Dear Jenn,
Last year you mentioned trying winter sowing in vinegar bottles. Did that work? I am trying to winter sow and I use alot of vinger for my homemade fabric softner. I would love to be able to use them!!
Medohill
Dear Medohill,
Yup, the vinegar bottles worked fine, but they were a bit harder to cut and to put drainage holes in (because the plastic is thicker). Although I think that any residual vinegar probably evaporates, I made sure to rinse really well-just in case 
For those of you who have absolutely no idea what we are talking about, winter sowing is a super easy, super frugal way of starting seeds. Long story short-you plant seeds inside of little mini “greenhouses” made from milk jugs, or as Medohill points out vinegar bottles, and then you stick them outside in the snow. They freeze, melt, freeze, melt and then as spring kicks up they warm up sooner in their little greenhouse and start growing, all with no help or care from you. I’ve been growing several of my annuals this way for the last few years (alyssum, marigolds, candytuft, bachelor buttons etc).
For the full story on winter sowing (complete with lots of photos), check out my past articles, Start Your Garden and Winter Sowing Success. Think about giving it a try! I’m saving up my bottles already, and as soon as the seeds hit the stores, I’ll be planting!
NOTE: Photos courtesy of and copyright Free Range Stock; photographer Sarah Sturtevant
{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }
Wow Annette
Oh that is a great idea. I was thinking of starting some indoors, but it sure makes sense to just do it outside like this.
I’m so excited to try this. I always think I’m going to start my seeds early, inside, but our small space just doesn’t make this very practical. If I can make this work I can get my early starts without taking half my tiny dining room! Thanks for sharing the idea!
Make sure you check out the wintersowing.org site to get plenty more info on this process (my intial article has a link to it). They also list plants that do well with this method.
I’m so glad that this method will be useful to all of you.
Jenn, how did everything end up looking after you transplanted? Your initial success post showed what looks like a great germination rate and healthy seedlings. Did you get the bloom you wanted?
I’ve been curious about winter sowing for a year or two and am planning to give it a try – may even put in some veggies. Between not enough light, not enough moisture and cats who will dig, dig, dig, indoor seed starting has never worked well for me. But this? It has possibilities.
I bet you can’t wait to do more canning, jelly and spices. Fresh spices are so good.
Marsha-These seedlings took a while to catch up to the storebought flats that I’ve seen-of course they were going into the ground as small plants with just a couple of leaves, as opposed to the totally grown plants one buys at the nursery. But once they got some size to them they seemed just as big and healthy.
So, you don’t get the instant blast of fully grown flowers, your beds will look a less full for a while. . . but then again, the price is WAY less. .