Another Dumb Question about Containers for WS

Sure, Anita. Trudi just seemed to look for easy and cheap ways to wintersow. And she really put a lot of energy into spreading that information on the web. I daresay most of us wintersowers would never have heard of this method were it not for Trudi, her website, and her popularizing it through the GW forum first.

And, anyway, that's where I got the milk jug tip, and have yet to find anything that works better, or even as well.

Karen

Can I add a dumb question to this thread?

I think I understand about 'what' to plant them in, but I'm not clear 'where' should we put all our jugs? does there need to be a cover like under a table? can we set them against a concrete wall on the ground or should we put them into a another container and place up higher? can I put them under a tree or do they need to be out in the open so they get the winter sunshine?

This is brand new for me too......in fact, I've never heard of growing anything outside in the middle of winter.

Out in the open is good, where they can get rain and/or snow. I like to put them into another bigger container, too, but that's just me. That makes it easier if I have to drag them to water to move them around for some other reason. Also, It's pretty windy here, and bins keep 2 liters and half gallon jugs from being blown over. But you don't need to use anything of the sort.

Direct sun doesn't matter much in winter. In fact, some sun protection is good when spring weather starts to get warm. Under a tree, dappled sun, sounds perfect. I keep mine on my north facing patio where they only get a few hours of morning sun.

Karen

thanks, Karen!

I put my winter sowing on my patio against a wall. The sun that you see on them is from the south. The flower pot has viola seeds in it.

We live in a windy area as well, the wall is curved and keeps them from blowing around. As far as watering goes I rarely need to water before it is warm enough to bring our hoses outside, then I can take the water to them.

Zenpotter: I guess I wasn't too clear with that watering comment. I don't need to water either until it gets pretty warm in spring. Since my containers sit on my concrete patio, I hate to waste water on concrete. So sometimes I just drag the bins holding my milk jugs out onto the lawn and put a misting sprinkler on them. The extra water waters the lawn. If it's really hot and dry I bottom water by sitting the jugs in a big tub for a few minutes. I do this on the lawn too, so when finished, I dump the tub out onto the grass.

Karen

After reading and "spying" on various threads for almost a year, this is becoming my favorite. So thanks for all the info. My question - is there a reason all the milk jugs/juice jugs do not have tops or plastic on them? Do you ever have to drain them after a few days of rain (even with drain holes in the bottom)?

You do not want the cap on for a few reasons... precipitation [rain or snow] can get inside ... if there is too much moisture, the drain holes, if big enough, will let that extra water flow out.

this past year, my holes were not big enough and i had mold issued in a few containers and my seeds rotted.

plus, ventilation

you'll want some air flow in the spring once the temps warm up.

HTH

Terese

pndxtrj, if there's a lot of rain and the containers get too wet, you can stab some more drain holes in the bottom, or in the sides near the bottom.

Yes, if water is accumulating inside the containers, you either don't have enough drain holes or the holes are too small. Good drainage is important.

Karen

that answered my question about saving the lids for all these jugs.

we've already had some hard freezes here, but i think i will still wait till after the new year starts. i'm more worried about when, than how. after reading on DG =)

I wouldnt sweat the "when"

some say any time after winter solstice, but most of us are pretty busy at that time with the holidays.
I am shooting for Jan/Feb time frame this year... .when i'm good and tired of winter.

I usually start perennials in January/February, and I won't be doing many of them this year. And I don't start on annuals until around April.

I just can't start too many this year- few empty spaces remain in my yard and I still have some things to move in spring.

Karen

i too have to remember not to start my annuals so early... thanks for adding that Karen.
I can start them around mid/end of March i think... if my last Frost is around mid-May... which we also have not had in many years.

Well, a few annuals I do early, even in winter. I'll sow snapdragon and petunia in winter because I know they'll take frost, even hard freezes. Nasties do OK for me around March or so, they don't mind a little cold either. Problem with them is if they're sown too early they sometimes rot because they're so big. But I find that starting early with things like zinnia doen't make much difference because they won't sprout until temps are pretty high, and if we get early heat and they sprout, they croak in later frost.

So when I do certain annuals has changed yearly, and probably will continue to change. If it's a hot spring, like 2007, I'll sow them earlier. If it's a cool one like last year, I wait a while.

Karen