Great idea, Lynn! I have plenty of those containers around the house.

They work really well once the seedlings get big enough to transplant. And boy do they take off once planted out in the garden. No transplant shock or slow down.

Lynn, I love the idea. I had thought that maybe I could wintersow in smaller containers housed in a larger tub because I don't have lots of any one seed - and wanted just a few of each type of plant. I'm glad to see that it will work. Can't wait to try it. We haven't had winter here yet - it's been really really mild. I hope it turns into winter for just a little while before spring really gets here. I plan to get my seeds planted and outside in the next couple of weeks.

Just a little food for thought here.

The smaller the container you use, the smaller the volume of soil it will hold. Lesser amounts of soil can dry out faster, and very dry seedlings = dead seedlings. Depending on your weather, small containers might need closer attention, more checking. Obviously, watering will be less of an issue in cooler, wetter climates. In a warmer, drier climate you might have to be a very good plant Mom. If you will be gone from home for long days too, this is something you might want to consider.

I'm not saying you shouldn't use smaller containers, like cups, just consider that they might need closer attention. I use mostly milk jugs but I do occasionally use cups. If I use cups, the bigger the better. Here, my tomatoes were growing in 16 oz. cups.



Karen

I agree with you Karen. I do start mine in the milk jugs, but transplant to the very large plastic drink cups. They seem to hold moisture the same as the milk jugs do, as long as the lid is kept on the tote. Once I start taking the lid off because of warmer weather I have to keep an eye on them for getting to dry. I notice also that the larger/deep drinking cups seem to keep moisture for a long time towards the bottom 1/3 of the cup, thus training the roots to grow down.
I'll try to remember to take photos of the roots this year. Tomato plants are the only ones I transplanted from the milk jugs to large drinking cups. I planted to many seeds in each jug and they were to crowded, that's why I transplanted them. This year I will only plant about 4 seeds per jug.

I use the tote/cup combo also. Let me ask y'all this.... I have used plastic clear/frosted cups, colored plastic cups, and styrofoam cups.

I firmly believe that the roots systems of those in the clear/frosted cups have been the best. The ones in the styrofoam being the worst. What do y'all think?

Styrofoam for me. They're really easy to work with.

Jab a scissors blade in the sides in a few spots for extra air, poke a few holes in the bottom...done.

Paper pockets for those that are predisposed to suffering major transplant shock.

I always use polymer gels in the bottom .. helps with keeping things moist.. I have only used plastic cups .. don't know about the styrofoam

I've used all sizes and materials I think. I like to recycle my yogurt cups but they're pretty small- 6 0z, much the same size as a 3" round flower pot- so they demand more attention. 12 oz ones are better, and 16 oz better yet. You can see roots through the clear ones- this is one of my toms from last year.


A tip I got from a friend on another forum:
Sow your tomato seeds directly into large 16 oz cups, filled about 2/3 of the way. After seedlings are growing, add a little more potting mix to the top of the cup. In effect, it "plants" the tomato plant deeper, burying a little of the stem, so that it will form more roots from the stem. Works great.

Any cups can work OK, they just need more attention.It's a consideration if you're gone from home a lot, work long days.... We never know what the weather will bring from year to year. Usually in spring our weather is fairly cool and wet still, but some years it's already hot and dry.

I didn't like peat pots or paper pots at all. In wet weather both got soggy, moldy, gross. In dry weather they dried out miserably. I'll never use either of them again. And remember- the beauty of WSing is supposed to be ease of the method, no fussing. In really can be that way if I mostly stick to my milk jugs. I just don't want to fuss with stuff a lot.

Karen

yeah paper pots fell apart on me when they were dumped on with rain.. never again.. unless it's only for a few weeks

I'm a confirmed fusser. I like to handle the seedlings and grow them bigger before setting them out, but then again, I haven't been doing it for very long - it's still new to me, and the "wow, it sprouted" (!) factor is still there.

Chelle, now in my 7th year wintersowing, I still have the "wow factor". After such harsh growing conditions outside in the weather it is sort of an amazing process.

But still, I can't always be so attentive. I'm not working all those long days so much anymore, but still sometimes gone from home a lot. Bigger containers just give me more wiggle room. And my containers aren't in much sun either, and that helps.

Karen

I'm glad the wow factor sticks around - I'd hate like heck to ever lose that thrill.

I so meant to get started on my sowing this week! Got involved with another project, and look, it's the end of the week already, and I haven't sown a lick. Maybe this afternoon....

Must get out with the camera this morning though, we have frozen fog......so pretty!

Chelle, I've only done 4 jugs, and thankfully, no sprouts yet. I have those in full shade because the weather has been so warm and I know at least some frigid temps will come eventually. Hopefully, just a few sporadic days here and there.

I'm going to do some toms and annual flowers later too- in March or April probably.

Karen

Karen, I do the same thing with my Toms. I start them in a quart size pot with 1/3 filled with soil and add to it as they grow. It works wonderfully!!!

I'll have to give that technique a try this year with my tomato plants.

it does seem to work

I finally grabbed some fun seeds and started my winter sowing!

Hopefully my quick-picks of today were the right choices for it.

Fun at any rate - it was nice to play in the dirt again.

We're supposed to get a little cooler here over the next week, so I'm going to take the plunge!