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.

First Planting

Mmm, I love freshly prepared garden beds.

And the little sprouts that will be shortly going into the beds.spinach, kale, collards, lettuce...

And even better will be the baby greens I will be harvesting in two weeks!

Ah, there they are!

Sprouts! I knew there was something hiding under all that that snow yesterday. Wintersown red Russian kale.

And here are the crocuses in my herb garden.If you look really hard you can see French sorrel, chives, and lavender starting to green up.

Scilla in the lawn. Someday I want my lawn to be a solid blue carpet in the spring. I'm working on it, bulb by bulb.

The main garden. My, what a mess. My gardening style is kind of random. I'm realizing I need to get my act together. Right now the only method to the madness is the fact that there is a black walnut tree on one side, and lots of plants don't grow well next to black walnuts.
Daffodils getting ready to bloom!

Somewhere under the snow....

Somewhere under all this snow there are some brave little sprouts. I know they are there, because I saw them Saturday when I got home from Peru. Kale, collards, lettuce, and poppies are sprouting. It snowed Sunday evening and it hasn't melted yet. I hear temps are going to be in the 50's tomorrow, so maybe the snow will melt. As nice as it is to be home, this cold weather is taking a bit to get used too!Winter sown milk jugs covered with snow on April 7th.

Purple crocus surrounded by ice crystals.

Winter Sowing--Round One

I discovered winter sowing four years ago. Basically winter sowing is planting seeds in clear covered plastic containers, then sticking them outside to freeze and eventually germinate and grow. The clear plastic containers act as mini green houses to retain heat and moisture and speed germination and growth while protecting against severe freeze. The seeds germinate when they are ready and because they are outdoors in natural light and varied temperatures, they are stocky and healthy. You can read all about it here. It has become an important part of my winter and early spring routine and insures that I have hundreds of very cheap, and very healthy plants. I don't know how I gardened without it in the past.

I winter sow in three rounds. The first round is the hardy perennials and annuals that need cold stratification (need to be frozen) in order to germinate. These can be done anytime from December through March. I wintered sowed 24 milk jugs of seeds today. These were mostly those hardy perennial and bi-annual flowers such as poppies, shasta daisies, sweet william, verbascum, black eyed susans, etc.

Start with milk jugs...cut off the tops (set them aside--you will need them later)...poke holes in the bottoms for drainage.

Fill with moist, high quality potting soil....plant seeds...lable with a waterproof marker or pencil. 

Pop the tops back on the jugs....and put them outside in the snow....sit back and wait for your plants to grow!

The second round comes around March 15th. This will be hardy greens and hardy annuals. Winter sowing lettuce, spinach, kale, and collards gives me a big jump on on fresh green salads early in the spring. They germinate during any warm day in late March, then get transplanted into the garden as soon as the ground can be ground can be worked in April. I'm picking baby greens in the begining of May. Hardy annuals such as poppies get planted in mid-March as well. (I grow lots and lots of poppies!)

The third round comes in early April though the first week of May. This is tomatoes, vegetables such as broccoli and brussel sprouts, and herbs like basil and summer savory, and thyme. And lots and lots of zinnias and marigolds.

If you want a support group while your are taking your first baby steps in winter sowing, check out this great forum.
And if you need free seeds to get you started in your winter sowing endeavers, check out this forum...