winter sowing in zone 5 upstate NY (newbie)

16 years ago

I have just started getting into gardening and seeds as a newbie and Bakemom turned me on to winter sowing. I have been reading up on it and have a few ??. Has anyone in upstate NY (sometimes heavy snowfall and below 0 temps) zone 5 done wintersowing and can give me some advice. I see that i can use disposable items, but will the snow collapse these items? Is below 30 temp going to kill the seeds off, etc? I need help !!

thanks

kathy

katmatney @ GW

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Comments (10)

fairydancer
16 years ago
I'm upstate (outside of Albany) and have been winter sowing for the past 3 years. It works great for our climate and the snow does not collapse any of the disposables. I use milk jugs, cottage cheese containers and styrofoam cups covered with baggies. The snow actually insulates the containers and keeps them nice and cozy all winter long.

I winter sow most of my perennials and spring sow (in late March or early April) a lot of annuals.

Have fun....but watch out, its addicting.

Deb
kqcrna
16 years ago
Not to worry Kathy. We have many members in New York.

Some flimsy containers might collapse under heavy snow, but milk jugs hold up very well. lblack's were buried under 7 ft. of the white stuff last winter. I'm sure she'll come along to reassure you.

A picture of some of mine (milk jugs) under snow.

{{gwi:354020}}

Winter temperature doesn't matter- frozen is frozen no matter what the temp. You might have to give a little protection to tender things in late spring frosts, like throw a blanket over them. I do that here in Ohio, too.

Welcome to the forum and wintersowing. We'll be happy to help you.

Karen
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Hi Tim, I'm fairly new to intentional winter sowing, but I am a veteran vegetable grower. I got started with the square foot gardening method, too, so I can help bridge from that to here. Many of the cool-season vegetables will adapt quite nicely to winter sowing. In particular plants like parsley, kale, and arugula start well this way. I don't usually go out and *plant* them though--I let a mature plant go to seed during the previous year, scatter the seeds and then enjoy no-fuss seedlings the following spring. Peas are another good one to start early, even under a blanket of snow. Those I *do* intentionally plant this way. Winter sowing doesn't necessarily fit with the square foot technique though. Germination can be spotty, and you aren't precisely controlling the beds as in square foot gardening. So to start out, I would only use it for parsley and brassicas (broccoli, kale, etc.). The peas I would start directly in the garden soil. Regarding your questions: 1) Freezing seed packets in the freezer. This is an excellent way of long-term storage of seeds. The seeds MUST be stored in airtight containers though and moisture reduced to about 8% (I use some silica gel with my seeds). 2) Most vegetables--especially the warm-season ones like tomatoes, peppers, and cucumbers--want to be started indoors under warm and controlled situations anyways. Plus, they sprout so fast and do not require cold conditioning, so there is really no benefit to be gained by this sowing method. 3) Most things can be transplanted, even if they aren't meant to be, with extra care and trouble. Corn isn't usually transplanted. 4) Sure, you can use a small elevated deck. 5) I think 6 jugs would be plenty to start with. 6) If all you are planting is vegetables, then you have plenty of time. The seeds that would press you for time are the ones that required cold conditioning--some flowers and such require weeks or MONTHS of cold, moist conditions to "stratify" the seeds and make them ready to germinate. I think the longest-sprouting thing out of the square foot gardening book was parsley at ~14 days. So yes, like morz said, you have plenty of time! -Kris
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Cindy, Trudi has listed both the Zinnias and Sunflowers as ok for your zone on the WS FAQ page. I know that I have wintersown hollyhocks here in zone 5 successfully so I am pretty sure that they would work for you as well. Here is a link that might be useful: Extreme Climate Winter Sowing
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Thanks for the replies everyone! I didn't sow into individual cups -- I just loaded the whole shebang up with dirt and sowed into the dirt. Some stuff I sowed HOS-style, some stuff (like sunflowers, larkspur, etc) I sowed in tiny rows that I made with a fingertip. Of course, as soon as I finished all my containers it started to rain here in Pittsburgh. I moved all of my containers onto a covered porch for the night because I didn't want to flood them so soon! I'm going to move them back out into the yard and the sun today. I had lots of condensation inside my containers so I know I did it right! I labeled my containers by duct taping a snack sized ziploc bag with the names written on a slice of paper. I don't know if that will hold up over the next few months so I will have to check frequently! I've read about the paint pens you guys use. BTW, making the soil was SO EASY! I'm so glad I didn't plunk down all that money for seed starting soil bags. Here they are about 4 dollars for 8 quarts, and with the amount of soil I used it would have been a small fortune. Just a big bale of peat, some compost, and the perlite and it looked almost the same as the MG stuff. I mixed it in a big bag and used the dishwashing liquid tip! Next time I think I would try the mushroom compost over the cow manure compost. Mine had a LOT of large chunks of wood and rocks and stuff. I wound up using only a very small amount. I guess I can use the leftovers out in the beds! Happy growing! Kara
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Are you near Buffalo, Rochester, Batavia? We are having a plant swap and I have many plants I could give you. Email me for more details.
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trudi_d
16 years ago
I used to live in the Upper Catskills (Fleischmanns) and we had a fabulous garden where annuals and perennials reseeded well.

Yes, you can WS in zone 5 NY and you will have a fun time doing it!

Trudi
katmatney
Original Author
16 years ago
Ok so i am reading your helpful hints, when do i put these containers outside? And do i use potting soil and moisten the soil first? I think that i am going to try this. thanks
for all of your help
kathy
katmatney@GW
shimla
16 years ago
Hi Kathy -

Yes, you will want to moisten your potting soil first. Not boggy, just wet!

The earliest I've put mine out have been mid-December. I usually start going after we get through the holidays. One year, it was unseasonably warm (like T-shirt weather lol) so I delayed setting out my pots until January.

I think you'll enjoy this very much. Especially if you are not fond of the winter, it helps pass the season!

shimla
bakemom_gw
16 years ago
We start after 12/21 and I usually do perennials first. You wet down the soil, press the seeds into the soil, and then place them outside. It's gardening in WINTER and it's AWESOME.

Re-read the FAQs and digest it. Then, post again - we will help. Welcome to your gardening addiction.
trudi_d
16 years ago
Kathy,

Read the FAQs here or visit WinterSown.Org for expanded faqs, photos and more.

Trudi
northerner_on
16 years ago
Hi Kathy:
I am winter sowing in Canada, north of you and our frigid winters and blizzards are not a problem. Sometimes during mid-winter, when everything is covered, I can't remember where my containers are. Winter passes very quickly when you're busy exchanging seeds and sowing and it's such a thrill in spring to see the little sprouts. You will absolutely love it. The two references by Trudi (above) are all you need. And you will find the members of this forum are super when it comes to helping newbies - they have helped me a great deal. Welcome!!
Northerner
hostasformez4
16 years ago
First of all it would help if I used the correct spelling of SOWING!!!

You can see how new I am and "spellcheck" didn't catch it! I am so bad when it comes to spelling! You all will have to forgive me is I mess up again!!!!

Connie
lblack61
16 years ago
Kathy,
My containers withstood the 7+ feet of snow we got last February. And my garden was a bounty of WSed sprouts.
I think where we live is ideal for WSing :-)
One thing, I do stick to using milk jugs and juice jugs, particularly for anything I put out between December and February. It's so windy here, and gets so cold. But milk and juice jugs stay put and don't crack or break under pressure.

Email me if you have any questions...I'd be happy to help! :-)

Linda

Here is a link that might be useful: 2007 Garden Pictures

winter sowing in zone 5 upstate NY (newbie)

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winter sowing in zone 5 upstate NY (newbie)

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