How To Use Milk Jugs For Winter Seed Sowing
Winter Seed Sowing is necessary to save on the budget and get a good jump start on having plants ready early for the ground. Once the weather finally warms up in the Spring, we want to see our garden plants growing, don’t we!
This method of winter seed planting using mini homemade terrariums which are really repurposed milk jugs or two liter bottles. No indoor space is required or expensive lighting. You can leave these outside even in snow and ice!
You can start any type of seeds for your vegetable or flower gardens using this method. Mine are typically flowers and tomatoes.
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Table of Contents
- How to start seeds in milk jugs
- Containerize
- Transplant the seedlings
- More Fun Projects To Do Outside
How to start seeds in milk jugs
Supplies
- Seed starting soil
- Seeds
- Empty, clean plastic containers such as Milk jugs, 2 ltr. bottles, juice containers
- Sharp knife
- Screwdriver
- Duct Tape
Directions for milk jug seed starting
- Wash your containers first.
2. Cut around the milk jug leaving just a small place uncut under the handle which will serve as the fold.
3. Poke holes in the bottom with the screwdriver to allow for drainage.
4. Place the dirt into the bottom.
5. Spread the seeds according to package directions.
6. Be sure to write the date and seed type on the outside of the milk jug.
7. Use a small strip of tape to faster the front side of the milk jug. i
Containerize
You will need to containerize you Winter seed pots to prevent wind damage. 2 liters bottles will blow over in the wind, trust me I know from experience! I set all of my milk jug terrariums into a big plastic bin.
Be sure to poke holes in the bottom of the storage bins for water to drain when it rains.
The first time I used this winter seed sowing method I stored mine on the back deck as seen in these photos. We now live in a home with a back porch so mine are still outside but under a roof. I can attest this method works well either way.
My kitchen scraps go into this repurposed cat food bucket for a few months to decompose, then straight into my flower beds for compost.
Transplant the seedlings
After the sprouts were big enough to transplant we made Faux Peat Pots by repurposing toilet paper rollers, which you can read about here.
You can also purchase these little 3″ peat pots that go straight into the ground and break down in the soil.
Once they are big enough to go into the ground and the weather permits, they will be planted into our garden space. See How To Grow Marigolds from Seed To Bloom for how to prepare the soil.
More Fun Projects To Do Outside
- 10 Ways To Create Curb Appeal for your home
- DIY Wire Basket Outdoor Table (Dollar Tree craft)
- 15 Best Annual Flowers for Full Sun
- Easy Way To Hang Outside Window Wreaths at Christmas
- Porch Swing Makeover project
- How To Make A Solar Floor Lamp for Outdoors
- DIY Solar Deck Directional Lamp
- How To Make A Repurposed Can Bird Feeder/Birdhouse
I’ll have to try this. We have tons of bottles and I might be able to get a head start on planting my garden this year.
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I’ve got the garden bug! Too bad there’s 6 inches of snow outside. Maybe I’ll get out my seeds to plot my seed sewing!
We don’t have snow but it’s really cold here, in the teens! It’s a great time to start seeds indoors though! They’ll be ready to go in the ground at just the right time.
I did this a few years ago successfully but with flowers. What kind of food can you safely winter sow? I’n in Indiana
The seeds we sowed are actually for our spring garden planting. They will be ready for the ground at just the right time by sowing them when we did. We planted two kinds of tomatoes, 2 kinds of cilantro, basil, Sunflower seeds and Daisy’s. We want to start our own herb garden, starting with the cilantro and basil.
I love gardening and recycling so this is perfect for me. I will definitely be trying this method to start my seeds. I also love the little toilet paper roll planting pots. I was holding on to some rolls but not sure what I was going to do with them. Thanks for the idea.
I’m with you about loving gardening and recycling. There are lots of neat ideas on Pinterest for using toilet paper rollers but this is the best one I’ve seen. You can simply plant it in the ground like a peat pot because it will decompose and nourish the ground!
How exciting to start with the seed sowing! I find this method very interesting too, and so economical! Hope it works for you, please share the results.
Thanks Anna. I will be sure to update the results as they continue to grow. I’d like to share Ashley’s Sunflower garden when they are tall.
Looks like a great family project! Great way to repurpose something that will take up so much space in the land-fill!
I’m not certain how many times we can repurpose the plastic but those toilet paper roller faux peat pots will be planted straight into the ground!
Great recycling, Shirley! I saw an idea to use them as watering tools, as well (buried in the ground), did you see that?
No I didn’t see that but I would like to. We have rain barrells but I’d like to see how that was used.