Winter Sowing

Anyone ever try it? I have read several articles on it with instructions on how and why.

I have an area already picked out to be a nursery area next spring so it will be the winter sowing area too.

Gathering up the plastic containers with lids over the next few months won't be a problem either and I can hit the end of season sales for the seed starter flats.

When I get the new garden area out front ready this fall, I can also direct sow some of the seeds before I mulch and see what comes up in the spring.

The theory behind winter sowing is that if the plant is a self sower or one whose seeds need chilling or stratification then they are good candidates for winter sowing.
Plants that self sow, reseed, etc....they drop seed and those seeds spend winter in the ground already, beginning to sprout when the ground warms up.

Seeds that need chilling for a few weeks before they can sprout....winter is the perfect way to chill them.

Seeds that require stratification before they can sprout...the warming and cooling periods of winter do that job so the gardener doesn't have all those little slits on their fingers from doing it to hard to hold seeds.

Since their biological clock is more accurate than ours, they begin sprouting earlier and are ready to transplant into the garden sooner.

The seeds/seedlings are outside from the beginning there is no hardening off period, which is the time when a lot of seedlings are lost.

There is no need for growing lights, heating mats, etc. since you are letting nature do it's thing.

I had such dismal results from the seeds I plants last spring, I was thinking I should give away the leftover seeds and just stick with buying plants next year, but I remembered reading about Winter Sowing so now I am really ready for cooler weather so I can get the new project going.

Droopy wrote:

Does self-seeding count as winter sowing? I've let some of my plants self seed, and have had great luck with it so far. Sea holly, hellebores, lambs' ears and crocosmia are the ones that have done best here. Oh, and Fritillaria meleagris too.

Mother Nature has known about winter sowing since the beginning hasn't she? Very Happy

It would appear that she knows more about gardening than the people who write the planting directions on seed packets.

The results from winter sowing really can't be any worse than the results I got from waiting until after our last frost date to plant last spring. And if we have one of our typically mild winters, I will have ready to bloom plants in February next year.
Rolling Eyes