~ Container Count / Zone Wars ~ Zone Wars Summary: Zone 3 . . . . . . . . . . . 0 Zone 4 . . . . . . . . . 322 Zone 5 . . . . . . . . 1,524 Zone 6 . . . . . . . . 1,020 Zone 7 . . . . . . . . 1,090 Zone 8 . . . . . . . . . 429 Zone 9 . . . . . . . . . 116 Total Containers: 4,501 Good morning, winter sowing guys! Welcome to this year's count, Bookjunky, Lissatink, and Smarmyclothes! Lissatink, yes Nemo was a doozy, but about half of our 24" has melted already, although my containers are still buried. Barbe, sorry I missed a few containers, but yes once you sow over a hundred you are a member of the winter-sowing "Mile High Club" (haha). Congrats! Click the Container Count / Zone Wars Spreadsheet to see the container count in detail. ~ Happy US President's Day Everybody ~ "Too old to plant trees for my own gratification, I shall do it for my posterity"...Thomas Jefferson "I must be farmer John ... and nothing more (I hope nothing less) for the rest of my life."...John Adams âÂÂMy heart found its home long ago in the beauty, mystery, order and disorder of the flowering earth.âÂÂ...Lady Bird Johnson This post was edited by terrene on Tue, Feb 19, 13 at 10:48

There are several WSers in HOA communities and must follow their restrictions. The seeds don't know what they are sown into--get some nice patio planters and sow in them. Uniformity is very appealing so choose a container that looks nice for the property and get several of them--they have the benefit of being both attractive and reusable for several years. You can cover the top with clear vinyl which you've punched several vent holes in, cut it large enough that it will sufficiently overhang the rim and hold it in place with bungee cords.

Are you talking to me or the OP? I don't own an ice pick and don't think it would be thick enough and very tedious to heat up plus if it's too small diameter, many more holes. Might be fine for vents though. Smaller holes, less fumes maybe. I like my woodburning tool, has just the right tip. Anyway, I found out yesterday some containers had iced on the bottom, moved them. So I will need to start burning a few holes low in the sides so they can drain if prolonged. Hadn't thought of that, been thawing in the daytime and freezing up again at night. Once all the snow is melted off and sidewalk clear, shouldn't be a problem unless it snows or ices again. Drain better on the sidewalk but have some still in snow. So thanks to whomever put me onto that. Whatever works for individual people is the way to go.

Hi everyone! Christie, I agree with you, I'm not a big fan of the milk jugs and two liter bottles either. I love those roasting pans, glad Santa brought you some. Over the years, I have found many types of containers that I love, and some I can even reuse for multiple years. They are also free. I know you might not have time to collect some of these for free this year, but maybe next year. I collect mine throughout the year and stash them in the garage. Anyway, here's a blog post I wrote last year with container ideas. Hope it helps... Here is a link that might be useful: Containers for winter sowing