Hi Jodie,

Welcome to Winter Sowing! Let me see if I can answer your questions...

1) When do you transplant to the ground. My last frost is May 15 so do I keep the seedlings in their containers until then? How big will they be? Quite big I would think! Or can you plant to ground earlier cause they are soooo hardened off already?

I assume your flats will contain many varieties of seeds. You will see the very first of them start to sprout in late winter. These earliest types can tolerate a light frost and snow too. My experience is that the perennials and hardy annuals will be among these early sprouting flats. Once they do germinate they do still need to hardened off to the environment, so the vents in the lids are gradually increased over a few weeks to let in more air and also let out more heat--as spring comes on the sun gets warmer. Here, in my garden, I transplant these hardy early flats a few weeks or a month after they sprout. That's how I do it, but other winter sowers will do it their own way. Winter Sowing is meant to be adaptable to each person's own yard and wallet.
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2) What about plants that don't like to be transplanted? When do you transplant them? or again... are they soooo hardy that they aren't as fussy?

I try to transplant these all before their tops are an inch tall, their roots may be as long as that or longer, but they are still quite flexible--there's far less root damage from manipulation when you're transplanting because the seedlings are still young and small.
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3) You can sow the seed in your containers rather thickly, correct? And then I thought I read somewhere they may get root-bound but you can kind of cut/rip them apart?.?. This seems harsh... won't hurt the seedlings?

Some may get torn, but if you've got a flat which sprouted like moss then you don't need the ones which may be damaged. One of my very favorite flats to sow is a foil lasagna pan--I sow it thickly with alyssum. In early spring it sprouts and the flat is a tight sea of green. At transplant I take a smooth-blade knife and score the flat of seedlings like they were brownies. In effect, hunk-o-seedlings makes plugs of transplants. A lasagna foil tin will give me dozens and dozens of plugs which I edge beds with or tuck into containers. Another of my favorite for HOS is wildflower mixes. I plant those out HOS too--I love the wildflower beds I've planted like this, lots of fun to watch all the different seedlings grow into plants and then bloom. HOS is all about necessity. Once upon a time I was totally bewildered by several moss-like flats. I tried thinning the seedlings one by one and realized it would take hours and hours just to plant out one flat. So, form follows function, I gently tore from the mass of soil and seedlings little hunks and planted them as is. I thought is work great for me, so that's how hunk-o-seedlings came about.

The first season I WSed I didn't label my flats as I love surprises, so I planted out my borders using HOS, taking one tray at a time and working left to right I filled in the beds with seedling hunks, most spaced about six to eight inches apart--it grew in well. Ma Nature did thin out many of the weakest seedlings, but all that remained were hardy and lush.

T

THANK YOU for your reply! You gave me GREAT information & I am honored that the "creator" of winter sowing herself replied. :)

I am sooo excited for Jan to come already! LOL I am gathering up my seeds like a squirrel to begin my new hobby of gardening. I have 4 kids & lead a very busy life & gardening just helps me to relax & be at peace with the world. ;)

1) You can usually transplant your WS seedlings once they have their second set of "true" leaves. First leaves you see on sprouts are cotyledon or seed leaves. The next pair are the first "true" leaves and will have the look and shape of the mature plant's leaves.

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2) Plants that don't like to be disturbed seem to do just fine. I WS balloon flower, baptisia/false indigo which don't like to be transplanted. Both are thriving.

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3) If you sow the seeds thickly, you'll end up with what looks like a Chia pet and it's hard to get the HOS out of the jug without damaging a few sprouts.

Achillea/yarrow
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Digitalis/Foxglove
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Lychnis chalcedonica/Maltese Cross
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Hope that helps some. If you have other questions or want some seeds, feel free to email me.

Great photos! Lupine seedlings are very distinct ;-)

YES! THANK YOU for the pics! I am planning to use clam shell containers.. the kind fruit comes in. I also have some clear "under the bed" totes. 10 of them actually. Plus I have other outdoor pots on my deck that I put my elephant ears & canna in (they are rather large!)

I plan to WS 300 containers! I have SOOOO MANY EMPTY flower beds! LOL I love the full, rich look! And I want lots of variety too!!

Do you think clam shells will work good? Seems like lots of people use milk jugs. Clam shells already have holes in them & lid attaches yet can be cut off easily. I've gathered over 100 of them so far so PLEASE tell me they will work! :)

Hate to tell you Jodie, but my experience a few years back with clamshells led me to drop them as potential containers. I think it was that the drain holes already present were too big and the soil dried fast. I also couldn't put the 3 inches of moist soil in with enough for head room for the sprouts. My preference became the 2 liter pop bottle.

mmmm... that is discouraging on the clam shells. I have started to gather milk jugs. Our family drinks 4 gallons each week but I won't have 300 by Jan!!

I wonder if I duck tape over some of the holes in the clam shells & then remove duck tape as need be come spring?

Think that will help? I do have some of the taller type of shells from like grapes & kiwi that I bought from Sams Club. (A mega size clam shell) They are alot deeper so that should help. But maybe 10 of those total. Oh boy... I hope I can figure this out!!

I do have my clear plastic totes & worst case I go buy more of them!! Hate to spend too much money but Walmart sells them cheap at times.

Jodie

I've never found the clam shells that strawberries etc. come in work very well for wintersowing, not so much because of the their depth, but that they are too small to retain moisture with as many holes as they have and they dry out.

I have had very good luck with the salad bar style clam shells that are about 8 by 10 inches, although I do have to melt or cut drainage and venting holes. I like these because they have lids that are easy to open and close during the last few weeks before I can leave the lids off competely. In Maryland, there always seem to a few weeks in the spring after the seeds germinate where we get some very warm sunny days that would cook the tiny seedliings. But then it always gets back to freezing again, so having easy open, reclose lids is nice.

I use the deepest ones I can find because some of them are too shallow, and I know that anything with a long tap root isn't going to work in them. But lots of stuff does just fine. I eat a lot of salads for luunch and I just wash them out and keep them for wintersowing. I did buy 25 for $5 dollars from my cafetaria at work in February when I wanted to finish up sowing in a big blast.

Once the weather stays worm, I just tear the top off completely to save space in my pot ghetto.

DO NOT BE TEMPTED TO WRITE THE NAMES OF THE SEEDS ON THE LIDS IN MARKER. You will forget to write the sames of the seeds on markers in the spring before you start tearing lids off and end up with a lot of "does anyone recognize these seedlings" post

What do you think about this idea... what if I take the lids off the clams shells & insert them into cheap plastic bags!?!?! My Giant Eagle had a box of 100 for $3.29 (they were twist tye type.) I know I would have to cut slits but that would help with not letting out TOO much moisture, the baggie will allow for more "head space" and yet the clam shell would give a sturdy shape to the bottom of the baggie. We have ALOT of wind here & "baggies only" method will just blow around!!

I will collect milk jugs too and use my totes but that won't be enough for ALL of my WS needs/goals!!

I SOOOO APPRECIATE ALL OF YOUR EXPERT ADVISE!!
Jodie

Jodie,

Welcome to WS! You can also ask your friends and neighbors to save milk jugs for you. Rinse them out and remove the cap before storing, or they will stink! You may also be able to snag some at the recycling centers or on freecycle. Some of the folks here have done both of those.

Good luck!

We don't have municipal trash pickup so I got desperate last winter & went dumpster diving at the town dump. When the attendant said I couldn't pick milk jugs out of the recycle bin, I told him I was helping my granddaughter with a school project and drove right on by him. I filled a contractors size trash bag with milk jugs, then couldn't fit it inside the car. When I managed to finagle it inside the passenger side front seat, I could no longer see out the window. The drive home with my booty was interesting.

A couple of men dumping recycled milk jugs in the bin asked me what I was doing with them so I told them about WS. To my amazement, they stood & listened, asked questions and said it sounded like a good idea.

gardenweed-That's a funny story! I'm gonna talk to my daughter's preschool teachers & see if I can put out a poster at her school asking parents to save milk jugs for me.

I still may try a few clam shells inside baggies to vary my methods. Experiment, right? Makes it more fun & interesting!

If you are going to ask for container donations also include gallon water jugs. They are just like milk jugs without having to deal with the threat/smell of sour milk.

My favorite containers are clear 2L bottles and water jugs.