Starting Tomatoes the Easy Way

Winter sowing--a way to have all the plants you need (plus many more) for pennies each, without the mess and fuss of starting them indoors.

For the past 6 or 7 years I have started most of the plants I need for my garden using winter sowing.  Winter sowing is done by planting seeds in covered clear containers then putting them outside for the seeds to germinate on their own when they are ready. Winter hardy annuals and perennials can be started anytime during the the winter. The more tender annuals get started several weeks before the last frost date.

Here in zone five I start tomatoes, cabbage, broccoli, zinnias, marigolds, etc, anytime between the first weeks of April and the first week of May. By the time our last frost in late May comes around, the plants are ready to go in the ground.

(Click here for instructions on how to start seeds using this method.)

The milk jugs make mini greenhouses that provide warmth, hold in moisture and protect from frost. If we are getting a hard freeze and the tender annuals have sprouted, I do cover them up with a blanket at night. But the beauty of starting seeds this way is that the seeds tend to sprout when the time is right. Other than keeping the potting mix moist, and occasionally covering them jugs when there is going be a freeze, they are pretty maintenance free.

(Heirloom tomato seedlings.)

(broccoli and cabbage seedlings)

(A wheelbarrow full of winter sown tomatoes.)

I will be honest, when I first learned about winter sowing, I was skeptical that it would work for tomatoes, but after trying it once, I was hooked. Yes, the plants tend to be smaller than plants started indoors when they are ready to be set out, but once they are set out in the garden they quickly catch up to and tend to surpass the nursery grown plants. Because they have been growing outdoors their entire lives they tend to be hardy, sturdy little plants that are ready to burst into growth as soon as they are put in the garden.

Linked to Farmgirl Friday and Garden Life.