Good job using the dollar tree containers for this project. A few friendly tips for success: I think I would have put the one with the red lid upside down & removed the label, so the seeds/seedlings get full 🌞. I suggest putting these on the south facing side of your house, unless you have evergreen shrubs or other things in the way. They'll enjoy the warmth from the sun reflecting on the house, and should help with wind as well. I definitely wouldn't put them on an elevated table. The ground is actually warmer, even with snow, because cold air will blow underneath the table, making it colder. It's the same principle as bridges & overpasses freezing over & being more slippery. Wishing you great success! Happy gardening!
HI Debbie, thanks for visiting and for your comments. The south side of our house is actually shaded due to tall trees, the center of the back yard is the only full sun we have (other than the center of our front yard!). Good thought on putting them on the ground, though, maybe I'll look for a spot for them to be in the sun on the ground. :-)
I really enjoyed this video. I have lots of those plastic “shoe” bins that I’ve emptied out and were planning to donate until I saw another container gardener in India share his method for sowing lots of seeds in broad yet shallow-ish containers, more like round dish pans, and I decided to hold onto them for that purpose. I need to get on the ball. I’m in NOVA and spring will be here before we know it! And Miracle Gro dirt is funny to me. I have a bag of both potting mix and cactus mix and I swear they are the exact same. When I gathered gardening supplies in January from the dollar tree, I did pick up two of their bags of seed starting mix. My plan was to mix it with my leftover bag of potting mix (I used 1/2 of it to transplant some of my indoor plants that had outgrown their nursery pots) to make it fluffier. I also bought a bag of perlite and some coco coir off of Amazon as more soil amendments for when I transplant to their actual grow containers.
Yeah, I’m not convinced that all these products are very different. For example the labels of Holly-Tone and Azalea-To e are identical but the Azalea-Tone costs more. Good luck with your gardening! 🪴
Hi Jenny , I just found you and you have explained this process very well. Like you I’ve watched so many videos and it can be confusing. This is my first year winter sowing due to my poor success rate getting poppies to grow for me by sowing straight in the ground 🤨 I look forward to watching yours grow and following your channel. thank you😃
@@HarmonyHillsHomeandGarden The problem with pure clear plastic is that it becomes very brittle in the weather. Most likely getting only one Season use. If you move it, or bump it- maybe even less. Now on a Pop Bottle or Drink Jug who cares? It was headed for the trash anyway. But, if you pay a couple bucks and put some work into it- you hate to see it fall apart.
@@DragonflyArtz1 So far so good, we haven't had all that much cold weather and the containers seem to be doing pretty well. My family doesn't use milk or juice on the regular, so we didn't have those containers available like other people might. So the shoe boxes were actually cheaper for me than buying milk that we don't drink.
@@HarmonyHillsHomeandGarden Good. Just wanted to put that out there. Some plastics become very brittle. Mostly the pure clear. The Milk Jugs only last 2-3 seasons anyway. For those of us trying to do a lot "on the cheap" it's just good to know. And we don't want to add to plastic waste- we want to reduce it. Just putting that out there.
Watched replay and I would love to see an update on your Winter sowing!!! I love the info. I am someone who doesn't have enough space indoors to start ALL the many seeds, I want to start. 😀
I'll definitely be doing a video when I unpack all the containers. I've put snippets of updates into other videos, which you might want to check out. Basically, some have lots of tiny sprouts, others don't yet! but in a few weeks I'll do an update video. Thanks for watching!
Your doing a fabulous job! I’ve never winter sewed before & I will certainly try it after watching you. I bought a cheap soldering iron at Walmart & most of the time it really helps me with making holes. Just about $15. And worth it. Just a suggestion it’s worth the money. Love what you did. & keep up the good work. Very informative!!! 33:56
I grew English Daisies last year and had good luck with them. I had a good crop and was able to fill a fairly large terracotta pot with them. They had beautiful miniature flowers on them throughout the Summer. As we approached Fall, I transplanted them into the ground. I can't wait to see them in the Spring. (I just hope they are not invasive, but everything I read about them didn't indicate that they are.) I like the idea with the vermiculite. I have some, so I will give that a try this year when I do my winter sowing. I was going to skip winter sowing this year, but you inspired me to try it again!! PS--I am going to pass on the Forget-me-knots this year as I read recently that they can be invasive, returning year after year!!
Yea I never get Miracle products anymore. They're seed startiing mix always has those large piece in it. I but bags of peat moss, coco coir, Vermiculite & Perlite, & mix my own now.
@@HarmonyHillsHomeandGarden I buy the 3 cubic foot bag of peat moss and I use a plastic food/noodles strainer to sift out the big pieces. Then I use the big pieces that I sifted out to mix with bagged potting soil to stretch it further, or I add some Perlite to it & use it to plant bareroot strawberries or something
@@HarmonyHillsHomeandGarden Another thing I have done- to save time & money- is fill the bottom up with unsifted mix and then the top with sifted mix. Because The roots will not have a problem making their way down through the The roots will not have a problem making their way down through the larger pieces, the issue is with the seed possibly having a hard time pushing up past the larger pieces, and/or continuously being covered up with the larger pieces when watering...
Yes, I do have a reveal video from 2021 Winter Sowing: czcams.com/video/d4gQ6ShM7Vo/video.html. Note: both this link and the video that you've commented on here are from 2021 - last year's season. I'll be posting about this year's Winter Sowing shortly!
Great video , thank you. How did the dollar store containers work for you ? I just think that is a great idea and I am going to try it this season ( 2021 )..
I’ve been melting holes in my plastic containers. Seeing you struggle to pierce the flimsy plastic reminded me of my struggle so I thought I’d share. lol I’m planning to do some winter sowing too this year so good luck to both of us! Cheers.
lol - yeah, it was a bit of a thing to get those holes in my plastic. But, it's done now. :-) Welcome to the channel! Good luck with your gardening projects. :-)
I bought that miracle grow potting soil.. big chunks in it.. i didnt like it.. then i bought the big blue bag of regular miracle grow was way better! And cheaper
I NEVER tell people to do anything! I always say there are a hundred and one ways to do something, and everyone should find the way that works for them! I show what I'm doing, and tell you whether it worked or not. And I almost always ask viewers to share their methods or ideas in the comment section so we can all learn from each other. :-)
Hi Sheryl, for the winter sowing method, the seeds won't germinate until the weather warms up. For me, that is likely to be mid to late March or so, maybe even later depending on the weather and the type of seed. 🪴👍🏻❤️
I disagree that you can use a seed starting mix like Jiffy without any plant food. The seeds only last for so long on what is in the seeds. Then they will need fertilizer. I use a regular potting mix with nutrients - either organic with compost, or like your Miracle Grow with the plant food.
i don't understand why people make this so complicated. all you have to do is put the seeds in the same pot you'd put it in any other time and cover with clear/opaque plastic. put outside. this works in zone 8. my onions, calendula, nettle, rudbeckia, and several greens germinated in weather with nights in the 20s/30s.
Thanks for the suggestions. I'm not an expert, by any means, but I think it might be preferable to have some "headroom" that the container provides, so the seedlings have room to grow a bit taller in a protected environment, as if they were in a cold frame. Finding a way to keep a plastic cover with a hole for allowing rain in on a regular pot would also be a challenge. So, I think that's the reasoning behind finding clear containers. At least that's my understanding.
@@HarmonyHillsHomeandGarden i just purchased the kind of plastic sheeting you'd buy if you were painting. it's opaque. i tuck it under the tray, but leave it loose. i remove the covering to water during the day, cover it at the end of the day. some seeds i put in a raised bed, where i've created a tent, and put the plastic over it. everything germinated. i planted cold-hardy greens, onion seeds, chives, green onions, nettle, echinacea, cilantro, etc. i actually saw a swedish gardener put some seeds out during winter in her bed too. basically not a lot else.
I have some aggressive squirrels in my area, I don’t think film thats slightly thinker than plastic wrap would deter them. I plan to give this a go with my shoe containers.
@@kreativelykinya yeah, i've got squirrels too. don't know if they're aggressive, but we do live together pretty peacefully. the plastic sheeting is a lot thicker than plastic wrap though. i doubt a squirrel would take the time to untuck it from the beneath the tray, etc. but if you think you gotta do all of that, knock yourself out.
orange moon glows I think it’s great that people find all different ways to make their gardens their own. 😊 I don’t have any area where raised beds fit, so my plan works for me. Good to know other methods work too!
You could look it up, the Johnny’s Seed website has a lot of info on lots of different seeds, for example. Or google. To be safe, I just put ALL my seeds in the fridge! Might not be the right answer but it’s what I did.
Good job using the dollar tree containers for this project. A few friendly tips for success: I think I would have put the one with the red lid upside down & removed the label, so the seeds/seedlings get full 🌞. I suggest putting these on the south facing side of your house, unless you have evergreen shrubs or other things in the way. They'll enjoy the warmth from the sun reflecting on the house, and should help with wind as well. I definitely wouldn't put them on an elevated table. The ground is actually warmer, even with snow, because cold air will blow underneath the table, making it colder. It's the same principle as bridges & overpasses freezing over & being more slippery. Wishing you great success!
Happy gardening!
HI Debbie, thanks for visiting and for your comments. The south side of our house is actually shaded due to tall trees, the center of the back yard is the only full sun we have (other than the center of our front yard!). Good thought on putting them on the ground, though, maybe I'll look for a spot for them to be in the sun on the ground. :-)
@@HarmonyHillsHomeandGarden and a year later our winter is really warm and I’m looking for shade. Z5a WI.
Hi Jenny
I have tried winter sowing for the first time myself this year and I’m so excited 😆 looking forward to watching yours grow 🥰
Awesome! Good luck with yours! Check back and let me know how it goes!
Absolutely great video...Lots of information...Love to see a follow up video of the plants in those containers outside
Will do!
I did the jiffy tray also, but I go outside and use a wood burner to melt all my holes. I find it much easier than using a drill or other tools.
Smart!!!! :-)
We use all jugs but what a great idea with the shoe boxes. :) Thank you.
Glad it was helpful!
Enjoyed your video. Everyone who knows me, knows to save their gallon jugs for me 😁. They work so well.
👍🏻🤣 That's awesome!!!!
Thanks for sharing, looking forward to an update on your sprouts in the spring!
You bet!
I really enjoyed this video. I have lots of those plastic “shoe” bins that I’ve emptied out and were planning to donate until I saw another container gardener in India share his method for sowing lots of seeds in broad yet shallow-ish containers, more like round dish pans, and I decided to hold onto them for that purpose. I need to get on the ball. I’m in NOVA and spring will be here before we know it!
And Miracle Gro dirt is funny to me. I have a bag of both potting mix and cactus mix and I swear they are the exact same. When I gathered gardening supplies in January from the dollar tree, I did pick up two of their bags of seed starting mix. My plan was to mix it with my leftover bag of potting mix (I used 1/2 of it to transplant some of my indoor plants that had outgrown their nursery pots) to make it fluffier. I also bought a bag of perlite and some coco coir off of Amazon as more soil amendments for when I transplant to their actual grow containers.
Yeah, I’m not convinced that all these products are very different. For example the labels of Holly-Tone and Azalea-To e are identical but the Azalea-Tone costs more. Good luck with your gardening! 🪴
Hi Jenny , I just found you and you have explained this process very well. Like you I’ve watched so many videos and it can be confusing. This is my first year winter sowing due to my poor success rate getting poppies to grow for me by sowing straight in the ground 🤨 I look forward to watching yours grow and following your channel. thank you😃
HI Linda, welcome! Good luck with your winter sowing!
What a great idea using shoe containers! Thanks!😃
Really hoping it works. So far, the containers are staying nice and moist inside, so that's good. :-)
@@HarmonyHillsHomeandGarden The problem with pure clear plastic is that it becomes very brittle in the weather. Most likely getting only one Season use. If you move it, or bump it- maybe even less. Now on a Pop Bottle or Drink Jug who cares? It was headed for the trash anyway. But, if you pay a couple bucks and put some work into it- you hate to see it fall apart.
@@DragonflyArtz1 So far so good, we haven't had all that much cold weather and the containers seem to be doing pretty well. My family doesn't use milk or juice on the regular, so we didn't have those containers available like other people might. So the shoe boxes were actually cheaper for me than buying milk that we don't drink.
@@HarmonyHillsHomeandGarden Good. Just wanted to put that out there. Some plastics become very brittle. Mostly the pure clear. The Milk Jugs only last 2-3 seasons anyway. For those of us trying to do a lot "on the cheap" it's just good to know. And we don't want to add to plastic waste- we want to reduce it. Just putting that out there.
Love ALL those plants!
Watched replay and I would love to see an update on your Winter sowing!!! I love the info. I am someone who doesn't have enough space indoors to start ALL the many seeds, I want to start. 😀
I'll definitely be doing a video when I unpack all the containers. I've put snippets of updates into other videos, which you might want to check out. Basically, some have lots of tiny sprouts, others don't yet! but in a few weeks I'll do an update video. Thanks for watching!
Great info Jenny! Best of luck with it.
Thanks so much! Hope to see you again. :-)
If you heat that kabob stick up on your gas stove top it will burn nice clean holes thru the plastic without breaking the lid.
Good idea!
Your doing a fabulous job! I’ve never winter sewed before & I will certainly try it after watching you. I bought a cheap soldering iron at Walmart & most of the time it really helps me with making holes. Just about $15. And worth it. Just a suggestion it’s worth the money. Love what you did. & keep up the good work. Very informative!!! 33:56
Thank you!
Thanks for the tips!!!
You bet!
I’ve never tried this method before. Im very interesting in trying this out.
Go for it!
Use black binder clips to keep the shoeboxes together
Great idea!
I've heard that if you spritz with camomile tea as moisture on top it is good to keep from damping off etc
I grew English Daisies last year and had good luck with them. I had a good crop and was able to fill a fairly large terracotta pot with them. They had beautiful miniature flowers on them throughout the Summer. As we approached Fall, I transplanted them into the ground. I can't wait to see them in the Spring. (I just hope they are not invasive, but everything I read about them didn't indicate that they are.) I like the idea with the vermiculite. I have some, so I will give that a try this year when I do my winter sowing. I was going to skip winter sowing this year, but you inspired me to try it again!! PS--I am going to pass on the Forget-me-knots this year as I read recently that they can be invasive, returning year after year!!
I think I'm going to wait until Jan or Feb to do my winter sowing. Not sure what I'll do this year, but it will be fun, no matter what!
@@HarmonyHillsHomeandGarden I must have watched last year's video!!
Yea I never get Miracle products anymore. They're seed startiing mix always has those large piece in it. I but bags of peat moss, coco coir, Vermiculite & Perlite, & mix my own now.
That's probably a good way to go next year if I really get going on doing a lot of seeds.
@@HarmonyHillsHomeandGarden I buy the 3 cubic foot bag of peat moss and I use a plastic food/noodles strainer to sift out the big pieces. Then I use the big pieces that I sifted out to mix with bagged potting soil to stretch it further, or I add some Perlite to it & use it to plant bareroot strawberries or something
@@HarmonyHillsHomeandGarden Another thing I have done- to save time & money- is fill the bottom up with unsifted mix and then the top with sifted mix. Because The roots will not have a problem making their way down through the The roots will not have a problem making their way down through the larger pieces, the issue is with the seed possibly having a hard time pushing up past the larger pieces, and/or continuously being covered up with the larger pieces when watering...
@@ElderandOakFarm smart!
Miracle-Gro is owned by Monsanto.
When will people stop promoting it?
Hi! I thought I’d drop by and say hello! I am winter sowing some of the same seeds.
The Vintage Gardener- NJ I just spent some time (and subscribed) on your channel. We have similar conditions so will be interesting to compare!
Please do a video on the outcome. Good or bad, it will be a helpful learning experience. Thank you.
Yes, I do have a reveal video from 2021 Winter Sowing: czcams.com/video/d4gQ6ShM7Vo/video.html. Note: both this link and the video that you've commented on here are from 2021 - last year's season. I'll be posting about this year's Winter Sowing shortly!
Great video , thank you. How did the dollar store containers work for you ? I just think that is a great idea and I am going to try it this season ( 2021 )..
They worked great! Give it a try!
Thank you very nice video
Thank you Angela! Hope you'll visit again!
I’ve been melting holes in my plastic containers. Seeing you struggle to pierce the flimsy plastic reminded me of my struggle so I thought I’d share. lol
I’m planning to do some winter sowing too this year so good luck to both of us! Cheers.
lol - yeah, it was a bit of a thing to get those holes in my plastic. But, it's done now. :-) Welcome to the channel! Good luck with your gardening projects. :-)
I bought that miracle grow potting soil.. big chunks in it.. i didnt like it.. then i bought the big blue bag of regular miracle grow was way better! And cheaper
good to know!
Hi, I was wondering where you found the green tray you are using to pot up your seeds.Thank you!
Hi Christine, I got it from Amazon. I love it! There’s a link to it in the description of the video. 😄
Came from leadfarmer73, nice video.
Thanks for coming, hope to see you again! Alaska - now THAT's a different climate than mine!!!! Would love to hear about your garden adventures.
@@HarmonyHillsHomeandGarden every Wednesday and Sunday I upload👍🏾
Do you tell people to do it exactly like you do it? The reason I ask is some people don't have the money to spend.
I NEVER tell people to do anything! I always say there are a hundred and one ways to do something, and everyone should find the way that works for them! I show what I'm doing, and tell you whether it worked or not. And I almost always ask viewers to share their methods or ideas in the comment section so we can all learn from each other. :-)
how did you close those shoe boxes? twisty ties?
Hi Denise, I used a short piece of craft wire but twist ties or zip ties would work too!
Thank you great idea I tried doing it your way. I think the plant head space will help me a lot
@@denisea3036 Good luck!
About how long does it take for the seeds to pop through
Hi Sheryl, for the winter sowing method, the seeds won't germinate until the weather warms up. For me, that is likely to be mid to late March or so, maybe even later depending on the weather and the type of seed. 🪴👍🏻❤️
I disagree that you can use a seed starting mix like Jiffy without any plant food. The seeds only last for so long on what is in the seeds. Then they will need fertilizer. I use a regular potting mix with nutrients - either organic with compost, or like your Miracle Grow with the plant food.
Yes, you'll need to add fertilizer after the true leaves emerge, but before that, no fertilizer needed.
I wonder if you bungee the that would help?
That might be a good idea especially for folks who have really high winds! So far, no problems here. 😁
👌🏼
i don't understand why people make this so complicated. all you have to do is put the seeds in the same pot you'd put it in any other time and cover with clear/opaque plastic. put outside. this works in zone 8. my onions, calendula, nettle, rudbeckia, and several greens germinated in weather with nights in the 20s/30s.
Thanks for the suggestions. I'm not an expert, by any means, but I think it might be preferable to have some "headroom" that the container provides, so the seedlings have room to grow a bit taller in a protected environment, as if they were in a cold frame. Finding a way to keep a plastic cover with a hole for allowing rain in on a regular pot would also be a challenge. So, I think that's the reasoning behind finding clear containers. At least that's my understanding.
@@HarmonyHillsHomeandGarden i just purchased the kind of plastic sheeting you'd buy if you were painting. it's opaque. i tuck it under the tray, but leave it loose. i remove the covering to water during the day, cover it at the end of the day. some seeds i put in a raised bed, where i've created a tent, and put the plastic over it. everything germinated. i planted cold-hardy greens, onion seeds, chives, green onions, nettle, echinacea, cilantro, etc. i actually saw a swedish gardener put some seeds out during winter in her bed too. basically not a lot else.
I have some aggressive squirrels in my area, I don’t think film thats slightly thinker than plastic wrap would deter them. I plan to give this a go with my shoe containers.
@@kreativelykinya yeah, i've got squirrels too. don't know if they're aggressive, but we do live together pretty peacefully. the plastic sheeting is a lot thicker than plastic wrap though. i doubt a squirrel would take the time to untuck it from the beneath the tray, etc. but if you think you gotta do all of that, knock yourself out.
orange moon glows I think it’s great that people find all different ways to make their gardens their own. 😊 I don’t have any area where raised beds fit, so my plan works for me. Good to know other methods work too!
The quality of the seed is likely more of an issue than anything else.
I think you're probably right.
How do you know what seeds need to go in the refrigerator?
You could look it up, the Johnny’s Seed website has a lot of info on lots of different seeds, for example. Or google. To be safe, I just put ALL my seeds in the fridge! Might not be the right answer but it’s what I did.
Thank you! In the refrigerator they go.
My tub sowing isn’t as successful as my Winter Sown milk jugs. Plus milk jugs are free. 😆
Here’s hoping! 🤞🏻
hot glue gun for making holes
great tip, thanks!
The laptop on the oven....
hahaha - it had my seed list on it, to check what I was supposed to be planting. :-)