Winter sowing is an activity that is semi-new to me; however, I have previously winter sowed wildflowers and that worked out wonderfully. I planted my wildflowers that I sowed in winter of 2023 around my garden and it has lead to a beautiful view and aided in pollination.

Full disclosure, I have been playing a lot of Sims 4 lately (classic disassociation from this 2025 hellscape) and this chore is running a bit behind. Ideally you are able to start your winter sowing in January or early-February, but hey, late-February will work out just fine I bet.

What is Winter sowing?

Winter sowing is when you create an unheated “greenhouse effect” during the winter time and let your seeds naturally germinate in your greenhouse in the spring based on temperatures increasing.

This greenhouse effect can be made with something as simple as a clean milk jug, spinach container from the store, a rotisserie chicken container, etc. Really the ideas are endless, but all with the same goal: allowing sun into the container through a clear lid to create a greenhouse.

inexpensive greenhouse

Full-sized greenhouses are very expensive to make/buy in this economy (believe me, I wish I could). However, being mindful and saving leftover plastic containers is a very cheap way to create a greenhouse.

Once you have the plastic all processed to be used for a greenhouse (cutting/making drainage holes in it) you will be able to reuse your mini-greenhouses.

Also, if you grow your own seedlings indoors during Spring, you are most likely using a growlight for enough sunlight. Winter sowing your seedlings will save you the money spent on the electricity for a growlight. Also, you will be saving space indoors!

Cold-hardiness

Some plants need what is called “stratification” which basically just means they need to experience winter to bloom properly. This usually occurs with perennials that are native to cold weather areas. This principle works with vegetables too, but maybe not all of them.

Since I live in Maine, most of the native wildflowers need stratification in order to grow well. Usually if you plant them in spring/summer they will grow, but they won’t bloom as beautifully until the following year after they experience a winter.

How to winter sow

As always at Shits Not That Difficult, we don’t like to give drawn out blog posts explaining how to do something, because we like simplicity and ease. That being said, if you have questions on any of these steps, feel free to comment and ask any questions.

Other items you will need:

• Garden soil
• Duct tape

1. Collect your plastic greenhouses (clean milk jug, spinach container from the store, a rotisserie chicken container, etc.).
   • I use milk jugs, so my steps will be for using a milk jug; however, the same principles apply!
2. Cut the milk just in half, but make sure you leave a section connected so the halves don’t fall apart (see photos below)
   • I start my cuts right below the handle, so I can use the handle to
     open the top
   • If you are using a plastic container that has a lid already cut into it (spinach containers, rotisserie containers.), you can skip this step!
3. Cut drainage holes into the bottom of the container
   • Add multiple holes that are big enough for drainage (Mine are slightly smaller than a dime)
4. Add soil into the container, spread a handful of seeds into the container and tamp them into the soil
5. Water your soil and close the container. For the milk jugs I use duct tape to close the top on to it
   • If you aren’t using a milk jug, just make sure there are holes in the lid to allow moisture from snow/rain to get into your greenhouse
6. Put your mini-greenhouses outside in a spot that doesn’t get too much sun in the winter – and let them sit until it starts warming up. Yes, you just set them and forget them
7. Once the heat of spring comes, you will want to check on the germination of the seedlings. On warm days you can open the top of the containers and let the seedlings air-out/not get too hot in the greenhouse (just make sure you close it before the evening!). You will also want to make sure the seedlings are staying moist! Water when needed.
8. Once the seedlings are overtaking the container they should be ready to transplant into the garden for the year!

Also, I would like to add the caveat that this is happening in Maine which has a colder climate. I do not have knowledge as to how this works in areas that do not have cold winters!

pfas concerns

If you are concerned with PFAS that is super valid and I understand the urge to want to avoid adding extra plastic-leaching possibilities into your life. I recommend looking into PFAS if you don’t know much. However, I personally feel comfortable using plastic containers for this application.

If you want to create another inexpensive greenhouse that will have a little less potential of plastic exposure: check out my DIY Greenhouse I made last year!

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