Thanks, I'm going to try them today. I really don't need to do a lot. I only have about 15 containers and plenty of seed, so it's not like I'm wasting a lot. I was just wondering what to expect. Thanks, good luck to you too! It is hard to fit things into the schedule sometimes!

I'm also dealing with limited access to my yard-snowthrower quit after the big storm & it took 3 weeks to get a new one so even the car didn't move for 3 weeks! I want to start a few things this week & hopefully I'll be able to tuck the jugs into thawed areas. My experience w/WS is that sometimes they seem to grow more slowly than those under lights, but catch up quickly when they "hit the dirt"

@plays in the dirt - I agree there about the plants sure catch up. Last year I did my peppers and tomatoes via winter sowing and they were small plants when planted out but they were my best plants that I ever grew. It is so much better to sow the type of plants you want to have for yourself and family. I do not think I want to spend much time amongst the crowds when the weather permits us to plant out plus the variety of tomatoes they carry are limited. I have no fancy lights or sunlight in my home so this is the only way I can get the varieties i want to try. My problem is wanting to try to sow too many things and not having the time to work on the seed planting. We have had unseasonable warm temps the last week and most of my snow has melted in the yard now except for that awful shady spot.

I got mine done and they've been out for at least a couple of weeks, I guess... Only had 17 empty containers to use and settled for that. I just bought some seed starter mix today and I'm going to start a lot under lights. I set up in the basement with just two flourescent lights hanging off a metal shelf unit. I use the shelfs for storage until I use them for starting seeds, then everything gets moved off those shelves for about a month. I bought the LED light bulbs and I take the standing oscillating fan that's stored down there in the winter and set that up and I'm all set. Of course, with winter sowing you don't even have to harden them off which is a nice plus. I might try collecting more containers for next year and try to do a little more.

Seeds are so tempting to sow too many. lol

Finding the containers is the worst part. I ask family members save them for me in the fall and spring. My husband and I do not drink milk that much so I rely on the families with children. lol! I have resorted to using the clear bottles from ice tea and lemonade if they have a flat bottom but they are thicker and I cut my finger resulting in 7 stitches a few weeks ago. I was very upset with myself. I will continue to sow this spring until I run out of time. haha!! It really has been one of the best thing I have learned here on gardenweb.

Patti, OMGosh...7 stitches?!! ☹️ What were you using to cut the containers with? I've been using small scissors that give me enough flexibility to make corners and curves. I use an electric drill to put holes in the bottom and I put a hole in the side where I am going to cut the flap to give me a start. SO sorry you had to go and get stitches!! That really puts a crimp in your gardening time, I'd guess. I can imagine how you feel, we got a new chef's knife for Christmas last year and I cut myself with it. Thankfully, I didn't need stitches but it's unpleasant. I felt a little dumb, but....I went back to using it and use it exclusively now and haven't cut myself again. [g]

We don't drink much milk either and when I do I buy it in the cardboard containers rather than plastic. I do use a lot of white vinegar for cleaning and I buy it in large bottles, you can see the large size in the photo. Of course, we don't use that many bottles. That was the first time I used those and they were easier to cut than I expected, since they are thicker plastic than milk jugs. The labels came off easy with a hair dryer. I just cut a flap in the side. My husband used to bring home empty ice tea containers from the office, but we're working from home this year.

I agree that Winter Sowing is one of the best things I've learned on GW too. I hope you heal fast, so you can get your hands in the dirt soon!

@prairiemoon2 z6b MA - I was using a razor knife. I did feel awful dumb that I had to go to get stitches but the nurse was very intrigued with the winter sowing idea and could not wait to tell her mom about it. lol! I guess that was the good thing that day. I was able to share about it.

I bought myself a new lightweight drill with my xmas gift card from my boss and it is a dream. My husband's drill was just so heavy I could not use it for long. I use vinegar and sometimes ammonia for cleaning as well so I do use those bottles also. I like the water gallon containers the best. They are thin and there is not a spot that is indented. My daughter had a baby so she is done nursing so she uses bottled water for the formula. Have a great afternoon!!

Well, you certainly turned an unpleasant experience into a good deed for the nurse who learned about winter sowing! [g] Sounds like you are all set with bottles of water from your daughter and family saving you containers and now a new drill. Hope you'll post your containers when they start germinating. And congratulations on being a grandma!

patti-OUCH! But it happens to everyone. I took a sculpture class years ago-the 1st class our instructor pointed out the damage to be done to one's body by each dangerous tool! Did I hurt myself with the cutting torch, band saw, power chisels, or molten metal? NAH! I ended up @ the ER from trying to sever my thumb with the totally average X-Acto knife! I've always had more seeds than containers too-I'll never forget passing an open recycle bin with a pile of clean gallon water jugs on top-about 20 of them & even tied together. You've never seen a car stop so quickly & a trunk lid open! Not sure if this is technically OK, but I DID recycle them come summer! Around here people "curb" lots of stuff the night before garbage collection. There are "scrappers" that collect metal objects left out & sold to the scrap yard. Stuff stays out of the landfill & someone makes a buck or 2-win/win! My best score was a plastic composter left out in front of a house being flipped. I just wish it would have fit in the car-that was a long 1/2 mile walk dragging it home! Anyway, water jugs are my favorites but I did a lot of 2 L soda bottles when we had a lot. The "lid" will fit down in if you cut at the right part of the curve. If they have the little "feet" on the bottom it's really easy to snip the ends off for drainage. The only tough part is that a lot of the bottles have nice curvy shapes that make it tougher to remove the seedlings than the more generic brands with nice straight walls. For cutting jugs I've taken over an old pair of kitchen shears-nice & heavy, strong blades, no longer good enough for kitchen work but fine for in the shed! Another tool I've used, mostly when I was starting small plantings in standard yogurt cups was an old soldering iron-makes great drainage holes with no effort, BUT I was using it in an outdoor shed with the doors open. I don't think you want to be breathing melty plastic indoors!