It's Seed Buying Time/Winter Sowing

Welcome back to my blog.  I hope you participated in The Great Backyard Bird count and enjoyed it with your family.  In future posts I will share my results and some photos.

The brutal winter weather continues.  We now have 2 to 3 feet of snow on the ground and the bitter temperatures and wind chills won't seem to relent.  This next photo shows that even the normally hardy wildlife is having trouble finding food:

Rabbit Under the Bird Feeder

In this post I will turn my focus back to gardening.  In my post on December 31st (http://dansgardening.blogspot.com/2014/12/happy-new-yeara-first-look-at-2015-seed.html), I wrote about the various seed catalogs that I have received thus far.  It will give you a lot of possible sources for seeds and supplies.  Seed catalogs are also a great source of information, as they contain particulars about growing different vegetables, and which varieties are best for particular regions of the country.

Since all of the seed companies shown in my post have websites, you will be easily able to order as you wish.  Most companies will also allow you to order a hard copy of the catalog.  If you have leftover seeds from previous seasons, that post also explains how to decide which seeds to keep, and which to throw away based on age.

I also dedicated a post (http://dansgardening.blogspot.com/2015/01/talking-heirloom-vegetablestomatoes-and.html) to heirloom vegetables, including a background on them, how and why they became popular, and many sources to purchase the seeds.  It also includes a guide as to which varieties to grow.

Based on the seeds I had left from last season and the vegetables I plan on growing this year, I recently purchased seeds.  I usually purchase seeds locally to save money, except for some special varieties that are only available in the catalogs such as certain heirlooms.  These days even the heirlooms are becoming more readily available in the retail stores.

My Seed and Catalog Collection

Is It Time To Start Seeds Outdoors?  The Answer is Yes!


Believe it or not, it is possible to plant seeds in containers now, place outdoors in the snow, and they will germinate in the Spring.

The technique is winter sowing.  I wrote a post about it last winter:  http://dansgardening.blogspot.com/2014/02/winter-sowing.html.

The best results will be with cold hardy, short season vegetables such as lettuce, spinach, onions, leeks, and radishes.  Tomatoes and peppers will also germinate, but will be delayed compared to those started indoors and will mature much later.  The nice thing is that seeds sown this way require absolutely no care once planted until they germinate.

The technique is simple, start with a one gallon milk or water jug that is clean.  Cut the jug in half except to leave one area to act as a hinge,  Drain holes should be drilled in the bottom also.

Fill the container with a good seed starting mix or potting soil and wet thoroughly.  The excess water will drain via the drain holes.  Never use your garden soil for starting plants since the microorganisms (bacteria, fungus, mold) can hamper the germination process and even kill seedlings.

Plant the seeds and cover with the appropriate amount of soil as per directions on the seed packet. Water again lightly.  I use a spray bottle for this since a mist doesn't disturb the seeds during the watering process.

The final step is to seal the containers with duct tape and place outside.   That's right, place them out in the snow with caps removed.

In addition to the Baby Romaine Lettuce shown above, I planted Easter Egg Blend radishes, Italian kale, Dwarf Blue Scotch Curly kale, and White Lisbon onions (scallions).

In future posts I will follow the progress of the winter sowing.  The way this winter is going, the seeds won't be germinating any time soon.

Until next time.