Anything can handle two feet of snow. Snow is good, it's an insulator from wind and rapid chills. Once in a blue moon you might get a lid cave in, but no big deal, just pop the lid back into shape :-)

Hmmm, containers larger than a milk jug? I love the cheezy poofs tubs from BJs, I also buy mesclun and baby spinach in large containers too.

I love pastry containers. I turn them upside down.
{{gwi:52308}}

Nothing supports snow for me as well as a milk jug or 2 liter pop bottle. That's all I use now. Why do you need bigger than a gallon jug?

Karen

Hmmmm. Good suggestions! I'm going to start asking for contain 'donations' around Dec, or after we get moved into our house.

Karen, I'm looking for larger containers because I'd rather do fewer large containers for things that I want a lot of (like daisies, coneflowers, gallardia, etc)and save my milk jugs for everything else.

I might be able to do a sort of hoop house as well....can I use flats with cells in one of those? or do they dry out way too fast?

I used the big clear plastic Totes from the dollar store once. If you could find ones with clear lids would be nice. I just tied some thick plastic over the top. I read once that someone (thought it was Trudi) mentioned a kiddie swimming pool. If you could rig something up across the top of it to hold the plastic up that would be a nice big container.
Glenna

Our local dollar tree stores have huge clear drop cloths for $1.00. Maybe fold them and use duct tape or tie it with twine.

Hit the neighborhood recycle bins for milk jugs the night before recycle pick up day! What about kitty litter tubs? Somebody bought a bunch to give away at the May plant swap that I attended. They were snatched up in a flash! I see a lot of people that have a lot of garden space to fill using them on this website.

When is your new house expected to be completed? You'll have a lot to do just packing, why not wait till you get moved in and settled in good, then start your WS project? Makes more sense to me! How far will you be moving from where you live now?

If you get milk jugs that have been setting for a while with milk residue, there is a definate odor. Maybe hot water with baking soda or bleach will help get rid of that sour milk odor. I rinse my jugs out when they are emptied with hot water and baking soda(a few tablespoons)and turn them upside to dry in the dish rack or even on a few paper towels that are folded double over. After they are dry inside, I will put a dryer sheet inside them, then put them in the garage in my milk crates. I only have about 8 more to go to meet my goal for 2011.

Milk jugs also come in handy when mixing up liquid plant food. I have that gal. jug marked on the outside so it can't get used for anything else or thrown out by dear hubby.

I need to buy a funnel that I can use just for gardening purposes only. Maybe I'll be able to find one at a thrift store that is metal.

We're planning on being moved in by the end of this year. We're only moving about 6 miles, so it's not like we have to get everything in one trip. We'll probably spend a week or even 2 getting everything transferred. I'm not planning on starting sowing until Jan or Feb simply b/c winter lasts until mid April here.

I may end up just using milk jugs (we have a deposit on 2L pop bottles here) and possibly the ice cream buckets and butter containers from work simply b/c they are easy to get my hands on.

I like to use the Tidy Cats jugs, the clear ones. They're thick and sturdy. It's what the clumping litter comes in. I use them for my daylily seeds and other larger plant seeds. Milk jugs for everything else.

Karen

Had a horrible growing season this year and didn't winter sow anything. I am seeing the benefits of it now. In Nov.2008-Feb. 2009 I did alot of winter sowing in milk jugs, and pop bottles and ended up with ALOT more healthy plants,in fact I ran out of space for them all! lol Okay so I'm starting to hunt and gather containers. I love the idea of using pastry containers... will be listening for hints from all of you that have done this many times and keeping my eyes open in the market for other potential containers! I live in Northern Calif. and my Dad said to get ready for a very cold winter. It is only the end of Aug. and the acorns and leaves have been falling for about a month, very strange. My Dad has lived up her for almost 20 years so he knows what to look for in the weather patterns.
Cindy

I love the square really thick clear plastic containers that our local BJ's warehouse uses for baked goods (cookies). Not so good for my waistline though to be buying those all the time!!! So I asked the secratary at my office who sets up for meetings to start saving me the containers from cookies she buys for the meetings. Try to think of anyone you know that works in a large office setting. There always seems to be cookies or some baked goods at meetings.

My favorite other then a milk jug is a kitty litter plastic container. They did great under all the snow we had and we had record snow. About to replant some spinach in them cause they also are great for keeping little hens out of them.
ML

I have used 2.5 gallon water jugs, cut in half. Also have used the large mesclun salad boxes. My favorite container after 3 years of WSing is the good old 2 ltr bottle though - they are deeper and allow for good drainage, also easy to reuse.

Glad, check out the seed exchange if you need more seeds, there are round robins and seed offers for the cost of postage. How exciting you get to start big new gardens!

I really like the big, underbed storage containers.You can sow a lot in each one, I used them for my milk weed seeds.
I will use them again and again.
If you go to thr fabric store, you can buy big clear pieces of plastic, used for table cloths,a yard goes a long way.I cut to size,and tape on.Workes like a charm.
cAROL