My first seed-starting effort was starting seeds with winter sowing. Winter-sowing means sowing seeds in transparent vessels like milk jugs, seed trays, and such that let the light through and place them directly outside in winter. These vessels sever as mini greenhouses in which the seeds are kept in moist soil and as the weather warms up the inside of the mini greenhouse warms up too for the seeds to sprout and the seedlings to grow. There are several methods I found to start seeds without grow lights I would like to share with you.
To start seeds without grow light one can use a winter sowing method, use a south-facing window as grow station, or start the seedlings outdoors when the weather is favorable enough utilizing a mini greenhouse, low tunnels, or cold frames.
What is winter sowing?
Winter sowing is a method in which transparent vessels like milk jugs, soda bottles, and totes with lids are used to start seeds in. These vessels serve as mini-greenhouses trapping the moisture and warmth that the seeds need to germinate. Only transparent vessels will work since the seeds need plenty of light to grow healthy. Then these vessels with the soil and the seeds sowed inside are placed directly outdoors on a site that gets the most sun exposure. The seed with the winter sowing method can be started in winter, hence the name.
I would not recommend starting the winter sowing method beginning of winter, because seeds will not germinate in cold weather. They will sit there and most of them will rot. I would recommend starting this method more towards the end of winter when the weather is still cold, still with frosts but with the days already longer for more sun exposure, and the temperatures during the day are warmer above the freezing temperatures. Starting seeds end of winter will provide more warmth for the seeds to germinate and longer and more intense sunlight for the seedlings to grow.
I would also like to mention that this method is not suitable for all seeds. There were seeds that sprouted well and I had good seedlings to start with. But some seeds literary turned into mush.
I started my winter sowing milk jugs beginning of March. As I mentioned we have snowy winters and wet springs. I watered my jugs only a few times. The rain did the rest.
Seeds that did do well are cool-weather vegetables like Swiss chard, broccoli, and cauliflower, basically, all leafy greens did well, but lettuce did the best! Warm-weather vegetables that did well were tomatoes, and peppers.
Vegetables that did not do well for me were corn and cucumbers. These turned into mush.
The seeds using the winter sowing method took a long time to sprout since the days were still short, the skies overcast and the temperatures still low. But once the sun came out and the days warmed up even though there was frost at night, they started to do well.
What is the benefit of winter sowing?
Winter sowing is for gardeners who would like to start seeds earlier but have no space indoors available, or do not wish to start their seeds indoors. It is also suitable for home growers who do not have grow lights or have insufficient light to start seeds on the windowsill, or for those on a budget.
I started seeds using the winter sowing method because my window sill seed starting was not a big success. I do not have south facing window and the rest of the windows do not have sufficient space for the trays and provide only very insufficient light. My seedlings were leggy. I did not own any grow lights, and the budget did not allow me to spend on grow lights since I had other expenses that took priority.
A big plus when starting seeds using a winter sowing method is that the seedlings do not need to be hardened off. They are used to cool temperatures and are ready to be transplanted right away once the temperatures allow. And no grow lights are needed.
Another plus is that the seeds do not take up any space indoors. They are outdoors the whole time.
Another positive to starting sowing seeds outdoors is that they do not need daily watering taking into account rain and snowing.
What are the negatives of winter sowing?
The big negative is that it does not work for all the seeds. Also, you cannot control the moisture inside the jug. Perhaps if the jugs are placed out of the rain, under some shelter this could be more controlled. Some of my seeds were lost I believe due to too much moisture.
Another negative is that the seeds take time to germinate and seedlings take time to grow. Winter sowing seeds will not be ready in 4-6 weeks. You cannot really control the outside temperatures, or sun exposure when the skies are dark.
I did not like that I had no idea about what the outcome will be in winter sowing. I did winter sowing only once because of all the reasons above. In the end, a couple of years down the road, after lots of failings, I still bought grow lights.
Starting seeds on a windowsill
The second method available is to start seeds on the windowsill. Utilize your south-facing window and the windowsill if wide enough to hold seed trays. South-facing windows receive the longest sun exposure with the most intense sun. Make sure the window you use has the longest sun exposure and is not shaded by other buildings, trees, and such.
My dear mother used only this method to start seeds, all her life. It did well for her. The window sill was wide, with the radiator right under the window to provide warmth. The window was east facing but the seeds did well. Every year we had a garden full of beautiful veggies.
I used a windowsill method only once. I do not have windows facing south. My windows do not have wide windowsills and with a very active little child in the house, I would be constantly worried when the pots with soil would be turned over. If you have active pets or children, this might not work for you if you do not keep them away from windowsills.
I started my seeds in a vertical stackable pot next to my full glass east-facing door. Unfortunately, the seedlings were leggy. I stopped even considering using windowsills in our home because we did not have the right condition for this method.
What are the benefits of windowsill sowing?
A big positive is that one can start seeds indoors in a controlled environment. Any seeds will do well if there is enough light provided. This method saves money on electricity, and no spending on grow lights.
What are the negatives of windowsill sowing?
This method might not work for everyone as not everyone has a south-facing window or windows with lots of direct sun exposure.
Start seeds outdoors using a mini greenhouse, low tunnels, and cold frames
Starting seeds outdoors works best for those who do not want to or like me, cannot start seeds on a windowsill, and like for me, the winter sowing did not bring the best results. I used a mini greenhouse about 5 feet tall, with 4 tiers and a plastic cover. I started my seeds in seed trays and let the greenhouse and the sun do the rest. This method did work well for me. The catch is that I could start the seed only once the weather was favorable enough and the night temperatures were not freezing. Low tunnels and cold frames can have the same effect.
Even though I started my seeds later using mini a greenhouse outdoors I was able to sprout anything I needed really. I obviously started with cool-weather crops and then gradually as the weather because warmer and warmer I started warm-weather crops. The seedlings were strong and healthy.
I will be starting my seeds outdoors this growing season too. It will allow me to grow more seedlings and utilize my mini greenhouse and perhaps I will be able to sell seedlings of crops that are great for succession growing but the stores do not offer the seedlings anymore.
There are many pros to starting seeds outdoors utilizing a mini greenhouse. This method is very useful for small spaces like a balcony garden, or patio garden. It does not take up any space indoors. A mini greenhouse expands my season, and helps me with succession planting, by having seedlings ready to go in the ground when I pull anything out of the garden. The seedlings are gradually almost naturally hardened off as I open the greenhouse front every day for ventilation. It provides you extra space for your gardening, it is like having an extra mini garden and extra mini growing space.
For me, the best method out of the three was starting seeds in a mini greenhouse. It did not take too long for the seeds to start and once they took off they were doing well. I only spend about $50 for a mini greenhouse and it was well worth it. This is the only method of starting seeds and seedlings I am using that does not involve grow lights.
What are the benefits of starting seeds outdoors?
The big positive of starting seeds outdoors is that there will be enough sun exposure for the seedlings to grow properly. This method is great for those who do not have indoor space available to start the seeds and grow seedlings. A big plus is that any seeds can be started using this method without any grow lights or the use of electricity. This method helps expand the season even though starting seeds outdoors is possible much later than starting seeds outdoors, the seedlings are healthy and strong and the seeds can be started throughout the whole growing season.
What are the negatives of winter sowing?
There are some negatives to starting seeds outdoors. One needs to have, purchase, or create a mini greenhouse, low tunnel, or cold frame. Another negative is that the seeds can be started much later compare to starting seeds indoors.
After all these methods and their positives and negatives, I have to say that growing seeds under the grow lights are the best method for me.
Considering that each gardener grows in different conditions, not only regarding the hardiness zone, but also economics, housing, growing space, light conditions, climate, and many other reasons. Some methods might work for some, but not for others.
If you are still looking for the best method for you to start seeds and for any reason cannot get the grow lights keep on trying and find a method that would work best for your specific situation.
Since we all have different circumstances involved in growing our gardens, please share with us what method you used to start seeds and which one you like the most and why.
How to start seeds with minimum space
