winter sowing

I have read a lot of the posts on winter sowing, but I am trying to figure out how to protect the containers from blowing away. I would very much like to try the WS method, but am such a newbie, that I don't know how to "contain" my containers, so to speak.....any info would be very much appreciated! :-)

I put mine in boxes. They hold up well enough to keep them from blowing around. When things start sprouting I take the tops off the containers and put them in trays.

Thanks Poppysue! I want to do some Hostas for sure, and that makes so much sense! I may try the soda bottles too! Thanks again!

I have discovered if I buy 8 2 liter bottles at a time that they are more than willing to let me have one of the carriers that they get from the pop company, so I have been collecting as many as possible and a lot of mine are in those.
The ones that I didn't have those for I found boxes for so they look similar to poppysue's.

Wow! What a clever idea. (Makes me wish we drank lots of soda). You can even control temperature and humidity by unscrewing the tops.

Call one of the companies that delivers milk to the stores - around here they sell them for $1 each, and they hold 4 one-gallon milk jugs and stack. I use them in the potting shed/garage for storage and even plant in them. I do it by putting a heavy duty garbage bag, poked full of holes in the bottom, into the plastic milk carriers. I have many of my brugs planted in them. They also come in a miriad of colors, in case you want them color-coordinated!

Great idea with the milk crates! Do you know approximately how many gallons they are? Or should I say how much soil do they hold? I may try that for brugs...and it would be a great way to hold winter sown containers as I could actually anchor it to the ground easily, and the soda "carriers" could be also! Thanks for the tips!

This message was edited Jan 25, 2004 8:22 PM

Poppysue - i am collecting my large pop bottles for WS but I am wondering, do you cut them in half, plant them and then tape them together again or what? real DUH! here!

I find if you sorta pinch the bottom part in... you can slide the top over it.

I usually just cut a small slit in the top part of the bottle and then do the pinch it in thing that poppy is describing.

Alice - you must be telepathic - that's exactly what I did! I tried w/o slitting it and it wasn't cooperating so I slit it a bit. Thanks, poppy also! I have 2 bottles of hostas sitting on the front step! Anxiously waiting for spring for more reasons than one (warmth!!) now! I know, you folks that plants hundreds are now tee hee-ing at such a small beginning but it's just my first attempt at winter sowing. :)