Best Seeds for Winter Sowing (with Printable List)
In my last blog post I showed you the steps to Winter Sowing. If you missed it, you can find it here. In a nut shell, Winter Sowing is when you plant seeds outdoors to get a head start on the Spring growing season. The jugs act as a miniature greenhouse allowing the seeds to germinate and grow during the Winter.
To make things easier, I created a printable list of the best flowers, herbs, and vegetable seeds to use for this method. The list contains seeds that I myself have sown in milk jugs along with other seeds that will work well. I actually prefer this printable because you can either save it to your phone or print it out and use it as a checklist for your next seed shopping trip. Here is a link to download it. It's also worth noting that this list is by no means all-inclusive. There are hundreds of seed varieties out there but this list should get you started in the right direction.
I just want to say that I am a big a fan of experimenting so if there is a variety that does not have the keywords I list below , sow them anyway and see what happens. If those seeds don’t germinate, you haven't lost much and you learned something new in the process. On the other hand, if they do work, you can add them to your Winter Sowing Seed List. I actually left several blank sections on the printable so you can feel it in with other seeds you want to try.
Look for these key phrases on the packages when choosing which seeds to start:
• Cold stratification
• Direct sow outside in early spring
• Direct sow outside year round
• Direct sow outside in fall
• Perennial
• Self sowing
• Cold hardy
• Frost Tolerant
All right, now that you have your list and keywords, you are ready for winter sowing! Ensure that the seeds are right for you and your area by doing your research before growing them. I'm so glad you stopped by! Check out the video below if you would like more information!! Happy sowing!
-Q
