Winter Sowing Seeds

A few years ago, I discovered winter sowing. For the past 2 years, I have started my seeds using this method and I will never go back!! What is winter sowing you ask? Winter sowing is a natural, stress free and easy way to germinate your seeds. Your seedlings will be hardier and more robust than those started indoors, and you won't have to worry about acclimating them to the outdoors. With winter sowing, you start your seeds outside during the winter and Mother Nature does the rest. 

This method is also great for the environment because you reuse containers that you would usually just throw in the garbage. The containers act like little greenhouses where the seeds will germinate at their own pace when they are ready, much like in nature. It's great because you can take your time and work on sowing your containers all through the winter. But be careful because it's so easy that you end up with way more containers than you realize; and then when your seedlings are ready to be planted, you'll find that you don't have nearly enough space in your garden to plant them all. It's a good problem to have! 

When I used to start my seeds indoors, I estimate my success rate was only about 25-50% of the seeds I sowed would germinate and survive being transplanted into the garden. Now with winter sowing, I estimate my success rate is about 75-100%!! It's crazy! Here is a picture of the containers that are currently sitting out by my deck...



For your flats, you can use any type of plastic container with a lid as long as the lid is clear and closes tightly. I have heard from other winter sowers that they prefer 2 liter bottles or milk jugs, I prefer the type of take out container you get a salad or sandwich in from a restaurant. 

Experiment with different types of containers and see what you prefer. The shape and size of the container doesn't matter, but it must be deep enough to allow for 2-3 inches of dirt and at least a few inches of space between the dirt and the lid to allow room for the seedlings to grow.  (Updated Jan-09-2011 - See my post about winter sowing containers for more information)

Here are the steps to get you started with winter sowing...

• Clean the container well and then poke holes in the bottom and top of the container. Heating a knife and melting the holes makes this task easier. (Use an old knife and not a good one because it will turn black over time and have plastic residue on it.) You don't want to poke too many holes, only enough for drainage but not so many that the water will run right through and allow the soil to dry out quickly. (note: If you're using a tall narrow container like a 2lt bottle or milk jug, you'll need to cut the container in half as well.)
  

• Add your potting soil to the container and sow the seeds like you normally would, according to the directions on the packet. I use the same type of potting soil in my winter sowing containers that I use when starting seeds indoors. I buy the seed starting soil mix that is specifically made for starting seeds. It's a little more expensive than other soil mixes. You could probably find a recipe online to mix your own seed starting mix and possibly save some money. Either way, you absolutely want to use fresh, sterile soil when starting any seeds; and never, never use soil from your garden in any of your containers. 

• Mark the container. There are a few ways to do this. I have heard some people use masking or duct tape to label their containers. If you do this, make sure to put the tape on the bottom of the container or it will fade by Spring (even with permanent marker). I like to cut up old vinyl mini blinds and write on them with pencil and push the marker into the soil, these won't fade.

• Water them well. I like to use the sprayer in my kitchen sink and saturate the soil and let the excess water drain out.

• Put the lid on the container and put it outside in a protected spot that gets only morning sun. This part is crucial! Whatever you do, do not put them in full sun! This will just bake the seeds and they will not germinate. (I made this mistake with some of mine the first year). When I say morning sun I mean a location where they will be in the sun only until about 11am, and then they are in shade for the rest of the day. Remember that the sun changes as we move into Spring so check regularly to make sure the spot you chose in February doesn't suddenly become a full sun location in March or April. Also be careful to protect them from strong winds so they won't blow away.

• Now forget about them until about mid to late March.
  

• Once the weather starts to warm up and is consistantly above freezing during the days, check your containers regularly for any signs of growth. Cold weather plants will start to germinate first, things like broccoli, lettuce, spinach and spring blooming perennials.

• The only maintenance you have to do at this point is to make sure they stay out of the full sun and make sure the soil doesn't dry out. As they start to grow, I like to take the lids off during the day and put them in the sun (if they are full sun plants). Then I will cover them back up in the evening before it gets dark. This is optional though, you don't have to do this.

• Once the seedlings get tall enough where they are touching the top of the inside of the container, it's time to remove the lids for good. Once you remove the lids, you can move them into the full sun (if they are full sun plants). Check them at least once a day to make sure the soil hasn't dried out. They can dry out pretty quickly once you take the lids off. Also keep an eye on the weather report. If there is a chance of frost, cover the containers with a sheet or blanket over night.

• That's it, at this point the hard part is over!

So, when can you plant them into your garden? Well, for most plants you will need to wait until after the last frost date to be safe. Cold weather plants can be planted much earlier however. Here in Minnesota, we are in Zone4. That means that cold weather plants (which can handle frost exposure) can be planted as early as mid to late April. Our average last frost date is about May 15th so you'll need to wait to plant most of your seedlings until after the last frost. Every year is different though so keep an eye on the weather report.

Keep in mind that not all seeds will do well if you sow them very early in the winter (December-January). Start your cold weather veggies and any plants that are self sowing or require cold stratification first. Then, as you move in to late winter (February-March), start your warm weather plants like tomatoes, beans and peppers. I wait until late March into April before I start my tropical seeds and succulents. As I sow my seeds this year, I will share my list and more pictures.

Now, get busy collecting and preparing those containers and get some sowing done! Have fun and good luck! Feel free to ask me any questions you may have.

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Back to the basics... Gardening 101:

I you're like me, you have spring fever BAD!! This is the perfect time to start planning your garden for this summer! You'll want to start thinking about what seeds you are going to plant this year too. Do you have an area of your yard in mind for your gardens? The first thing you will need to think about is sun exposure. If you want to grow veggies, you will need a location that has full sun, which means the garden is in the sun for a minimum of 6 hours. Some veggies will do well in lower sun levels, but most veggies will do best in full sun.

As for a flower garden... perennials (which will survive the winter and come back every year) are the easiest to care for, you basically just have to do waste clean up and weed maintenance for non-invasive perennials to keep the garden tidy. But the trade off is that most perennials will have short flowering periods and don't flower through the whole summer. The fun part is planning your garden so that you have a range of perennials and you always have something blooming in your garden.

The great part about annuals (ones that will die when it gets cold and you have to replant every year) is that most of them will flower throughout the whole summer so you will always have color in your garden. I like to mix annuals in with my perennials for constant color and contrast.

You'll also want to think about sun exposure when planning your flower garden. There are a wide variety of perennials and annuals that range from full-sun to full-shade, and everywhere in between. You will also want to consider plant heights when planning your garden, make sure to plant the tallest stuff in the back, and layer it down to the shortest stuff in the front.

Basically it's all a learning experiment. You have to remember that no matter how much you plan, your garden will never turn out exactly like you picture in your head. Mother Nature has the final say about what your garden will turn out to be. The best thing to do when you're starting out is to mix annuals and perennials and see what you like. Perennials are more expensive than annuals so it would be more cost effective to mix in annuals, and slowly build up your collection of perennials. Then, as the years go on and you get more experience, keep adding to your garden space. Since annuals are disposable, you can change it every year.

Houseplant pests series part 3: Mealybugs

My last two posts about houseplant pests featured soil gnats and spider mites. The featured pest this time is the dreaded mealybug. I use the word dreaded because mealybugs are one of the most difficult houseplant pests to get rid of, although they are not as common as other houseplant pests. Once you have a plant that has mealybugs, eliminating the pests is extremely difficult, control is a more realistic goal.

So what are mealybugs anyway? Mealybugs are scale insects that suck the sap out of the leaves and stems of plants, resulting in stunted or deformed leaf growth, yellowing of the leaves, and leaf drop. The damage caused by mealybugs is not as quick to occur or as devastating as it is with spider mites. If a mealybug infestation goes left untreated, the plant will eventually die; although it will usually take a long time for mealybugs to kill a plant.

Young mealybugs walking on plant leaf

Mealybugs can be found anywhere on a plant but are most commonly found on new growth, along the veins of leaves, and at the leaf joints. 

They are white and most commonly look like cotton around the base of the leaves or stems of the plant. 

They can also appear brown or cream colored and waxy in immature stages.

Mealybugs look like mildew or cotton on stem

It takes a week or two for mealybug eggs to hatch. Most of the time mealybugs don’t appear to move, but in their early stages, mealy bugs can crawl around on the plant and move to other plants around the original host plant. 

They are commonly mistaken for disease or mildew rather than bugs. 

The worse part is that mealybugs will leave the plant to hide and can live for a long time in spaces and crevices without having a host plant. 

So just when you think you have conquered the beast, they will come out of hiding and re-infest your plant when you’re not looking. Gross!

As with any houseplant pest, when you first spot a mealybug problem begin treatment immediately. In my experience, the best way to control mealybug infestations is to hand treat the plant with rubbing alcohol. In order for rubbing alcohol to be effective, it must come in direct contact with the mealybug. Touching the bug with a cotton swab soaked in rubbing alcohol, or spraying them with a rubbing alcohol/water mixture (50/50) from a spray bottle will kill them. 

Sever mealybug infestation

I don’t use insecticides because they are resistant to most insecticides. They also have the ability to develop resistance to insecticides they are exposed to on a regular basis. As you are treating the plant, make sure to inspect underneath all leaves, around the leave joints, in folds and at the base of the plant for mealybugs. They like to hide so make sure to check the plant from several angles and under each leaf. Also brush away a little dirt and check the base of the stem at the point where it sticks out of the dirt, you may find some hiding there.

Here are some other tips to help in your fight against the mealybug:

• You have to be vigilant and check the plant at least once a week for new adults. When you no longer see signs of the mealybugs, you can go down to inspecting the plant every couple of weeks or every time you water.
• For heavy infestations, spray the entire plant with a rubbing alcohol/water mixture (50/50). You may want to test this spray on one leaf first to make sure this mixture won’t harm the plant.
• Mealybugs can live in the soil of the plant, so if a plant is plagued by recurring infestations, you may want to try repotting it in a clean, sterile pot with fresh potting soil.
• Remove the plant from the area and clean the area around the infested plant in any crevices, around the outside lip and inside edges of the pot and tray and other small space where mealybugs may hide.
• Remember, mealybugs can travel so it is important to monitor other plants around the plant for signs on mealybugs.
• If you have ants, they may be causing the problem! Ants will bring mealybugs to a plant so that they can feed off of the honeydew which is produced when a mealybug feeds on the plant. I know this sounds crazy, but it’s a fact. So make sure that you watch out for ants.
• If you don’t want to spend the time it takes to control/conquer a mealybug infestation, it may be best to discard the infested plant before the problem can spread.
• For other tips on general indoor plant pest control, see my Pesty Pests blog post.

It's hard to get rid of all of the mealybugs the first few times you try. Even if you are able to kill all of the adults, the eggs and babies are tiny and easily overlooked. They don’t affect most of the common houseplants. It can be frustrating, but for me, it is worth the work to control these pests. I hate throwing away plants so I continue to fight the good fight!


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Houseplant pests series part 2: Spider Mites

This is my second in a series of posts I am doing about common houseplant pests that can plague the indoor gardener. In my last post I wrote about soil gnats, today I will talk about spider mites. 

Spider mites are sneaky little suckers. They are difficult to see, and usually by the time you notice them, the plant is already heavily damaged. You might notice spider webbing on the plant or the plant may simply look dirty. From a distance, you might think that the plant isn’t getting enough water…but take a closer look, hold the plant up to the light and look under the leaves and see what you find. Usually you can see the tiny little mites moving around on fine webbing. Yuck!

Spider mites

Spider mites multiply very quickly and, in the right conditions, can as much as double their population every couple of weeks. Spider mites become fully grown about a week after they hatch. It only takes a few weeks for an adult female to lay hundreds of eggs, and for those eggs to start to hatch, resulting in exponential population growth.

In my experience, spider mites are one of the most destructive pests. They can devastate or even kill a plant in a very short period of time. Spider mites suck the sap out of the leaf leaving it looking discolored, speckled, curled under and, at its worse, dried and shriveled up. The infested leaves will die and start to fall off, which will ultimately kill the plant.

Spider Mites make new growth shrivel

Spider mites thrive in warm, dry conditions. During the winter, your house becomes the perfect breeding ground. They will start to breed and feed on older leaves, and are not common on new growth. They tend to start their webs on the underside of leaves and at the leaf joints.

Spider mites are not technically insects, therefore cannot be controlled with insecticides, systemic or other. There are pesticides that are specifically designed for mites, but spider mites may develop resistance to them in a short time. I’ve found that the best way to control a spider mite infestation, and eventually eliminate them from a plant, is by washing the leaves with plain old soap and water on a regular basis. You have to be diligent and continue to do this even if you don't see any bugs. During the winter, I try to be proactive with the plants that seem to be most susceptible to spider mites by cleaning the leaves at least once a month, even before I see any signs of the pests. If you see there is already an infestation, clean the leaves on the infested plant once a week or more until you have it under control. It’s a good idea to clean the leaves of any plants that are close to the infested plant as well.

Here are some other thing you could do to control spider mite infestations on your houseplants:

• Since spider mites thrive in dry conditions, keeping the air around your plants humid may help prevent infestation. Unless you have a greenhouse this is difficult with houseplants, especially in the winter. One way to achieve this is by spraying the plant with water from a spray bottle regularly. In order for this method to be effective, you must spray your plants once or more a day. You could also try leaving a container of water near the plant or using a humidifier to help keep the humidity up around your plants.
  
• Spray the leaves on an infested plant with a strong stream of water to dislodge mites and webbing. (Be careful not to damage the plant) This will help to slow down the production of new eggs, and kill mites and eggs.
• Make sure the plant is healthy and maintain adequate soil moisture. Maintaining healthy houseplants will allow them to protect themselves against spider mite infestations.
• Trim heavily infested leaves from the plant and throw them in the garbage (but don't remove all the leaves).
• Rinse or wash plant leaves on a regular basis. Small plants can be brought into the shower or sink to make this task easier. You can use a rag and spray bottle to wash the leaves of large plants. Continue to do this treatment weekly until the problem goes away. You may want to continue this routine on a monthly basis on plants that have recurring spider mite problems. Prevention is key.

The best way to avoid heavy damage to your plants caused by spider mites is to start treating the plant as soon as you discover the pests. As with any houseplant problem, make sure you check your plants on a regular basis (each time you water) for any signs of problems. For general pest control and prevention tips, read my Pesty Pests blog post.

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