Winter sowing is how I started my flower farming journey. I know Dahlia are the queens of the garden, but I started almost the whole of my beds the first year using winter sowing. Soil in some milk jugs, duct tape and benign neglect. Two things I love, 1. Growing things and 2. office supplies. Bonus, there is none of the worrisome indoor watering and you don't have to harden off you plants come spring. Your seedlings will grow when they are ready and at just the right time for planting.
I just started winter sowing for 2025. I will be making some blog posts and Instagram/Facebook reels to document the process. Documenting this in a Blog made sense to me.
Our farm is in mid-Michigan and we are classified as growing zone 6a. Our last frost date is around May 11 and first frost around October 15. I am starting the winter sowing this weekend and have sown successful seed through March. I could have started as early as the winter solstice.
Supplies I use:
Milk Jugs (need to be the ones with some transparency); if you don't have these on hand you can get them from coffee shops where they go through 8-15 jugs a day! I don't have to worry about enough milk jugs...I have teenagers.
A good soil. I use Promix or similar that I buy from a local grow store: Indoor Growers Edge.
Garden marker and paint pen for labeling the jugs and internal garden labels
Soldering iron for putting holes in the jugs for drainage (buy a cheap $5 iron).
Box cutter to cut the jugs (sharper the better)
Duct tape to tape together the top and bottom of the jug.
I posted an instagram reel today that shows how I prep the milk jugs. I'll be adding more as I document the process.
Below is a list of the flowers I have winter sown successfully in mid-Michigan:
Ageratum | Didiscus | Nigella |
Agrostemma | Dusty Miller | Pansy |
Astilbe | Echinacea | Persian Cress |
Bee Balm | Explosion Grass | Phlox -annual |
Bells of Ireland | FeverFew | Poppy |
Blue Vervain | Forget-me-not (Chinese) | Rudbeckia |
Bupleurum | Forget-me-not (native) | Scabiosa - annual |
Calendula | Foxglove | Scabiosa - Fama |
Canterbury Bells | Geum | Snapdragons |
Catmint | Globe Thistle | Snow on the Mountain |
Clarkia | Hollyhock | Strawflower |
Columbine | Iberis | Sweet Pea - annual |
Daisy - African | Johnny-Jump-Up | Sweet Pea - perennial |
Daisy - Chocolate | Lady's Mantle | Sweet William |
Daisy - Painted | Larkspur | Tithonia |
Daisy - Shasta | Lupin | Verbena boriensis |
Dara | Maxamillian Sunflower | Veronica (Sight Seeing) |
Delphinium | Milkweed | Winged Everlasting |
Dianthus | Mountain Mint | Yarrow |
If this looks like fun (and it really is), I'll be posting some more information as I go through the process and I am happy to share anything I have learned.
We all need more flowers in our lives. I love getting my hands dirty and am looking forward to spring!
Forty days until spring!
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