Winter Sowing: An Excuse to Eat Muffins

For the past three or four years, I’ve been inundated with articles and videos about winter sowing. The concept is simple: You create a mini-greenhouse with a plastic milk jug for cold-hardy seeds or those that require a period of cold to germinate.

My primary hangup with trying this has been mild lactose intolerance. Hey world, people who can’t drink milk want to grow plants, too!

A few months ago as I was happily enjoying a gluten-free blueberry muffin from Trader Joe’s, I thought I’d give the plastic shell container a go for winter sowing. It seemed like a good option because there are four spots for muffins in each container, and my large-size peat peat pellets fit well. I punched holes in the bottom of each muffin slot and on the top to allow rainwater to enter and drain.

I had two muffin containers saved when I started my winter sowing project last week. In one, I sowed spinach. The other has broccoli, which I thought would work because it’s a cold-hardy brassica but now I’ve read that it may not be the best choice. But, we’ll see what happens!

I have several seed-starting trays with individual slots and a plastic dome that I’m going to try next. During the past two growing seasons, I’ve focused on perennials, and I still have a few more I want to add. Some of them, like columbine, require cold stratification to mimic winter. Historically, I’vve kept these seeds in the fridge and then brought them out in spring. But I’m going to try winter sowing with these and compare the results.

Stay tuned!