It's only February and I've already planted most of my seeds. Is it too soon?

This winter has been colder than normal, too; am I crazy?

Oh look—more snow!

This last January was supposedly the coldest one New York City has had in 13 years. We’ve already had more snowstorms this winter than I can keep track of, and right now the plants on the terrace are all topped off with a few inches of snow. Not a bad thing, I know, since the snow and ice are supposed to provide good insulation from the cold, but, still—not exactly what I want to see right now.

It’s been consistently cold, and the forecast tells me not to go expecting anything different. So why have I already sowed seeds of 24 flower varieties?

• Because I’m going stir-crazy! I’m tired of being stuck inside, and I guess I needed a little excitement in my life (sad, I know).

• Last spring was so warm that I regretted not having plants to put out earlier. This time I’m determined to have an April garden that’s not as boring as last year’s.

• Will this upcoming spring be as warm? Maybe not, but most of the plants I’ve already sown won’t mind if it’s a bit cold still (fingers crossed).

• I’ve sown 14 of the 24 varieties using the winter sowing method, so it’s not quite as crazy as it sounds. On those seeds I’m too late, if anything.

My downsized sweet pea crop for 2025

Sweet Peas

Do you remember how many sweet peas I grew last year? I was so excited to grow them that I think I was a little greedy, cramming sweet pea plants into my two largest pots. I coddled the plants all late winter and early spring, only for them to finally flower and then fizzle out quickly in a May heatwave.

This year I’m managing my expectations, sowing only nine seeds as opposed to last year’s 21. Three each of my leftover seeds from last year: ‘Castlewellan,’ ‘Flora Norton,’ and ‘King’s High Scent.’ The plan is to grow them all in one 16-inch pot, keeping it on the shady side of the terrace from the start. Maybe last year’s May heatwave was a fluke, but I don’t want to risk it, and I’d really like to have flowers around for more than a week or two.

I also sowed the seeds a few weeks earlier this year, on January 25th. Last year I sowed them on February 10th since I heard that it’s good to sow them around Valentine’s Day, but looking back I think that the plants needed more time to grow tall and strong before the weather warmed up. Sweet Peas can handle cold temperatures—they actually like it when it’s cold, so if there’s one plant you can feel confident in sowing early, it’s this one. I mean, I’m kind of wishing I’d planted mine even earlier now.

Last year’s sowing method worked great for me. I won’t go into the whole thing here (you can check it out in the post above) but I sow three seeds in a tall red cup (the American frat party kind—just be sure to cut holes in the bottom), keep them domed and covered inside until they germinate, then kick them outside into a clear plastic storage bin cold frame until they’re large enough to plant out. So easy and space-saving, especially if you’re, like me, low on indoor growing room. Sweet peas don’t need—and actually don’t want—to be indoors under lights (it’s much too warm inside), so save those lights for other plants that will appreciate them more.

In a few weeks I’ll probably have two shelves filled with seedlings; right now I have one tray under lights, and another germinating on a heat map.

Growing Indoors, Under Lights

Fortunately I have lot of plants that will appreciate a good grow light. Too many? We’ll see!

Once again I’ll be sticking to last year’s seed sowing method, so be sure to check out the post above if you’re wondering how to start seeds in a small apartment without taking over the place and upsetting the people you live with.

What I’m Starting Early

• Springtime (and possibly wintertime) bloomers: I sowed some violas (‘Antique Shades’) on 1/25, though now I’m wishing I’d sowed them earlier. Not a big deal, since I have a few different viola varieties I sowed last fall in the cold frame, but I’m kind of most excited for Antique Shades now.

• More slow-growers that can also take some cold: I sowed snapdragons, asarina (a sort of vining snapdragon that I’m planning on growing up a wigwam with thunbergia), and erigeron. I’m hoping that by sowing them early I can get them out in the coldframe before some of my more delicate annuals will be needing the grow lights.

• Slow-growers that I don’t mind coddling for a while: I sowed cobaea scandens the same time as the violas, on 1/25, and so far I have one seedling that’s germinated. They’re slow! That’s why Sarah Raven recommends sowing them early so that they’ll have plenty of time to grow tall (seriously—they can get up to 10-20 ft. tall, and won’t even start to flower till the six foot mark). I’m keeping mine under lights for a while, and then will grow them on in 5-inch pots outfitted with mini wigwams.

• I also sowed bacopa and lobelia on 2/8. I’m not sure how hardy they are, but I really want to have them early for some new window boxes I’m planting.

This magical cobaea scandens popped up like this overnight

What I’m Not Sowing Early:

• The annuals that can’t take the cold: I’ve learned long ago to sow cosmos and zinnias later than the seed packets advise. A few years back I had to throw out a whole tray of zinnias when the Portland spring stayed cold and rainy long past the last frost date. I’m not taking that chance again, especially on a plant as easy to grow as a zinnia.

• The fast-growers: cosmos and zinnias, again. It’s actually kind of a luxury to sow these ones after months of dealing with tiny snapdragons that stay tiny and violas that grow by the micrometer. I can sow a cosmos seed and have a seedling up in a few days, and from then it on it just romps and romps.

• The ones that take up too much space: Last year I sowed my dahlia seeds on 3/10, and I think I’ll do the same this year. It worked well. There aren’t many plants I find myself having to pot up multiple times, but dahlias are one of them, and there’s only so much space under the grow lights.

All of my winter seeds, waiting to germinate

Winter Sowing

In late fall and winter, when Gardeners’ World is off the air, I binge watch gardeners on Youtube and end up getting all sorts of wild ideas. This year I’ve finally succumbed to the winter sowing trend. I’m fascinated by the people germinating seeds and growing plants over winter in plastic milk jugs and salad cartons. That will never work, I cynically think, and then a few months later I’m always amazed when these Youtubers crack open their milk jugs to find lush green seedlings.

I love Garden Youtube for these ideas that might seem a bit crazy and don’t usually make it into the garden books. The books will usually tell you to do your winter sowing in an unheated greenhouse, but how many of us have a greenhouse? That’s why I love a resourceful YouTube gardener. “You might not have a greenhouse,” they’ll say, “but I know you have a milk jug lying around.”

I don’t drink milk, and I’m still not sold on the idea of growing plants in bottles (I know it works, but it seems overwhelming to me for some reason, all that duct tape . . . ). But one winter sowing method involves sowing seeds into little pots and placing them in plastic storage bins, and this definitely seems the most doable (and the least fussy) to me.

YouTuber Soil and Margaritas is growing mostly flowers, too, so I decided to follow her winter sowing method for my first go-round. I bought another plastic storage bin and some more little pots, and sowed on 1/25.

What I’m growing:

• Perennials: these usually take a long time to grow, so a lot of Youtubers recommend sowing them in winter in order to give them a good head start. In my case I sowed some seeds collected around town, including some sea holly (thanks, Drew!), salvia ‘Caradonna,’ chrysanthemum ‘Hillside Sheffield Pink’ (yes, I did take a few seeedheads from a neighbor’s sidewalk pot), and also some Brooklyn Bridge Park penstemon seeds I got (legally) in a local seed swap.

• The seeds that need cold stratification: I know that I can stratify seeds in the fridge, but that’s just another one of those things that feels like too much fuss to me; I’d rather just sow outside and let winter work its magic. I sowed stratification-preferring orlaya, larkspur, verbena, and some more erigeron (I’m so eager to grow it, I’m experimenting with growing it under lights as well as outdoors). I also sowed alyssum, which I thought needed stratification, but apparently not? We’ll see. (P.S. these aren’t the only seeds I sowed that like a little cold stratification; most perennials—including the ones I sowed—do too, as well as most plants that naturally self-seed).

• Seeds I’m on the fence about growing and don’t want to waste grow light space on: silene (I liked it last year, but maybe not for a pot), chocolate lace flower (old seeds . . . iffy . . . ), calendula, cerinthe, and the forget-me-nots that didn’t germinate for me last year but that I want to give one more shot.

So everything has been sown, and the only thing left to do is wait, which is not something that I’m good at. Weeks later, nothing has germinated yet, and I always have to stop myself from opening up the storage bin and poking around in the soil. Patience! Winter sowing may not be the most exciting of methods for a person like me who gets out of bed each morning and instantly goes and peeks under the grow lights for new leaves and shoots. They always say that gardening teaches you patience, but I guess I haven’t learned that lesson yet.