Milk jugs because they have a good depth. They are easy to carry, peek down into (important for obsessing over baby sprouts), and fit together nicely so my jug ghetto is as presentable as possible.

Last year was my first year but I've gotta go with the milk jugs, too. I found the salad containers weren't deep enough and they dried out more often. The same with the 2 litre bottles.

The bulk containers with more than 4 inches in depth worked great. However, I prefer milk jugs and 2 liters.

I have about 20 of those large salad boxes saved, along with tons of 2 liter bottles, assorted milk/water jugs, and the small yogurt cups. I plan on using all of them and like different containers for different things.

Milk jugs work pretty well overall, but I noticed that when they are cut 3/4 the way around with a hinge, they get a little wobbly and some of the seeds got washed or wobbled over to the edge and down the sides of the milk jug.

The large salad boxes are my favorite. At 7 x 12 x 5 inches deep they hold plenty of soil. Usually I use cardboard dividers and sow more than one type of seed in these. They are easy to stack and re-use and take up very little storage space. The tops close nice and tight, but are easy to take on and off which makes it easy to fill the container with soil, sow seeds, and check sprouts in the spring. The top also tucks neatly under the container when it's time to "take the tops off". The clear plastic seems to generate greater solar heat. I got a little better germination with these containers vs. same seeds in other containers. The only drawback is that the seedlings are not as easy to get out of these containers as 2 liters and milk jugs.

The other cool thing was, I re-used the salad boxes this summer for raising Monarch butterflies! They were the perfect container for the caterpillars to grow in.

My first sprouts - Alyssum 'Carpet of Snow' on left, 'Pastel Carpet on right
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Here are the salad boxes with the Monarch caterpillars in various stages of growth -
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Milk jugs, for all the reasons already mentioned plus, lots of headroom for growing seedlings.

Karen

Milk jugs, because of all the above reasons - depth, height, built-in top, handle, easy-open ventilation, and I never thought of this, but it dawned on me that mechele211 is right - they do line up nicely and make the area a bit more presentable.

:)
Dee

I like aluminum containers with clear tops-- mostly loaf pans that I order online from Kitchen Dance. Not as much headroom, but more mangeable for me when planting out. I just plop the whole pan in a shallow hole and push the soil around it. Sometimes I break the loaf in half or three. They do need to be in part shade, though, because the aluminum gets really hot.

I really like the 8 oz foam cups, 15 will fit in a plastic sweater box,& I just cover the sweater box with plastic, plenty of head room, & the individual cups are great for sharing & I can get 15 different variates of seeds in one container, also an ink pen works great to write on the side of the cup the kind & date with. 2 litter pop jugs are my 2nd choice, for me they germinated better, & milk jugs are my 3rd choice. For tomatoes, Trudi's way is GREAT !!! with the 16 oz foam cups half full of dirt & then add more dirt as the plant grows. I also put my bulbs in the pop jugs to give them a head start.
happy plantin, ") jan

this was my first year and I will not use salad containers next year at all. I had about half salad containers and half milk jugs, some things were planted in both and every time I got better results with the jugs. some of the salad ones never even germinated. But I am in northern zone so I figure I need the extra depth for the cold temps. they are coming!

No one could have made a bigger mess cutting the milk jugs than I did. The reconnect with clear tape was also a mess. Manual dexterity is not one of my strengths. I'm going to try again with the electric scissors they have at Walmart or Sears. I realize this is truly lame when so many people use the milk jugs without a problem but "I'yam what I'yam" as Popeye said...LOL.

I actually had better germination in deep lasagna pans with plastic covers. Granted they were mostly hardy and half hardy annuals so maybe that had something to do with it.

I used tall & medium soda/water bottles for 1-3 seeds of different varieties trying to give them more depth for root growth. That worked well for the kindergarten flowers like Zinnia, Tithonia, etc. Used 20 oz. clear plastic cups when I ran out of bottles but I didn't have time to get them all planted out quickly enough and the roots were straining for more depth.

Terrene, 2 observations from your photos.

It was a real pain in the whatsis to get those little Sweet Alyssum separated and planted. I'm thinking of direct sowing them in early spring since I'm covering the beds with "stuff" so reseeding will be suppressed. Guess I should break down and do the hunk of seedling deal with them and snip off all but the strongest...if I can make that calculated guess...LOL. Mine got very leggy due to late planting out but lasted until September...can't beat that for such easy grower. They're a great filler and edger and I'm adding the Golf and Wonderland series this time.

The other thing I recognized were what looks like 2 Cranberry Glass goblets on your shelf with the Monarch cat containers! My mother had a few of those. Nice memories. :)

Newbie, most of my WS seedlings are planted out individually, but definitely plant the Alyssum HOS! I was skeptical, but you should see how well the little clumps grew, and they are still blooming away out there. Very easy. And they grew well in extremely dry edges along the driveway and around the mailbox.

Oh, cranberry glass, is that what that is? I am not a knick-knack person, but those goblets came from my grandmother (as well as the cherry hutch they're sitting on) so they have some sentimental value. The hutch has come in very handy, at the moment there are paper lunch bags full of seedheads drying on the shelves!

I tried those salad boxes in my first year. Not enough head room for some things, but otherwise, OK.

I use HOS for most things that start as tiny seeds sprinkled into a container. Then, I never snip off any seedlings. Whatever ends up in a hunk has to duke it out with neighbors for survival. Seems to work great. If some bite the dust, I can't tell. Once in the ground they're on their own except an occasional drink of water from me.

Karen

This year I tried the aluminum lasagna pans. Didn't like them as they were too flimsy, when moving around pan would bend. Yikes, save those babies.

Haven't used the larger salad containers for winter sowing. I use them to germinate indoor seedlings. Put small pots of seeds in the salad container, cover with lid and wait for germination. Works great.

Newbie in nj if you use the flap method on the jugs you do not need to use tape. I make the bottom cut with a box knife then use the B & D scissor to cut the rest of the flap. May try the suggestion to make a starter hole with the sodering iron when making drainage holes.

Like Karen, I do not seperate or snip off seedlings of alyssum or other tiny seeders. Both alyssum and verbena self sowed this year making nice clumps. If the plant gets large, ie: digitalis I will snip off extras.

mnwsgal, I've seen the flap method shown on FAQs and wintersown.org but thought they had to be clipped shut for greenhouse effect.

Do you just bend flaps back down after adding soil mix/seeds or clip them shut tightly? Thought I needed good tight closure for greenhouse effect and so they don't get soaked from the side over winter.

Terrene, I'm using number of colors (including white) Sweet Alyssum a lot more next year. Love their fragrance they look good even when dried at end of season. Mine bit the dust already in night freezes.

My mother's cherry hutch is still in Dad's dining room!

My seeds drying in paper bags and on paper plates have to be removed from his dining room table by Thanksgiving dinner...LOL. There's always the ancient ping pong table down in the basement!

Newbie, I'm growing lots of Alyssum next year too, what a great border plant. Nice fragrance, very pretty, and it attracts lots of beneficial insects! Gotta try a different color. The Pastel carpet did well but turned out to be mostly shades of lavender with not much pink. They are still blooming away out there, the frost hasn't touched most of it!

I used the flap method on all the 1/2 gallon jugs, and some of the 1 gallon. After a couple sowings, I realized that it wasn't necessary to even tape them, cut the flap up into the curve on top of the jug a bit, and then tuck the flap under the edge. It's okay if a little water gets through, that won't hurt anything. The water is coming in through the top too.

For the 1 gallon I also tried the "hinge" method, where you cut the jug 3/4 of the way through with a hinge on one side. Then you can close them using tape, or by punching holes and using wire to close them. Again it's okay if water comes through the cut a bit.

With the flap method it was more awkward to sow the seeds - because you have to hold the flap open and the cut edges are uncomfortable for some people. But the jug stays nice and sturdy. The hinge method makes it easier to sow seeds and lift the top, but the jug got a little wobbly in my experience.

I'm sure other more experienced WSers could offer their insights into the various methods.

I'm loathe to dumpster dive at my condo recycling center for milk/water jugs again this year but I'll still probably do it.

The people across the street from my father have two teenage boys and a full 2 garbage cans of recyclables every 2 weeks. I'll work up the courage to ask her if I can go through her cans for the next couple of months. People in my father's neighborhood already look at me as if I'm "Mrs. Greenjeans" anyway...LOL.

Swallowtail and Seedman have a good variety of Alyssum colors. The Aphrodite and Wonderland series have very nice choices. The Rosie O'Day didn't do well for me so I'll try another series for color other than white. I'm torn between the 2 vendors because I don't really need as much seed as Swallowtail sells per pack but it's more economical. Seedman seems to have more color choices.

Just noticed on Seedman's site they're having their Thanksgiving SALE:

"This year, the sale will start Wednesday evening November 26nd at 6 PM ( CDT ) and will run all the way through Monday December 1st until 6 PM ( CDT ), hopefully, everyone will have a chance to shop with us this year."

I'll be on there ordering Wednesday night right after I have the sweet potatoes prepped, refrigerated and ready to candy on Thursday!

Here is a link that might be useful: Seedman's Sweet Alyssum

When I use the flap method I cut a large flap and bend it back to open when I fill with mix and sow. The flap stays open by itself. Afterwards the flap is pushed back down. I don't bother tucking the flap under the edge, just push it back down so it is even with the rest of the jug. Doesn't need to be tight and haven't had any problem with too much water getting in. I find that I have to open the flap when I water with a wand though mostly bottom water as it is quicker. When it gets warm in the spring push the flap up for more ventilation. I use this method for most of my 2 winter germinaters.

Lately for most of my gal. jugs I have been cutting out the whole window and covering with a baggie. I keep the baggies and use them again. I like that I can see through the baggie to see if there are sprouts, easy to put on and off once one gets the hang of it, easy to water with a wand, easy to add mix and sow. As the weather warms I raise the baggie a bit or remove it completely.

I mostly quit using the qt. milk jugs as prefer 2L soda bottles. Also keep and reuse all my plastic jugs and 2Ls.