Winter Sowing containers and soil?

This will be my first attempt at winter sowing. I've read may of the DG Winter Sowing threads and the information on Wintersowing.org. I still have a few questions:

1. Can I use the green-tinted soda bottles (the one that ginger ale and sprite come in)?

2. What's the best soil to use (Miracle-grow potting soil, regular potting soil, regular bagged garden soil, top soil)?

3. Should I use a seed starter fertilizer? I've seen bags of soil with seed starter at HD.

I ordered about 10 packs of seed from Park Seed and sent for free seed from Winter Sowing.org. I'm on vacation the week between Christmas and New Years ... guess what I'll be doing??

1. Yes, green tinted pop bottles are fine.

2. Just be sure you buy potting mix, not garden soil. MiracleGro and Pro-Mix seem to be the most popular with wintersowers. Some folks have had bad experiences with really cheap brands, saying that they turn into bricks later.

3. No fertilizer is necessary to start. It will probably just wash out before it's needed. The seeds have all they need to grow until they get to one leaf stage, then you begin to feed with a very dilute fertilizer.

Karen

Thanks Karen! I may have more questions as I start sowing ...

I'll probably go with the MiracleGro potting soil (from my local HD). Usually, they sell it with fertilizer mix in that feeds for up to 4 months ... is this ok to use or should I look for soil without fertilizer? Also, what is sterile soil?

I use the MiracleGro with fertilizer all the time. It doesn't seem to bother the little seedlings any and it feeds them once they get bigger.

I use the Miracle Grow with fertilizer also. Michaeljo, before you plant your seed, make sure you read the pkg direction on the depth you need to plant. Also I use spagum in a thin layer over some of the very small seeds that need to be just barely covered. For super small seeds, I use an old salt shaker filled with play sand, add the seed and liberally shake away. I get a much more even distribution of seed and better germination that way.

MiracleGro sounds like the way to go.

doccat5 ... thanks for the pointers, that should be very helpful.

Happy sowing!!

I was under the impression that green-tinted pop bottles don't let in enough light to be used for winter sowing? Same thing with the blue-tinted ones. Hmmm. I must have misunderstood...

Joanne