Winter Sowing Challenge #1: An Interview with Trudi Davidoff - expert in Winter Sowing Germination

We’re bringing to you the interview with Trudi Davidoff – the leading expert in Winter Sowing Germination. Enjoy!

Q1. What is your personal goal re: gardening?

Trudi Davidoff: Simple is best. I like a garden that has old-fashioned flowers with a good mix of shrubs, grasses and trees. The garden here is a certified Wildlife Habitat. It was a goal for many years to develop a garden that provides food and shelter for wildlife as well as be easy to care for. I have a lovely shrub border in the back corner garden, now well established but it needs to be pruned back this year—I’ll cut the shrubs down by a third to tidy it all up. The grasses also need thinning—and that’s a job as I don’t water much, so they have very deep root systems.

Q2. How did the idea of winter sowing first pop into your head?

Trudi Davidoff: I had been trading seeds online and had amassed enough to fill a popcorn tin, but I live in a small cottage with no room for a light set-up, and the cats own the windowsills. I was outside thinking about my predicament and I thought that Mother Nature sows her seeds outside so I can too. I needed to get around the problems associated with direct sowing. Seeds are food—birds and critters eat them, they wash out in heavy storms, they can desiccate in wind, and any that do sprout will be mixed in with sprouting weed seeds. So, the solution was to put the seeds into covered containers set outside, but to prevent the air inside from overheating the containers needed to be vented to let the warm air out. Using containers made from recycles is inexpensive and there’s a steady supply.

Q3. How has your life changed since the beginning of the “winter sowing” strategy?

Trudi Davidoff: Yes. At first it was difficult talking about WS online because most people were used to starting seeds indoors under lights or by direct sowing. Here I come along saying it can be done by a child in a milkjug and the child would have better success that the most experienced gardener. Of course, there was some criticism and much of it very vile. I needed help to get the information to the public that would also give me support for the idea of Winter Sowing. I contacted AgNIC which is a consortium of extensions and government agencies, showed them Winter Sowing and they asked me to join their group. They taught me how to design the website and how to provide the best information. http://www.agnic.org

4. Lots of information about winter sowing is on your website, but if you could point out the biggest challenge that you’ve had while winter sowing, what would it be and how did you/do you work around it?

Trudi Davidoff: Because the containers have vented tops rain and melting snows will drip in and moisten the soil. If the bottom of the container is still frozen the excess water will not drain through and then it all gets very muddy. The solution was actually quite easy. Instead of putting another drainage hole in the base I stabbed one in the side wall of the container with a little knife, twisted it and let the water drain out. Drainage holes on the bottom of the containers are always needed but once in a while you’ll need to add one to the side to release water that can’t drain through.
http://wintersown.org/wseo1/FlatsTooSoggy.html

Q5. Any other quick tips for people trying winter sowing for the first time?

Trudi Davidoff: Hardy annuals, perennials and biennials can be sown anytime in winter, save the tender annuals to sow right before winter breaks into spring.

I would like to thank Trudi for taking time to answer our questions.

For more information about Winter Sowing check Trudi's website

-- Michal, http://gardentenders.com