Robins in winter

I just learned something new today. Robins don’t always fly south for the winter!

There are two Robins in my backyard as I type this. Looking on the internet for information lead me to a site called, simply enough, American Robin.

Almost every Robin migrates south to escape the cold but some actually stay even as far north as Canada. They have been known to survive blinding blizzards, ice storms, and nights as cold as 30 below zero without human help. I am amazed! Whatever happened to looking to the Robin as the first sign of spring?

The website says that their body temperature under the feathers is about 104 degrees thanks to their thick down feathers that help hold body heat in. They produce body heat by shivering. And they get the energy to shiver from their food. This is where I know I can help. And you too.

Sometimes robins gather in huge flocks in winter. Doug Von Gausig found a "robin convention" of about 1000 robins near Sedona, Arizona, and recorded their chatter. Check out his website for a recording of Robin music.

I have never seen more than five or six Robins at one time. And never really together, they run all around the neighborhood looking for worms and fruit. To see a 1,000 of them at one time must really be something.

Yesterday, I saw about seventy or eighty Cedar Waxwings sitting in the fruit trees in my backyard. First time I ever saw this bird anywhere! Very exciting times here at Utah Valley Gardens!

They were all facing southwest because there was a very strong wind blowing from that direction. I figured they must have landed here to rest and to get out of the wind for awhile. They stayed for about 40 minutes.

Both of these birds like berries so I am going to follow the advice of this website and set out some:

# fruits: cut up apples, pears, oranges; blueberries, cranberries, and other berries; raisins and currants
# softened dog food kibble
# meal worms, earthworms, and red worms

Robins never eat bird seed--their stomach and intestines are not designed to digest them.

The first problem with robin feeders is that most robins have never heard of such a thing! It never occurs to them to explore their winter areas for human handouts. One of the easiest ways to help robins discover a winter feeder is to put it near a bird bath. They recognize those readily because they are all over mine in the summer.

The second problem with robin feeders is that the food can freeze. Mike Houle of LaCrosse, Wisconsin, figured out a good way to solve this problem. He filled a heated dog dish with peat moss, sawdust, and other soft matter. Then he put the worms in that. The heat from the dish keeps the bottom of the sawdust and peat moss unfrozen so the worms stay alive until a robin digs in!

I wish I could take credit for these beautiful photographs, but I took these off of the web.

Here is a list of the best varieties of berry shrubs for any berry eating bird.

# bittersweet
# bayberry
# snowberry
# sumac
# mountain ash
# crabapple
# hackberry
# hawthorn
# red cedar
# highbush cranberry
# chokecherry

Look around and see if maybe there any Robins hanging around your yard that you can help out. You might be surprised.

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Winter garden watering

We are currently under a high wind advisory. This is not uncommon here in Utah. Pacific storms can throw a lot of nasty stuff at us. Southern California is experiencing very large amounts of moisture being dumped on them and this heavy rainfall creates a weather pattern that generates high winds across the western Utah and Nevada desert which means high winds for us.

Despite the fact that these high winds are the result of heavy rainfall, by the time we get these little blessings from Mother Nature, the wind is dry.

Too much dry wind can adversely affect plants that are not protected by mulch. Wicking action will dry out a plant pretty quickly, which brought up a question that I don’t know the answer to and probably won’t know until this summer. Do I need to water my outdoor plants in winter?

Everything has been mulched well with a blanket of bark chips and leaves to at least three inches thick. Plus, there is ten inches of snow on them, although this is temporary. Shrubs, however, are taller than the mulch cover so their branches are exposed to these dry, winter winds. Is plant moisture being sucked up away from their roots? I guess I would need to dig them up to know for sure. I doubt that I can do this, frozen ground being the serious obstacle it is to digging.

Beds on the south and west sides of the house, shed and fences are most at risk of drying out because of reflected heat. We get foggy mornings and heavy frost and I am sure they add some moisture, but I worry that it isn’t enough.

I really don’t want to start the spring growing season with stressed out plants. I want to do what I can to put these plants in a more favorable position to handle the dryness and heat that is already in store for them from the coming summer.

It seems really odd to me that there is such a thing as ‘winter drought’, but it is real and my research has shown me that winter drought conditions can lead to root injury or death. The worst part is that it could be happening right now without the plants showing any symptoms. According to my local county extension office I wouldn’t know until next season if the plants are dying. They may leaf out and flower just fine in the spring, relying on stored food reserves. Once that energy supply runs out plants weaken and start dying back. Even if a plant isn’t killed outright, it is made more susceptible to insect and disease attack.

With global warming rearing its ugly head, we can’t rely on receiving enough snow cover to protect our plants so it is becoming increasingly more important to mulch well. Shade trees with shallow root systems are especially susceptible to drying out. This includes Norway maple, silver maple, linden, Colorado blue spruce, Norway spruce, and many other evergreens. Shrubs are also vulnerable to winter drought damage, especially those growing up close to the house or in a warmer location. This includes junipers, Oregon grape-holly, and euonymus.

What I read is not encouraging for this year. Watering is supposed to be done when the air temperature is above 40F (some say 32F) with no snow cover and when the ground isn’t frozen. Yeah, right. Let’s see, that would be last month and two months from now. I’ll just have to keep my fingers crossed.

Our clay soil holds water, sometimes a little too well, so this might be a blessing. If you have a more ‘perfect’ soil you should already have watered. Horticulturists used to say it was good practice to insure dormancy by drought stressing plants in the fall and thus decreasing the chance of winter injury. Research since then has indicated that the reverse is true. What you know yesterday may not be true today. Great, another stress point for the gardener.

If the soil can stay slightly moist down to about 12 to 18 inches then plants should fair well despite winter’s drying winds.

Be especially mindful of plants under the eaves of the house. I have noticed a strip about 18 inches wide around the house that is dry after a good rain that I thought was watering everything.

One thing to look for as a sign of moisture loss is cracked soil where roots can become exposed. If you see this condition add some soil to fill in the cracks and add about three inches of mulch and then water, if the temperature is right. You don’t want to water late in the day when night time temperatures could freeze the water directly against the plant base causing more damage. Water early in the day so it has a chance to drain away.

Best methods for watering include: twin-eye or frog-eye sprinkler, deep-root fork or needle, soaker hose or soft spray wand. Give plants a good, deep drink of water letting the water run for 20 to 30 minutes in each area, then move to achieve good overlap. For trees, as a general survival rule, apply 10 gallons of water for each diameter inch of the tree. For example, a two-inch diameter tree, needs 20 gallons per watering.

Newly planted shrubs require more water than established shrubs that have been planted for at least one year. Assuming shrubs are mulched, apply 5 gallons two times per month for a newly planted shrub. Small established shrubs (less than 3 feet tall) should receive 5 gallons monthly. Large established shrubs (more than 6 feet) require 18 gallons on a monthly basis. Decrease amounts to account for precipitation. Water within the dripline of the shrub and around the base. Note: In dry winters, all shrubs benefit from winter watering from October through March.

So, the result of my research on the drying effects of winter winds tells me that it is important to mulch well, water deeply before the ground freezes, and I won’t know if my plants are okay until I see them growing or struggling this spring/summer. Life is full of surprises. Hopefully, this winter will be kind.

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Building a Raised Bed

Here is a really easy project that adds a bit of formality to your garden and is actually healthier for your plants and easier for you to access them.

Several of my vegetable beds are raised beds. I built these because, one, they clearly define a space I set aside just for vegetables. Two, the soil in these beds never get stepped on, this is very important because compacting the soil is not good for any plant. Last reason is because the soil here in Utah is clay. Darn the luck. And being clay, it is difficult to work in, needs a lot of amending and it is a little more alkaline than I would like to garden in.

With raised beds,

I can add good quality soil and mix it easily with compost and other amendments,
I am not tempted to walk on it because of the sides
and the soil is always fluffy and easy to work with (arable).

Alkalinity, just as a side note, locks up the nutrients and prevents plant roots from having access to them. The cure for this is iron chelate (pronounced key-late). It is a bit expensive but there is a huge market for it here in Utah. Before you go running out and buying this stuff, you need to know that you only have to use a small amount and if you use too much it will burn the plant’s leaves. As always, it is best to get a soil test before using any soil amendment.

Building these is pretty straight forward unless you want to get fancy and start making hexagons and octagons. Typically they are four sided and stand about two board widths tall.

Materials. If you want to use wood, get cedar or redwood and don’t use treated wood. These two woods stand up a long time against the wet soil typically found in gardens without rotting away. Pine is one of the worst materials, it can be used but plan on replacing it next year. Concrete or cinder blocks, bricks, or even bales of hay can be used. The thing about concrete blocks is that the lime content tends to leak into the soil. Lime is one of reasons our soil here is alkaline, so this is not always a good choice of material.

About pressure-treated wood, some people say that the treatment (which makes the wood rot and insect resistant) won’t bother your edible plants, but I figure why take the chance. We already have enough to worry about with our food chain, I am not going to add another possibility of contamination.

This bed, pictured here, is one of four, built of four 2”x6”x8’ cedar, cut in half and stacked two high. They are going through their fourth winter. I don’t plan on replacing these for another two to four years. Although I have heard reports of them lasting even longer. If they do, I will consider myself lucky. They cost me about fifteen dollars each for lumber and screws. Be sure to use galvanized so they don’t get rusty. This bed has eight pepper plants and one small lilac bush.

For the supports, I used two by fours but you could easily use one by twos. I cut the other end into a point so they could be hammered into the ground. Also, I placed about ten sheets of newspaper at the bottom of each to cover the grass growing there. It helps keep most of the grass out but I still occasionally have to pull some grass. I don’t consider it a major problem.

You can build them taller so you don’t have to bend over as far to get into them, but consider the extra amount of soil you have to add and the added pressure from all of that weight on the sides as they get taller. You can build a seat around all four sides or just one side, whatever suits your needs.

You can place PVC pipes on the outside, or inside before filling the beds up with soil, to hold hoops for row covers and for trellises. I’m planning on doing this within the next few months. Cut a length of 1" diameter PVC pipe just shorter than the height of the bed frame and attach it with 'U' screws to the bed sides. You then place the ends of a smaller diameter PVC pipe inside the larger pipe for support.

You can also build a cold frame the same size as the bed and attach this to the bed to help harden off transplants and to extend your growing season.

These boxes are pretty versatile.

To make them easily accessible from all sides they should be built no wider than 3’ to 4’. They can be about as long as you have space for them, but you do want to be able to walk around them so its impractical to make them too long. I had built two, many years ago, that were each eight feet long. Those worked pretty well because I didn’t have to walk real far to get around them.

This bed I built last year is 4’ by 14.5’ but it is up against the deck and I won’t have to access it from the back side. I put larger plants, Bee Balm and Phlox, along the back, to help camouflage the deck from the yard, and then shorter perennials up front.

Each fall, after pulling out all of the plants and tilling the soil with my pitchfork, I pile leaves and grass clippings on top, about 6” to 8” deep and let them breakdown over winter. In spring, I’ll pile about 3” to 5” composted steer manure on top and then till that in with my pitchfork. I have always had healthy fruitful crops this way.

If you want your beds to stand up to winter and remain easily workable then raised beds are the way to go.

Good gardening!

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Weeding/Cultivating the garden

Weeding can be a zen thing. If you have ever gotten lost in thought while weeding or doing other mechanical or menial tasks you know what I mean. It can take you to a peaceful place where only you and your garden exists, far away from the troubled, hectic, stressful world around you.

Focusing your energy on the task at hand can free our complex brain to consider other more pressing worries on a subconscious level where the brain can devote more creative time to them. Some of my best ideas have come about while doing something totally unrelated to what I was worrying about.

Have you ever tried to find something and just cannot remember where you put it no matter how hard you try? Or, you just can’t seem to remember something important no matter what you do to ‘jog’ your memory? Put it out of your mind, go off onto something else and suddenly the memory comes back to you clear as day. Weeding the garden is like that.

Not many people truly enjoy weeding. Some of us have developed routines whereas, if given enough time, we can relax while weeding to the point where your mind is completely relaxed and the built-up stress and tension that knotted up your muscles drains away. Of course, pulling, bending, digging, kneeling, etc, in the garden may still strain those muscles, it is a good kind of weariness. The kind you feel after doing something you know is completely worthwhile.

Any amount of time I spend in the garden is considered a welcome break from the ‘outside’ world and I enjoy doing almost all of my weeding by hand just to prolong my time there.

With the help of raised beds, the weeding chores are very minimal. The open garden, however, is another matter. Weeds will creep under the fence from the neighbors yard or their seeds will be brought in on the wind or by birds so I will never be completely free on them. And I am glad. I suppose I view the never ending struggle between weeds trying to gain a foothold in my garden and my determination to not let them as a sort of job security. For if garden weeds never came back I would surely miss getting my hands dirty and the closeness that mingling with the plants provides.

When spring arrives, and the earliest of weeds begin popping up I can feel their taunting challenge to resume our battle. Before this past year I had grown only vegetables, which being annuals, allowed me to quickly dispatch any new weeds early in the year with a hoe. And then after that initial battle I would have the occasional skirmish with the more persistent weeds trying to grow among my crop. I chose to pull weeds throughout the rest of the year by hand because I was afraid of using the traditional weeding tools. It just seems that with their long sharp points I could easily rip up plant roots that I don’t want to disturb. Now this may sound like an irrational fear to those of you who have used these tools for years, but I have several weeding tools that have never seen soil.

A common misconception of new gardeners is the difference between a weeding tool and a cultivating tool. Weeding is, of course, the act of removing weeds from your garden. Cultivating is roughing up the soil to break up compaction that can occur from walking on it or from simply watering it. After the soil has sat undisturbed over winter it can become compacted as the snow melt seeps through the surface. Cultivating fluffs up the soil to make it easier to use for you and for the plants.

How can I overcome my fear of using the proper weeding tools? What I have read about ‘getting the right weeding tool’ hasn’t convinced me enough to use them yet.

I have seen some pretty interesting shapes for weeding like the Swoe that, so I have heard, has an almost cult-like following. Although, I have read more than one testimonial that said the tool is worthless because it takes about ‘three times the force’ to get a weed up. Maybe the soil is too hard for the tool. It is held like a golf club, right up my alley, and is used to cut just under the soil. This is the best photo I can find, it comes from White Flower Farm. You need to use this one on new weeds and when the soil is loose. Maybe I can work on my chip shots at the same time. Can’t you just see it, weeds flying about twenty yards right into the wheelbarrow.

The scuffle hoe, also called a stirrup hoe or hula hoe, looks like it would be easy to use. This one is advertised in several places as the best hoe on the market. It cuts weeds on the push and pull strokes. It doesn’t chop up the weeds so much as cutting them just under the soil line. If you shop for one, be conscious of the welds and the quality of the blade. Most blades are replaceable which also makes this one a good choice.

Here’s a tool called the Cape Cod weeder that is very popular. The narrow design makes it ideal for getting into tight spots between plants and odd shaped garden spaces. It is listed as a three-way tool, pointed straight down to dig holes for small plants, turned diagonally for cultivating, and sideways to act as a scythe or cycle in cutting a bunch of weeds in one swoop. This one can be found with a long handle so I might look into adding this one to my collection soon.

Now this last weeder, the Warren hoe, looks promising too. This is like the standard hoe but has only one point instead of the traditional two. Its heart-shaped head offers a little more precision so that you can work around plants a little easier. It isn’t used for moving soil so the common hoe, pictured below, is not going to be replaced.

As for cultivating, the standard hoe is what I have always used in early spring. It is great for hacking up the soil to loosening it up, making trenches for seeds, moving soil around and making hills for my squash plants. It’s a bit too imprecise to use among growing plants because of its size, so it is not good as a weeding tool. This is why I have relied on mulch and hand picking of weeds.



The standard tool that many of us mistake for a weeder is actually a cultivator. No, not that kind of cultivator, I am referring to a hand cultivator. It’s true intention is to loosen the soil’s surface to allow water to penetrate under the top layer and for scattering seed.







This tool is one the few combination weeder/cultivators I might use for my hard soil. It is known as a Korean plow but is sometimes sold as an EZ digger. It looks very comfortable to hold and the backward pointed head seems like it would easily cut into the dry hard soil it is meant for. I can see why this tool would not be a practical candidate for a long handle because you would have to get down on the ground anyway for the curved head to be effective. It is best used on larger weeds and, as I mentioned, hard soil. You could turn it sideways too and hack away at a bunch of weeds at once, but you would still need to come back and dig at the roots, probably with the Swoe.

Lately, there has been a lot emphasis on ergonomics. The traditional straight handles are out and the smoothly curved almost sexy looking handles are designed to create less strain on your wrists and hands. I don’t have any of these yet but I also have not had any problem with the hoe and shovels I use. I imagine by the time I get around to replacing my tools ergonomic handles will be all that is available anyway.

After reviewing these tools, I might pick up a Warren hoe and the Cape Cod weeder but that is no guarantee I will actually use them. Right now, I’m still counting on mulching to help me save my plants. Even though I realize this method probably can’t last very long.

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Extending the gardening season

Those of us who garden in the northern U.S. and Canada are forced to take a 3-4 month break from gardening every winter. And few of us actually welcome that break.

Philosophically, we have always accepted this as a time for the garden to rest and recuperate in anticipation of springs arrival. But, some of us don’t want to wait. We do not have to accept this traditional waiting period to get our hands dirty and salads fresh.

There are techniques and devices to allow us to garden year round, despite the weather. Ah, where would we all be without techniques and devices?

And now, with the threat of shorter winters, due to climate change, the ability to garden all the time is even easier.

You are only limited by your own imagination in cheaply creating a sustainable environment out of found or recycled materials to grow all the ingredients for your next salad.

Solar energy is almost always available. How we use it when it is available is the key. If we can protect our plants from winters wind, freezing rain and snow and store this solar warmth, we can pull this off.

For those times when the sun cannot help us, then we must use our imagination to generate heat until the sun does come out.

Extravagant methods involve using heating cable wound throughout a growing bed, installing light sources, and even installing heaters under a protective roof. These require electricity and of course electrical wiring running through the yard that, quite frankly just doesn’t sound very safe.

For simpler, less dangerous methods, read on.

Over the years gardeners have discovered cloches, forcing jars, solar-charged hot water bottles, row covers, cold frames and all sorts of other devices to stretch the growing season by as much as four to six weeks in Spring, as well as in Fall. With a greenhouse, gardening can become an all-year endeavor.

Any of these devices can be made of glass or plastic and they can be purchased or made out of materials you probably use on a daily basis.

Cloches, in their simplest forms, are glass jars. Traditionally bell shaped, they have also been made to look like lanterns and pyramids complete with a metal framework to add a touch of decoration to the garden. You can create the same effect by attaching panes of glass on a wood, wire, pvc or bamboo frame. They were first designed by the French to keep out the bitter cold and frost and to warm up the soil surrounding the plant in spring to hasten their crops to early maturity. They also protect plants from insects, birds and strong winds.

Any clear glass or plastic jar you have in your home can serve the same purpose. You can also use plastic milk cartons, soft drink or juice bottles or any semi-rigid container that will allow sunlight penetration. The larger the better to allow for breathing room. You just need to devise a way to prevent them from being knocked over by the wind. I personally have used landscape fabric anchors of heavy gauge wire poked through the sides of milk bottles and shoved into the ground to anchor the containers. It works pretty well if you anchor them deeply enough.

Cloches come in all sizes and can even be used as terrariums as the ones pictured here.








There are umbrella cloches, which are basically very large cloches, but some are made without sides, or with sides that don’t reach the ground. These can be used in warmer weather to shade individual plants or a small number of plants from an overbearing sun.


In spring, cloches are great for heat-loving plants that are spaced a little further apart, such as tomatoes, peppers and sqaush. You can have tomatoes up to four weeks earlier with these handy devices and this in itself is well worth the effort.

Here’s an example of a home-made cloche using a wire hanging basket and poly film. The film is strong enough to last a few years and is easily replaced if it breaks. Cover the hanging basket with a piece of the film, folding the film over the edge of the rim and then attach it to the frame with cellophane tape. Use a hairdryer to shrink the film until all the wrinkles disappear and it goes tight. Snip off any surplus film with a pair of scissors.

One drawback to most cloches is they have to be constantly monitored and occasionally lifted or propped up to allow the built up moisture and heat to escape. Some cloches you have a lid on top that you can lift off for this purpose.

Another drawback to cloches is they only cover a few small seedlings or individual plants. This led gardeners to create the row cover. Look at it as a continuous cloche. It’s a tunnel-like structure, made of plastic or glass or mesh and supported by wire, wooden or plastic hoops. It can be opened at each end or closed but should be easily opened to allow air circulation and to allow heat to escape. It can also be used throughout warmer weather to act as shade and a barrier against insects and birds.

Forcing jars are used to force bulbs. They are made of clay and do not allow light to enter. Typically they are very use specific for rhubarb and chicory. (picture of forcing jars from blog pictures)



Row covers are constructed of hoops and sheeting available from a variety of sources and are made of materials that can transmit up to 85 percent of available light. Depending on its weight it can keep heat in, bugs out, allow water in and creates a great windbreak. It can be cut to any size frame you have and at the end of the season can be folded for storage. In summer, for shade purposes, there is fabric that can allow up to 70 percent light in for those plants that need more light.

Hot caps are basically simple cloches used in cooler zones to protect seedlings from cold weather and birds. They are made of plastic or a heavy translucent waxed paper. They only provide 2-3 degrees of frost protection so plants can go into the garden 1-2 weeks earlier than without protection.

Wall-o-water are great for protecting from freezing weather and can allow less cold-hardy plants such as tomatoes, peppers, squash up to 6 weeks early start without fear of freezing. These are very easy to make yourself by grouping 2 liter soda bottles around one bottle (or anything else to act as a form) in the center, tape the outside bottles together and pull out the center form to create a donut. Fill the outside bottles with water and set them around individual plants. The sun heats the water during the day and envelopes the plant with heat during the night. You need to place something over the top to help keep the heat in. When the warmer weather arrives, your plants should already be popping through the top and you can remove the wall-o-water.

Cold frames or Sun boxes are usually home made structures of wooden boards, plywood, concrete blocks, or bales of hay with glass, plastic or fiberglass sheeting to act as a lid which is hinged at the back. They are built higher at the back so that when the frame sits on a raised bed or on the ground, the sun can reach into the box to the plants. You prop the window up during the day and close it at night to keep heat in. The optimum size is between 2 by 4 feet and 3 by 6 feet so you can reach all of the plants inside. If you have raised beds it would be ideal to match the size so the cold frame sit on the sides of the bed.

The frame should be facing the south or southeast for maximum sun exposure.

The key to using a cold frame successfully is paying attention to the temperature—and the trick is in keeping it cool rather than warm. The temperature inside the cold frame should stay below 75 degrees F for summer plants, below 60 degrees for cold-tolerant plants like lettuce, carrots, etc. The way to keep temperatures cool inside a cold frame is to lift the lid. A good rule of thumb: when outdoor temperatures are above 40 degrees, prop open the lid 6 inches; when the outdoor temps stay above 50 degrees F for several days in a row, remove the lid. Be sure to restore the lid in late afternoon to trap the heat inside for cool nights. You can also buy automatic venting devices in some gardening catalogs.

On frigid nights, the plants inside the cold frame may need a little extra protection to keep from freezing. Most heat escapes through the glass, so pile insulation on top. You can use old blankets, straw, newspaper or whatever is handy. Snow insulates well, too, but brush heavy snow off the glass so it doesn't break.

These are great for hardening-off seedlings on their way into the open garden.

Hot beds are cold frames heated by soil-heating cables, steam pipes or fresh manure buried beneath the rooting zones of the plants. Everything else is basically the same.

Solar-charged hot water bottles are any water-filled container painted flat black to absorb solar warmth during the day and release it at night. These are stacked at the back wall of a cold frame as a layer of insulation. Use square, plastic milk jugs so they are easy to stack, or you can incorporate black water-filled barrels in any wall of your cold frame’s design. You can also use soft drink bottles and juice containers, simply stack them loosely or duct-tape the cylinders together to build a heat-absorbing wall to give any tender seedlings an earlier start.

Greenhouses are the ultimate in indoor gardening and come in a wide range of sizes and shapes from stand alone to lean-to type to place against your house, garage or shed. They are constructed of plastic, glass, or fiberglass with the frames made from metal, wood, plastic, bamboo, or pvc pipes. The panels are sometimes doubled up with a layer of air between them as an extra measure of insulation. There is a huge market for all of the accessories you could possible need or want for a greenhouse, from potting benches to heating and ventilation elements. These are pretty impractical for the smaller yard but if you have the space then they can provide a great way to grow year round.

Winter sowing is the latest method of seed germination. Aside from the typical method of starting your seeds indoors, this method takes place outdoors. You create mini-greenhouses out of containers such as gallon plastic milk cartons, 2 to 5 gallon water bottles, two-liter soda bottles, salad take-out containers, and big plastic jars (the kind pretzels come in at warehouse clubs) . These containers should be large enough to hold about 3 inches of soil and have enough head room for the growing plants.

Punch holes in the bottom of the containers for drainage. If the opening of the container is small, cut the top off to allow access to the inside. For convenience in lining it back together, leave part of it attached to use as a hinge, add soil and then wet it good. At this point it is best to allow the water to drain well and add the seeds later. After adding the seeds, tape the two halves together and set the container outside in the sun. Keep checking your containers for condensation, if there is none then it means you either have too many holes in the lid or the soil is drying out. Water as often as is necessary to keep the soil moist but not soggy.

If you are using large mouth jars then punch holes in the lids for ventilation, for small mouth containers don’t bother, just throw the caps away.

As the weather warms up in spring, make your transpiration holes larger until you can take the lids off entirely. This process is the hardening off period and after this is completed simply take your plants out of their containers and put them into the open garden.

You could actually put your seeds in jiffy pots inside these containers so you do not disturb the roots when you transplant them.

Virtually any seed you can start indoors will work for this winter-sowing method. So experiment, the materials are all re-useable so it doesn’t cost much to try.

Before you know it we will all be eating fresh salads from our very own garden year round.

All of these devices work very well for non-edible plants as well so don’t be afraid to experiment. Part of the joy of gardening is discovering the little tricks that help make you a more successful gardener.

Happy gardening to you!

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