Welcome to wintersowing.

What you describes sounds like a coldframe. Since you flat would be covered (I assume) I don't know why you would want yet another "roof" over them with plastic? They'll be frozen all winter one way or the other.

It won't always be winter. In a few months those have to be opened to the air, and a flat would dry out awfully fast. I know some have used flats but it's not something I'd do. Most folks who have been at this for a few years find that a larger volume of soil is preferable, like 3" depth. Milk jugs or 2 liters work well.

Karen

My husband is building me a cold frame out of PVC pipe and fittings. I will then cover the whole thing in heavy plastic, with holes cut into it. As the weather warms, I will add more holes and eventually take the whole cover off.

I am planting in kitty litter boxes, with drain holes cut out in the bottom and separated my seed by using TP rolls. I know that the way I am doing this might require a bit more attention, like they will dry out a little faster, but this is the easiest way for me to handle it when it's time to plant out everything. I just need to keep a careful eye on it.

I also have 4 window boxes that I will grow seeds in under the cold frame. I won't even have to transplant those... how easy can this get?

Well, no, I meant uncovered flats under the "cold frame". I didnt think of them drying out quicker though. My problem is containers. I only use about 1 gallon of milk here a month, so, 2 1/2 gallon containers... we dont use 2 litres of pop... the only clear container I could have enough of are 20oz pop bottles, they would work, right? Can you use opaque containers, ie. margarine, cottage chesse, etc, and just cover them with saran wrap taped on?

I buy 0 gallon jugs of milk a month. We buy one 1/2 gallon/wk. Half gallons do work, just like 2 liters, I just prefer gallon size for wintersowing. I literally beg, borrow, and steal them, but I always get them. They just give me the best results. I collect from friends and neighbors, co-workers, steal from recycle bins. Don't be shy.

Some folks do like 20 oz. though seems to me they'd be hard to work with. Margarine and cottage cheese containers covered with plastic do work. A favored method seems to be to cut out the center of the cottage cheese lid, leaving about a 1" rim, cover with transparent plastic sheet (drop cloth or saran wrap), then snap on the cut-out container lid.

I've tried other containers, some worked with poor results. Most were more hassle than they were worth. I'm prejudiced, it's true. But tried and true works for me.

Karen

Angela, another thought - how deep are your flats? Those I have are too shallow for winter sowing, just a couple of inches and meant more for seedlings that will be pricked out and potted up a size right away.

Can you alert friends/co-workers who drink milk to begin saving containers? It's kind a pain, but that's what friends do :) Instead of putting directly into my recycle can, I save pop cans for one neighbor to take to the animal rescue, another neighbor who bakes LOTS gives me all her egg cartons for my sis who has chickens. Or ask at one of your local Starbucks/coffee shops, they use gal milk containers by the dozens per day and will often just let you take them.

Do you have a Dollar Store/Dollar Tree close? You can often find tall clear cold drink cups cheaply there.

Clear drink cups I do have! Didn't even think of those. I'm sure I can be creative enough to find containers, I have over a month before I would even start sowing! I'm excited over this! I love planting from seeds but have so little room in my house for pots and flats of seedlings inside. Winter sowing opens a whole new world for me!

Don't forget freecycle.org. You can ask for any kind of container there and chances are you'll find someone who can supply you. I've gotten milk jugs from there in a pinch, when I didn't save enough last year. I also got a few people to save newspapers for me for a few weeks for a project, so people will volunteer to save things for you if they don't have them on hand already.

Good luck!

:)
Dee

If you use a covered cold frame, you don't need to cover the flats. You can use any opaque containers, as long as sun gets to the top... no problem.

I know mine will dry out quicker because I use toilet paper rolls. The top of the tp roll is going to wick the water away. I have them completely buried in soil to help prevent it, but it isn't a guarantee.

Angela, you must have something called FreeCycle in your city/town - it's worldwide now. It's a network on which people offer unwanted things to others 'free', and others request things they will accept 'free'. I made a request when I first started winter sowing for 2-litre pop bottles, because we don't drink pop and the response was overwhelming. It costs nothing to sign up. Just google 'FreeCycle' to find the one in your area.
Northerner