I have never been inclined to start seeds indoors, as I don’t have the set up or the patience. But learning about winter sowing has changed all that! All you need is milk jugs (or plant pots, with hardware cloth to cover them), scissors, duct tape, soil, labels and seeds for plants that require cold ‘stratification’ (fancy word for exposure to cold for a set amount of time, which essentially prepares the seed to germinate) and a spot outdoors to put them while waiting for them to sprout and presto! new plants!
This year I’m trying to grow some native perennials, including butterfly weed, New England asters, columbine, and penstemon.
There are so many resources out there to learn more about doing this: if you want company, there’s a “Winter Sowing” group on Facebook, but check out The Wild Seed Project in Maine; they have detailed instructions and they sell seeds, including a set of ‘beginner friendly’ species.
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