You would of had to constantly water doing it that way to get better results. The bigger cups were able to hold more soil & therefore moisture and insulate each other better. Milk jugs are constantly open to snow and rain and better for the greenhouse effect. Interesting experiment though.
This was my first year winter sowing..I had really good results..I didn't use milk jugs ..I used containers from the dollar tree..the tin foil pans that are shallow (still worked) with the dome tops and these plastic containers that came in a pack of 4 with screw on libs..I noticed the key was not letting them dry out..I checked on them alot..it was not plant and forget like some make it out to be .I wet them as needed ..I'm in zone 8a..I also randomly threw cold hardy seeds in my garden..just random on top of the soil during the winter and they also bloomed lol
Hi. I had 100 percent germination for my first time. From watching your video I just Realized I had too many seeds per container. I also planted In containers like you did but I had holes all over the cover. And it did not have a bottom. They did well.
Not getting enough water was the problem. The seeds dried out so they didn't germinate. Need holes in the containers to let the rain in. Milk jugs are best with no cap.
Strawflower have done really well for me in winter sowing containers, too. And they have germinated in quite cool weather. They are one of only a few things that have sprouted for me in this really cold spring that we are having in Minnesota this year.
Why not just use shallower pots (ie the flat trays) rather than scrapping the shallow bins? I think the bigger issue is the water situation and type of potting mix you are using (ie even if not watered acceptable potting mix doesn’t get “rock hard” like you mentioned in the video). The bigger bins have the advantage of being able to hold on to more humidity because it holds more water. This is easily duplicated in the smaller bins by just watering more frequently.
You would of had to constantly water doing it that way to get better results. The bigger cups were able to hold more soil & therefore moisture and insulate each other better. Milk jugs are constantly open to snow and rain and better for the greenhouse effect. Interesting experiment though.
Thank you for this input! I will most likely go back to milk jugs next year.
This was my first year winter sowing..I had really good results..I didn't use milk jugs ..I used containers from the dollar tree..the tin foil pans that are shallow (still worked) with the dome tops and these plastic containers that came in a pack of 4 with screw on libs..I noticed the key was not letting them dry out..I checked on them alot..it was not plant and forget like some make it out to be .I wet them as needed ..I'm in zone 8a..I also randomly threw cold hardy seeds in my garden..just random on top of the soil during the winter and they also bloomed lol
That's great!!! Thanks for sharing.
Love to see the difference in germination! Yours did better this year than last. Great job!
Hi. I had 100 percent germination for my first time. From watching your video I just Realized I had too many seeds per container. I also planted In containers like you did but I had holes all over the cover. And it did not have a bottom. They did well.
100% germ - so great!!! And no bottom - really interesting!! Thanks for sharing.
Not getting enough water was the problem. The seeds dried out so they didn't germinate. Need holes in the containers to let the rain in. Milk jugs are best with no cap.
Hi Anthony from South Africa Western Cape not bad at all I am all trying to get my seeds to germinate. We are just starting winter here. We'll done
Give them time. With winter sowing it takes weeks if not months for germination.
Thank you so much I will try it
I also did winter sowing for the first time and I haven't had the chance to reveal the results yet but once in a while I kinda take a peek 🤣🤣🤣..
You have to peek!!! 😆😁
Strawflower have done really well for me in winter sowing containers, too. And they have germinated in quite cool weather. They are one of only a few things that have sprouted for me in this really cold spring that we are having in Minnesota this year.
Yay for strawflowers!!! They are so gorgeous and versatile.
Why not just use shallower pots (ie the flat trays) rather than scrapping the shallow bins? I think the bigger issue is the water situation and type of potting mix you are using (ie even if not watered acceptable potting mix doesn’t get “rock hard” like you mentioned in the video). The bigger bins have the advantage of being able to hold on to more humidity because it holds more water. This is easily duplicated in the smaller bins by just watering more frequently.
Thank you so much for that insight!
The first container looked dry.
Did you put drainage holes in your potting cups?
Sure did!