I thought since there are now a few comments on winter sowing, I'd parse out this to a different conversation.
Background, I'm in northwestern OH, zone 6a. Haven't seen much snow yet this year unfortunately and we do have some significant winds from time to time.

And if it's easier to take it offline, please send me a treemail.

What does and doesn't work well for winter sowing?
I'm considering the following:
Non-herbs - Asparagus, Artichoke, cabbage, kale, brussel sprouts, bok choy, onion, leek, swiss chard, spinach, rhubarb, beets, radish
Herbs - Parsley, chives, garclic chives, rosemary, sage, thyme, marjoram, tarragon, summer savory, basils, dill,

Ones I'm not sure about:
Celery, celeriac

If those are all doable, how many spots/gallon container do I do? i.e. I know things like artichokes are bigger and can probably only do 3 or 4 in the gallon container... But what about thinks in the brassica family? Asparagus?
What about those herbs? How many per container?
I know alliums have very sturdy roots and can more easily be teased apart, so the onions can all be packed in together, chives I can replant the clump or divide the clump if I want to...

Aside from these edibles, what other edibles have you tried the winter sowing technique for?

I'm not big into non-edibles, but will be learning them... this year if time/milk jugs allow...

All the herbs I ws grew for me. About 6 different kinds of basil, dill, fennel, thyme, oregano and parsley. Squashes, pumpkin, watermelon, melons, plants all grew, but I only harvested several kinds of squash (butternut, acorn, summer), one small unripe pumpkin and one unripe watermelon. This was my first time ever growing any of these vegetables so I was thrilled with what I got. I planted about 20 varieties of tomatoes because ws is no effort (just sowed into labeled cups and put into larger containers with lids I'd punched holes into) and all grew and I had fun exploring the tomato world! I'm pretty sure others will have more specific info on how many seeds to put into a container but I just estimated. Small seeds (tomatoes) got more, large seeds (melons, squash etc) got less per container. If I had tons of varieties of something like basil and tomatoes, I sowed each variety into its own small container (like plastic cup). The bigger seeds I just ws into typical containers like milk jugs.

@Hammerojustice: I've had splendid success with celery. Photo 5-3-2020, 2- liter pop bottle. As a biennial, celery has that hardiness factor that is well-suited for the winter sowing method, as do perennials and reseeding annuals. Tender annuals can be wintersown in spring. A forum here you might like: https://garden.org/forums/view...

Has anyone tried winter sowing tomatoes and peppers in zone 4 or colder? The idea appeals to me as u wouldn't need any grow lights but I'm afraid next they wouldn't have time to ripen for me.

I once did tomatoes …….they germinated in June and there were green tomatoes in September.
Tomatoes are better started in the house.

Thanks for ur input! I thot mayb that's how it would go with them.

DeerXing I have never grown celery because I didn't think it'd grow here in Iowa. I looked up your pink celery and it looks delicious and you grew it in zone 5b! Will you be sharing any of these seeds in this swap?

@Hammerojustice I decide to bring the answer to your question over to this thread. I actually had the morning glories (just a plant on each corner of two cattle panel trellis with luffa and lemon cucumber on one and squash and 1500 year old cave beans on the other. They were all just as happy as could be.
It was my first time growing beans and only did about 6 plants and boy is that variety prolific.
The best pollinator is going to be in my opinion is going to be borage. Mine got big and leggy and grow similar to tomatoes so you may want to put them in tomato cages. The bees love them. Since they will self seed, I had volunteers all over the garden year 2) you can ws them when ever you are ready.
I am putting my containers in one of my raised beds this year to get more sun. Last year they were in a more sheltered area (worried plant mama) and I think they will do better with a little more sun.
My best advise to a first time winter sower is....it is a simple process that we all try to make a lot more complicated than it needs to be the first year. The biggest lesson learned first year is be patient and don't toss what looks like unproductive pots. They do not all germinate at the same rate.

theflowerlady said:Has anyone tried winter sowing tomatoes and peppers in zone 4 or colder? The idea appeals to me as u wouldn't need any grow lights but I'm afraid next they wouldn't have time to ripen for me.

I'd start by trying seeds of heirloom tomato varieties that have origins in cold regions or suggest so in their name, such as 'black krim', 'siberian', 'ukrainian purple', etc. Many types of wintersown tomatoes quickly catch up to tomato seedlings that require more hardening off/transplant shock recovery. I'm guessing the same goes for peppers that have their origins in cold, mountainous regions.

maryjoz5 said:DeerXing I have never grown celery because I didn't think it'd grow here in Iowa. I looked up your pink celery and it looks delicious and you grew it in zone 5b! Will you be sharing any of these seeds in this swap?

That's hard to say. 2021 was my first experience saving celery seeds. I'd like to plant them out myself before offering them up for trade. There's a chance the 'Chinese Pink' crossed with nearby 'Tender Crisp'. It would break my heart to lose that pretty pink color in the stalks. Oops.

I have pink Chinese celery (they were bought from baker creek this yr an it's WAY more than I need. If I kno there's an interest I'll try an make sure I have some in the swap.

thank you theflowerlady! I am very interested in them!

For those who winter sow, I have a question....

I know things like Kale & cabbage flower after going through a winter....

When you winter sow, does that winter trigger the flowering or does it start after the following winter?

Kale isn't too bad, but there are some brassicas that notoriously bolt in response to early spring swings in temperature, sometimes blooming while still in the "jug". I avoid winter sowing these, and do a July direct sowing instead.

DeerXing said: Kale isn't too bad, but there are some brassicas that notoriously bolt in response to early spring swings in temperature, sometimes blooming while still in the "jug". I avoid winter sowing these, and do a July direct sowing instead.

So kale (lacinato and ragged jack) is ok, but avoid cabbage?

Hammerojustice said: So kale (lacinato and ragged jack) is ok, but avoid cabbage?

Each variety behaves a little differently and each year the climate fluctuates. I know that the temperature inside a jug can become like a hot house on a sunny day, and tricks some cool weather crops that it's their time to bolt. March and April weather can dish out just about anything and everything.

Ok, I'll only do lacinato since I have so much of it and will start the others later. Thanks

I winter sowed tomatoes last year, Zone 4b. they started out smaller than my indoor ones, but caught up by the end of the summer. I think they might have produced a little less but it was a lot less hassle.

We have tomatoes reseed themselves in the garden.

theflowerlady said: Has anyone tried winter sowing tomatoes and peppers in zone 4 or colder? The idea appeals to me as u wouldn't need any grow lights but I'm afraid next they wouldn't have time to ripen for me.

RebeccaZ4 said: I winter sowed tomatoes last year, Zone 4b. they started out smaller than my indoor ones, but caught up by the end of the summer. I think they might have produced a little less but it was a lot less hassle.

We have tomatoes reseed themselves in the garden.

I didn't think you could winter sow a summer crop

Tomatoes is one of the few veggies I've winter sown here in my zone 7b. Our weather is too fluctuating and unpredictable for doing too much. Like yesterday - the temp started out at 19° and warmed up to a sunny 64°. This week the temps are predicted to reach into the 70's. That would probably prompt much to start sprouting if I had winter sown anything this year. But then later in the week it's going to drop back down to the 20's... up and down temps!

btw: Hammer, we have an entire forum dedicated to winter sowing where you will probably find the answers to all of your questions and much good advise.

https://garden.org/forums/view...