Water bottles

Has anyone used water bottles (16 oz size) for winter sowing? I have a bunch of varieties I only want one or 2 plants. I have tons of water bottles (teenagers in the house you know.) 2 seeds per bottle was what I was thinking. I'll use milk jugs for the milkweed, since I want lots of those.

I used the bigger ones last year, it worked fine. The only problem I predict with 16 oz size is they might be more prone to falling over, so you would need to corral them somehow. I bought a big plastic bin for this. drainage holes must be provided, so the bottles don't just sit in water. Here are pics of my bigger ones. You could put more seeds in each bottle, as you will probably be "potting them up" to larger size pots, individually, in the spring before planting them out anyway.

Good question beclu,
I was thinking of sowing in the smaller water bottles those seeds that have a large tap root

Thanks mlm, I plan to put them in a plastic bin that has gravel in the bottom as well as drain holes. I'll push them down into the gravel a bit to make them more stable. I see your slit cut in the green bottle. I was wondering how to make holes in the tops of the water bottles, now I know to make slits. I am hoping to avoid potting up for most things. The last few years I've waited too late to do it anyway.

valal, how much soil were you planning to use in each one? I was thinking 3 inches, but my plants won't have large tap roots.

This is my first year winter sowing but I hadn't thought of putting more than 3-4" of soil per regular winter sowing instructions.....would be happy to have any experienced winter sowers weigh in on this!

I have used the water bottles, just like you were thinking... for minimal seeds per container. I did find that they dried out faster than the larger containers, due to less soil... but it does work well for 2-3 seeds... you just pop them out and right into the ground when ready.

but yes, use about 4" of soil.

Becky, I'm using the 16.9 oz water and drink bottles. We will see what happens. I had so many I wanted to try a few each.

Keep us posted on your results.

Brenda