I keep soil in the basement and also i bins under my office table. I prep and fill containers at the sink.

I put my soil in a large rubbermaid tub with a lid so that I don't have to be taking the soil out of the bag when planting as it always spills out on the floor and everywhere else. I put the tub on my kitchen table (covered with newspapers) and then I just plant away! :) When I am done for the day, I can put the lid on the tub so it doesn't dry out, and gather up the newspapers. Works for all types of planting/potting.

I store the mix in my basement and use the laundry area sink for prepping and sowing. Using a big plastic tub I moisten the soil. Fill the containers and set them on my towel covered washer & dryer. I put a piece of plastic coated wire shelving over the double sink. Next put a container on the shelving and sow. Then spritz. Move the container down the shelf and let drain into the tub. When the shelf is full (six containers) the first ones have drained so put them in a clothes basket and carry up and out.

In the spring I sow in my garage or outside on the patio or driveway.

I wintersow in the kitchen, I cover my table with a plastic tablecloth, have my soil on a chair and scoop into containers, put the containers w/soil on a cookie rack in the sink, soak well with warm water while those are draining I fill a couple more, then I carry the drained ones to the table on a cookie sheet so if they leak no big deal and sow, label, tape, and carry outside on the cookie sheet with relatively no mess just a bit of sweeping.
Best wishes,
Wendey

I poke holes and cut milk jugs at the kitchen sink. I do all soil filling, seed sowing, taping of jugs, writing of jugs and notebook on my deck. I keep bag of soil on deck as well but the folded bag seldom gets wet inside plus it seldom freezes. If it does freeze, the soil usually thaws within a day or two.

I prep my WS containers in the kitchen and den. My direct WS into EarthBoxes are done on the landing outside my kitchen door so DH can then move the EBs back into the garden. My in-ground WS is done on site where plants will hopefully grow this spring/summer. The den works well for me because I can pull up a bag of potting mix and sit and watch television while playing in the dirt :-))

greylady-gardener,
Thanks for the tip about putting potting medium in Rubbermaid container. I will now have a much neater potting area on my outside landing. I put bags inside small trashcan when WS in the den but the large bags outside always helped me to make a big mess!!

DL

When you wintersow directly into the beds do you cover them with anything?

I prepare my containers and wintersow in the kitchen. But the Soil stays in the garage. I use a plastic grocery bag to bring as much as I need in the house.

I prepare my containers in the kitchen. I keep my potting mix in a big can with a lid outside on the carport. I tend to be extremely messy and I'd rather not have that mess in my kitchen which is messy enough all ready. I do the actual wintersowing and labeling on a chest freezer on the carport also. Due to single digit temps this week that has been put on hiatus! It's supposed to warm up this weekend.

Wow! Excellent info. Newbie question...When do you moisten the soil, before or after the seeds are sowed?

Jen

I've been kicked out of the kitchen, and soon kicked to the other side of the basement. My setup is in a corner of the basement, and I have a rolly-bin with pre-moistened soil under the table. I snatch ream-paper boxes & lids from work, and they hold 6 jugs exactly, so I'll do a bunch, and have something to haul them back upstairs with that's not too heavy.

My soil is pre-moistened, so I don't "water" as I go, usually. Here's a pic of my current setup. That blue bin is my dirt-stash. Pardon the mess; I have other projects going here at the moment. I'm excited because soon I'll have a new space in the other side that DH is building for me for arts/crafts/planting stuff.

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Kitchen. I only keep one bag of soil at a time and don't save containers - just use as I find them. I can get 8 jugs in my double kitchen sink.

I have a large bag of potting soil I bought at a local nursery about a year ago. It's been sitting in the basement, opened, but I haven't used much. I'm sure it's dry as a bone and it's hard for the water to penetrate when it's so dry. How do you guys moisten the potting soil BEFORE sowing?

The first year, I didn't pre-moisten my soil and I found that when I filled the containers and watered them, I didn't water them enough and it was dry in the middle (esp. with Mir Gro potting soil). Now, this year I have pre-moistened the soil and take a large old spoon/ladle and fill the containers. If the hose isn't hooked up because it is below freezing outside, I have to shut off the water-softner to get water from the house - or wait until it warms up outside and use the hoses. I prefer the hoses so I try and plan my sowing when it is warmer, rather than freezing.

I have in the past used the kitchen but found it annoying to carry out heavy containers from the kitchen to outside, so now I do everything in the garage - a great set up for me because we have five car garage (with four cars), so my space for sowing can stay set up until I am done. I have large pots filled with wet soil and fill as I go along, misting the tops with spray bottles or mister from hose - whenever possible.

Hope this helps. P.S. Keep your garage doors closed when it is windy or you will lose seeds!!

Carrie

I use a mixture made for seed starting that I get in very large bags from a local nurseryman. It contains a good bit of peat and that is notoriously hard to wet once it is dry. I've found that the key is agitation. If I try pouring water into a container of the stuff it just finds a track and drains right out, leaving all the rest dry as dust. But if I pour in water and stir, it gets wet right away.

I fill my containers in the garage where I keep the sacks of starter mix. Then I move them by wheelbarrow to the lower deck (which has a gate so my dogs can't get curious and cause problems with the containers). I set the containers on the deck rail where I can reach them with the hose and get them very, very wet. After they drain a bit I can start sowing.

Because I live so far south, it's usually possible to work outside through the winter without really freezing. I'm sure if I were in the north I'd find some way to work indoors.

I do everything in my basement, and leave much of the mess just laying around. It doesn't matter because it's just storage and my laundry down there.

I moisten (only as much ProMix as I think I'll use in that session)in a bucket then sow. I let the containers drain well, then put them in Sterilite bins and my husband hauls them outside for me. When I left wet potting mix in my basement overnight it got moldy.

Karen

DH built a fantastic garden shed for me a couple of years ago - 120 sq ft - so I keep all my garden gear in that. It's got power, heat, windows, work space ... In fact, that's where I spend the bulk of my weekends (post-holidays) during the winter. It's my own personal space, so I can be as messy or as neat as I like. Just wish it had a bathroom - running back & forth through the snow to the house is a pain!

Well, I am new at this, and have only 8 containers so far, but I do it on my kitchen floor. Spread out a sheet of plastic, plop my butt on the floor and go to it. I keep my potting soil/sphagnum/perlite and such in the kitchen as well.
I did have one bag of reg gardening soil on my enclosed back porch..went to use that yesterday for a large container I did outside cuz I was not luggin that thing, lol. My soil was also frozen, but I used warm water to moisten it, and all worked out well.

Daniella

I do the bulk of my stuff at the kitchen sink. And I must be the odd one. I water it after I sow the seeds and then leave in the sink to drain then attach the top part of the jug and then sit outside. This way worked for me last year so I will continue it this way.

Paula

I was doing the sowing in the kitchen and am now out in my greenhouse which tends to get very cold. i had to come in the other day cuz my hand hurt from being cold. I don't have heat in there yet. i only have one end enclosed, our windstorm tore some of the plastic off today (again). I am going to start preping the jugs in the house though. i'm going nuts though cuz i ran out of jugs. argggghhhhh......
Tanya

I try to moisten only the amount I want to use that day or the next day. Since I tend to sow big batches at a time will often use two or three tubfulls. The mix has not gotten moldy in that short time. It is more apt to dry out and need to be moistened again.

Pour a small bucket or two of water onto the mix that's in the large tub. Stir that with a gardening fork or small spade. Usually the mix is just moist, not dripping. Using a scoop or my gloved hand I fill the jugs. After scattering seed on top of mix and pressing seed lightly with the back of a spoon I spritz with a spray bottle. At that point it is dripping so I let it drain over the sink before moving outside.

An empty 38-40# cat litter pail holds a small amount of mix and keeps it dry until needed. I also use one for powder soap by my washer. Got several from recycle bins in the neighborhood.

fool4flowers,
When I direct sow in the garden I cover the seeds with 20 oz water bottles and 2 liter drink bottles (bottoms cut off, holes around the top and top off. My plan is to remove the bottles when I have one set of true leaves. This is my first year WS so will have to report back on my direct sow method later. I only grow veggies and grow almost exclusively in EarthBox.

Wetting Dry Potting Medium

I always warm the water to "baby bath" temp and then pour it into the bag of potting mix. Seems to me warm water always works faster even on dry as a bone peat. I use a great deal of coir (coco-peat) and warm water is really great getting those coir bricks reconstituted.

DL

I keep my soil in unheated garage and it does gets frozen.
I bring soil that I use in the basement or covered porch.
Used to do everything otuside but it is too much trouble...
now it is kitchen.

I keep my soil in an unheatd porch that doesn't ussually freeze. I prepare the jugs and cut and label them inside but then I take the soil and water outside to a table to fill the jugs, water them and tape them closed. That way I don't worry about the water and mess in the house. On really ice cold days I have filled the jugs on the porch but I always water outside.
Joann

Just wanted to clarify that I don't wet the soil in any way when I dump it into the rubbermaid container. It is a bit damp when the bag is opened and I leave it like that. I only water the containers well as I fill them. I let them drain well, usually putting each 2-litre bottle in an empty margarine tub or something similar, and then plant and mist the seeds after putting them on the soil. How many I do at a time depends on how many containers I have to let the bottles drain into. :)

I don't have a garage or a basement... and my house is 600 square feet. So my bale of Pro Mix comes into the kitchen (which also has my hot water heater, washer, and dryer, in addition to usual appliances) around Christmas to keep it unfozen. With the orange, lemon, and bay trees in there, it gets kind of crowded. I do my potting up on the kitchen counter. Since I live alone, I don't have to worry about an annoyed spouse - but I try to keep my landlady (whom I suspect is neater than me) from seeing the mess.

I was taught when I worked on a flower farm that potting media should always be moistened before filling pots and planting. I think this is more important when you're working with compressed bales than with smaller loose bags, which seem to be more moist when you open them.

I also WS in the kitchen. I use a dish bin and fill with soil and mix well with water. I also use trays or cookie sheets and fill my containers on those and transport outside after planting.
Monica

I do all of mine at the kitchen sink, but I spread them out so I only do a couple at a time. Something that also helps me is I organize my seeds per month that I want to sow them in ziplock baggies so I don't have to pull the whole box out. I have my baggie of seeds, marker, plant markers, and duct tape in a small tupperware container that I leave in a kitchen cabinet. The mess is contained, and easily cleaned up.

We already know that WSrs are thought to be a little strange so I will risk a response here as I am "among friends". I do 50% of my prep and WSing from the trunk of my car on my lunch hour each day! I have to work full time and during prime WSing months I leave before dark and come home after dark. I am living with and caring for my 91 yr old parents who can't tolerate any mess in their home or oddities in their living areas(due to dementia and blindness)so I throw two plastic tubs and a really sturdy hand trowel in the trunk. I buy smaller bags of MG potting soil, simply because I can handle them easier, and always have a couple back there in the trunk. I sow in small styro cups which I've prepped with an ice pick (drainage). This prep is usually done in bed at night as I am drooling over seed catalogs or watching some mindless Steve Martin movie :-) but I digress....back to the sowing. I dash to my car which is in underground parking. I open a gallon of the cheapest bottled water I can find usually about .89 here in Salt Lake City. Pour the whole gallon into a tub of soil about 5 inches deep and stir it all up till it's like really wet brownie batter. The drippier the better. I fill the small styro cups and put about 8 or 10 cups in the second plastic tub to drain. Seeds are sown, spritzed real well with a spray bottle that gets refilled and kept in the trunk, then mark with a china marker/grease pen on plastic knives. Then I put six cups into a small plastic basket from the dollar store and slip the whole thing into a large plastic storage bag. More pokes into the plastic bag with the ice pick, top and bottom, and voila! I'm gardening again!! It's really a desperate situation to have the need to sow and not be able to find more time, but this is working for me. It also keeps my sanity to be able to go and play in the dirt at recess! LOL. Last year I did the trunk thing plus did the other 50% of my WSing each night in my bedroom. Yes, the details on that are a little bizarre so I'll spare you all. Though I don't post but maybe once a year, you are all dear friends to me and I love reading all you have to say and do. I've been WSing since.....hmmm....well this is my 4th year. It totally ROCKS!! Oh I forgot to mention that as I empty the gallon jugs of water each day, those jugs in turn become containers (a'la'Donn's method) for my HOS stuff like poppies, bb's, petunias, etc. I learn so much from all of you! Happy Sowing :-)

I read your post, lassie, and I think what you do is WONDERFUL!! It definitely would be something I would do under your circumstances. You are definitely NOT a time waster - and taking time to sow your containers during your lunch hour is fantastic!! I give you a lot of credit and you definitely have to tell us when you get germinators!

Your story is inspirational for any new wintersowers...

Carrie

Congratulations, lassie, on finding a solution to your limited time and area for wintersowing.

You are definitely much neater than I. I would need to change clothes after each lunch hour. I do believe that the dirt just jumps on me!
Bobbie

Lassie, you are truly an inspiration. Kudos to a gal who's bringing beauty and a little fulfillment into a life full of responsibility and short on time for herself.

I take my gardening gloves off to you! :)

Wanna see pictures of your blooms next year if you have a camera and are more computer literate than I am which doesn't go much beyond searching & posting...LOL.

Failing that a "detailed" report of blossoms would be more than fulfulling for someone who also wants some flower beauty to brighten up all the "need to" stuff of everyday life.

Lassiedeb, I too was touched by your post. It sounds like you have a very busy life with your share of burdens, yet you've carved out a little respite for yourself with your plants. I completely understand this, gardening keeps me sane in the midst of a difficult life!

As for where I prepared my very first WS containers last week, well it was on the floor of the family room. I laid down a large piece of cardboard, gathered my materials, and sowed 16 containers. It was actually MUCH neater than repotting a houseplant, which I now tend to do in the basement. However, I think I'll spread a large contractor's black plastic bag on the floor instead of the cardboard. Easier to gather up the bit of dirt that spilled and dump it outside.

Here's a pic:

{{gwi:353728}}

WoW! I'm impressed too, lassie. I wonder do you have an office where you could lock yourself away, and keep a covered rubbermaid type container of soil in there. That way you might be able to eat some lunch or have a cup of tea too. Is the garage cold? Is it safe for you there? That's the stuff I worry about. Is there a communal place in your place of employment where you could sit and WS. I bet you would get some compadres interested in WS with you. In any case, I know how it feels to "get your fix." It sort of calms you down.
Laurie

I WS in my laundry area in the basement. I fill a gallon jug with water, place a clear plastic cake top container on the counter(hubby brought home a huge stack of them he found at the recycle bins), scoop up some soil and put the container in the cake top, pour in some water, let it drain, put in the seeds, mist with a sprayer, and then place them in an empty cake top to carry outside. I then begin the process again reusing the water that drained to wet the next batch.

I like the idea of placing the seeds in baggies according to the month I want to sow them. I'm definitely not as organized as I'd like to be with my seeds.

Thank you all for sharing all the neat ideas. I've learned so much and am still learning everytime I read the posts.

I love winter sowing, this is my second year, because it takes away the winter blues I had when I first moved to TN from FL. Now I can focus on gardening even when it is cold and grey out.

:-) Pam

Last year I did it in the kitchen. It added immensely to the usual chaos I maintain there, as I tend to not clean up a project until it is absolutely finished, and seems like that one took a couple of weeks at least. I did have a spare bedroom at the time to take bags of potting soil to when not in use, but there was evidence of my project everywhere nonetheless. ;-)

This year I staked out a very small corner of the semi-heated garage (attached, but vents are closed) next to an electric outlet, and there I burned holes in my first collection of jugs with my soldering iron. Then I cut the openings, filled them with dirt (unintentionally wet when bought, but worked out great because it meant I didn't have to water it down at all) that had been stored on a wagon in that corner. Then I put in the seeds, labeled, and taped them up. Six trips up to the deck with my 32 containers of treasures, and I am done with the first round. Second round will occur with the next collection of jugs - recycling center, here I come (and hope lots of people have been drinking water lately, those jugs are much cleaner!!!).

Kitchen was warmer, but garage was definitely less of an intrusion for us family-wise (plus it got me "out of the house" for a little while, but not too far away). ;-)

Terri