist together again.

I'm just setting them on the sidewalk for now, hope they'll drain ok, probably better than they would have when I set them on the ground. The ground can get saturated from melting snow and cause the water in the jugs not to drain very well or maybe I'm wrong about that.

I had the same problem. Not corn and bean fields, but the Atlantic Ocean winds and nor'easters funneling up the bay. I use a lot of 2 liter pop bottles and one day simply asked a Coke delivery truck guy if I could have some of his 2 liter coke trays. His next question was "How many do you want?" and soon I was placing some in my car.

I get so frustrated when I can't find a thread back. There were one or two with photos of a setup of some kind of stands, something stretched across and containers in crates, in the snow, couldn't find it or remember any keywords or posters on it.

Anyway, I looked at the back room in the gas station this afternoon and asked, lots of good stuff back there. They have to return them and need the rest of it. So who could I ask? Said maybe I could call Pepsi.

So I came home and called them, and asked if they had any I could have. No we don't sell them and why, deposit, etc. Even said I'd be happy with some slightly damaged ones (duct tape is my friend). Didn't work so asked where I might find some. Didn't know.

So you were lucky, tiffy. Maybe something will turn up for me, am about ready to start thru my bag of pepsi bottles.