MAINE, USA — Yes! You can garden in the middle of winter in Maine, and all it takes is a simple milk jug.
Gardening with Gutner revisited garden book author and Finch and Folly creator Allison Vallin Kostovick to learn how to start seedlings outside even when the temperatures are below freezing.
"February is a perfect time to do your winter sowing," Kostovick explained. "You're going to make your own little greenhouse out of milk jugs."
Follow these easy steps for winter sowing:
Use an exacta knife or scissors and cut the milk jug in half, leaving it connected at the handle.
Next, create drainage holes in the bottom of the jug.
Fill the bottom with slightly moistened potting soil. Kostovick doesn't use seed-starting soil because potting soil provides more nutrition for the seedlings.
Winter sowing doesn't work for all seeds Kostovick revealed. It works for seeds that need stratification, or a period of exposure to cold temperatures, to break their dormancy.
"Seeds like your self-sowing annuals, your Larkspur, your Nigella, your perennials. You could even do some vegetables like lettuces, spinach, and your brassicas," the garden book author instructed.
When adding your seeds to the milk jug, you need to know if they need light or dark to germinate so you know whether or not to leave them on top of or cover them with soil. You can find that information on the seed packet.
Once your seeds have been placed, put the top half and bottom half of the milk jug together and tape it with duct tape.
Make sure you label your milk jug with the plant you are growing.
Place your milk jugs in a sunny, protected spot and, if you can, on top of milk crates or something that allows for a little ventilation of the bottom. Kostovick says she has put them in the snow before and they did fine.
"Probably going to be late April until early May when you'll start to see the little sprouts," Kostovick said.
According to the Finch and Folly garden creator, with winter sowing you do not need to harden off your seedlings because it is already done through being outside and in the milk jug. But you may need to water the seedlings when the weather gets warmer.
For more information about Allison's book, "The Garden Maker's Book of Wonder," click HERE.
