Hi Danielle,
Welcome to the WS forum. It's wonderful that you are checking this out.

Petunia and Snapdragon are only a few seeds among hundreds that we Winter Sow.

Have you read the Winter Sowing FAQ yet? Please check it out. It gives you all the details on how to do it.
Then come back here if you have any more questions.

This is the easiest way to sow seeds. We just sow them in good potting soil in a mini-greenhouse complete with drainage in the bottom and ventilation at the top then set the whole thing outdoors in the rain and snow.

This is my Winter Sown petunia:
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Found the site...I am so excited over winter sowing vs indoor with lights and all necessaries for that.

I have a question about containers and tops...

What about cheap aluminum baking containers found at the dollar stores, will those work?

What type of lid would I put on it..plastic wrap? or large clear plastic bags (used to put in small/medium trash cans)? Of course, with the proper ventilation.

Thank you,
Danielle

Danielle, Welcome.....winter sowing REALLY WORKS!! You can use almost anything in WSing for containers and plastic covering choices (as long as the clear covers are vented and the containers have drainage). BUT you must remember in Zone 7 the rules are slightly different because we have the warm, then cold, then warm, then cold weather (and sometimes downright hard winter freezing days and then hot summer days) all winter. We don't have the freeze that starts at the beginning of winter, with most things staying frozen until spring thaw. So you will definitely want to make it easy on yourself by using containers that hold a depth of at least 3 1/2 to 4 inches of good soil. Anything less will dry out and keep you busy checking and watering it all winter (not to mention the nightmare of how much watering you will have to do when the seeds germinate)! Take a look through the posts from last fall and winter and see what containers everyone was using and really liking. Best of luck, and you will love winter sowing.

Meant to leave a picture.

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My favorite containers for WSowing petunia are those 6 - 4" pot baskets that Geranium or plants come in:

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Upside down pastry/cake containers:
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I use paper pots for tiny seeds such as Lobelia, DahlbergÂs Daisy:
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What about Snapdragons in NC when do you sow those? If Petunias are sown in late March when do they start blooming for you?

I guess my only questions now are trying to figure out when to sow particular seeds. I am still trying to figure out what seeds I will try to WS. I will probably go crazy with buying seeds online :)

Thank you,
Danielle

also check out Wintersown.org, where there is an additinal wealth of information on the method. There's a database over there somewhere, too, with good information on what and when people in your zone sowed.

Stick around. You'll be one of many newbies who will have the same types of questions as the WS season gets going. You're just in time!

Seed addiction is a totally different topic and we could go pages on that, too- LOL!

Don't go buy seeds unless you absolutely want to.
Check out WS Exchange and the Seed Exchange. Watch for seed offers for SASBE.
Contact the poster and follow his/her instruction. You'll get tons of seeds for the cost of postage and a bubble envelope.

Bakemom always offers newbie packs too. Watch for her offer.
Fall is approaching. Pretty soon there'll be plenty of seed offers on the forum.

I am new to winter sowing also. I am in pa z-6, when do I start my seeds? I will be using a 3'x5' cold frame.

Denise

Akkk. what happened to my photos?!
Here they are again:
Upside down cake containers:
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Paper pots:
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antiqueorchid,
I have no experience with mini-greenhouse.
Does yours have drainage and ventilation like our recycled containers? If not, youÂll get different results from what we get the TrudiÂs way.
We normally start sowing on December 21 Â at least in our colder zones.

Did you do a search ?

Hi, Antiqueorchid! We were in the iris swap together. There are a few people who wintersow inside unheated greenhouses or coldframes, it's really just one big container to them. Will you still have tops (not screwcaps, but a top like from a cut-apart milk jug) on containers? Seeing condensation on that tells us that the soil has good moisture. If you will just use pots in the coldframe, you'll have to gauge the moisture level some other way--perhaps just seeing moisture on the coldframe lid will be the same indicator.

Regarding when to sow, there are a very few seeds that need warm-cold-warm, and now is the time to sow them. Then we start with regular perennials in true winter all the way to May--some seeds need more cold stratification, and should be sown before May. People do have success sowing annuals anytime, but some of us have them sprout in a warm spell and then die in a frost, therefore many people wait to sow tender annuals until a few weeks before their last frost, or even after it, since those plants usually like it warm. Same thing for legumes--they are more likely to rot in cold and wet, so doing them later is a safer bet.

I hope that info helped! Please be sure to ask for clarification, or any other questions you may have. It can take a long time to sort though search results, but you can get answers pretty fast if you post them.

Hi: Another newbee, I think I have W S figuared out, one question (for now) I have been getting 3 1/2 gallon cooking oil contaners, there like larg milk juges. I wash them with dish washing liquid, it seems to get the oil out but the inside sides are sticky do you think this will hurt anything.

Hi hammer, I use those 5 gallon oil containers. I cut them in half lengthwise to double the number of containers and line them with one layer of newspaper. I don't think the oil would hurt the plants, but it's sure not pleasant to work with! Just be sure the drainage holes are cut thru the paper as well as the plastic.

Dear addict, I sowed petunias in March with blooms in late April. They really got going around mid May. I was only a couple weeks behind those that purchased plants already in bloom, and the wintersown petunias are the strongest plants ever. I pinched mine on May 3 this year, right after the first blooms formed.

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