Let's Grow Stuff

- Greetings from the garden and welcome back to Let's Grow Stuff.

My name is Ben, and today, we're sowing native seeds in a process known as "winter sowing."

Let's get to it.

[upbeat electronic music] Why plant seeds before winter?

Well, native perennials, unlike our veggie plants that we would sow in spring, need a period of cold and wet in order to germinate.

So by planting them now, we get a jump start and allow nature to take care of things for us.

Here's what you'll need before you dig in: your seeds, of course, some six-inch plastic pots, a small amount of coarse sand with no chemicals, and you should be able to find this at a hardware store; plastic labels because the labels have to survive the winter, too; potting soil, a rodent screen, and something for additional weight like extra lumber, stones, fence posts, or bricks.

Fill each pot with premoistened potting soil and gently pack it down.

Leave a half-inch gap between the top of the soil and the lip of your pot.

I like to create my labels first, rather than running the risk of getting distracted and forgetting what you planted where.

Sow your seeds by sprinkling them on top of the soil in each pot, and try to space them evenly.

Don't clump them all up in one place.

Cover the seeds with sand, sort of like you're adding salt to your food.

A general rule of thumb is to cover the seeds to match how thick they are.

Something like these small Allium seeds just get a dusting, while something bigger like these grasses need a little bit more.

Place your pots in a shady location outdoors and cover them with the rodent barrier to prevent things from digging in to get at those seeds over winter.

Be sure to weight this down so things can't crawl underneath.

And now, we wait.

The undulating freeze/thaw cycles of winter will help our seeds to germinate, and you'll want to start checking on them in about mid to late March.

Before long, you should begin to see little bits of green.

Once seedlings reach about one inch tall, they can be removed from their starter pot.

This might happen at different times for different seedlings.

Split them apart, and either plant them in their own pots to grow larger, or plant them right into your garden.

In both cases, be sure to provide them with plenty of moisture to reduce transplant shock.

Well, there you have it.

Winter sowing is a fun, easy, and affordable way to add a lot of new plants to your landscape.

It just takes a little bit of time and patience.

Now, don't forget, there's so much more to learn online at pbswisconsin.org/letsgrowstuff.

There, we have more videos, tips, tricks, and blog to help you grow a better garden.

So until next time, happy gardening!

– Announcer: Funding for Let's Grow Stuff is provided by Ganshert Nursery & Landscapes, the Focus Fund for Wisconsin Programs, and Friends of PBS Wisconsin.