Propagation – Using Milk Jugs

Q: What is your opinion of winter sowing outdoors in translucent milk bottles? I’ve read that people do it even into Zone 5!

A: It’s something I’ve read about but never tried. So I’ve collected some milk bottles and I will be starting my trial this afternoon!

After three months, see my results below.

I chose beet and poppy seeds. After cutting the jugs and poking lots of holes in the bottom part, I filled them with a 1:1 mix of potting soil and perlite.

I sowed the seeds and taped the jugs back together. These were left on a bench on my patio from Jan to March. When I opened the jugs there were dozens of seedlings inside.

I transplanted them carefully to the garden and they grew normally.

This seems like a great way to grow seedlings of plants that need cold weather to germinate!

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