Winter Sowing

We have no room to set up grow-lights and everything else needed to start seedlings indoors.  Not to mention I didn't want to spend the money on the lights and shelving and electricity and everything else.  So I was very excited when I read about Winter Sowing.  I knew I had to give it a try.  Basically, you plant seeds in plastic containers that act as greenhouses.  They know when the proper time is to sprout, and they are hardier than seedlings started indoors because they've been exposed to the elements.

Thanks to neighbors and friends who saved their milk jugs for me, I'm in business.  Today was a gorgeous day, so I figured it was a good time for the girls and I to pot up some milk jugs.

We started with broccoli and cabbage seeds, just because I know they are ok in the cold.  In a few weeks, I'll try some others.

You just set them out, through rain and snow and ice and whatever, and when the time is right, they sprout.  (Don't you like my candy-cane duct tape?  It was on clearance at Michael's.  In the spring, when the weather warms, you can remove the tape and open up the 'greenhouses.'

I labeled the tops, bottoms, and sides of the jugs because the sun is going to fade the Sharpie, and I really want to know what I've got.

Direct quote from Stephen, as he enjoyed this gorgeous day on the hammock: "Gardening sure is hard work!"