Personally I think the water bottles are too small. There isn't enough growing room in them. You'll be moving them out of them pretty quickly once they sprout. Depending on the shape of them, it could be difficult to get the plant out too.

But if that's all you have, then use what you got. :)

I've been using a lot of sour cream, yogurt containers, and the clear plastic tubs that salad greens come in. Winter is nearly over for my zone, so my seedlings won't be in them long and I'm home most of the time to keep an eye on them too.

milk jugs are #1 for me. As I became more experienced with different seeds, i tried other containers. Small containers dry out quickly and it's hard to remove the seedlings. i raid my neighbors' recycling bins after nine on trash night. no one cares.

Most of the small water bottles I've seen are made out of real flimsy plastic. I saved a few earlier in the season, but when I attempted to cut the containers in half, they completely crushed and disintegrated. I'm not sure how they would hold up to the harsh winter elements.

This is my first season winter sowing, so take what I say with a grain of salt. YMMV.

This is my first year winter sowing. I'm using milk jugs, beverage bottles (2 liter and 24oz), and a few plastic containers I had saved for seed germinating and rootings indoors. Unfortunately, we don't go through a lot of milk or know anyone that does, so the soda bottles were needed... and I just happened to have a stash already cleaned and cut from a self-watering planter project last year.

I did see something somewhere about putting regular planting pots in a large "treasure bag" (?) from a dollar store. Put holes in the bottom of the bag for drainage, and perhaps a skewer or something that's clean and doesn't mold when moist sticking up to keep the bag from collapsing. The posting I read said to use the tops of water bottles (well, any beverage bottle, I'd think), and sit those on the pot. Then use a rubber band to secure the bag to the bottle's neck, leaving the opening open. I wish I could remember where I read that...

Here's a link that might be useful. I'm going to try it this year for my clematis seeds. The site is about clematis, and since most need stratification, I figured this method of germination would work for winter sowing. Seems easy enough.

http://www.bcollingwood.com/Germination.htm

I had used the zip up bag that comforters come in. I put 2 blue totes in the bag and it held my styrofoam cups. I had slits in both the top and bottom of the bag and holes drilled in the totes. On warm days I would unzip the bag to ventilate. Long story short, imagine my surprise when one day I had my tote beside me as I was planting away, only to have the beejeebers scared out of me by a BIG green frog...guess I had made him his very own rain forest.(yes I screamed like a girl....)

I often use 16 ounce bottle to sow tomatoes, I have a bunch of them on hand. To prep them, at their equator, I cut almost all the way through leaving a pit of plastic for a hinge. I add a snip or two with the scissors to the base for drainage. Of course, no caps. Transplanting is as easy as pie. I use scissors and in one long vertical slit I cut open the side of the bottle and pop out the soil mass like it's a plant plug--which, in effect, it is.

The nice thing about the 16 ounce bottles is that they are wonderful if you're sharing your seedlings. They are little units and don't need separating or rewrapping for sharing. Just give as is.

I do a lot of charity work and donate tomatoes for non-profit plant sales. For them, on sale days, you just cut off the top, add a plant tag and voila, ready to sell. Because the bottles are small I group them together in a larger container--jamming in just enough that they will stand upright.

T

Trudi; how many tomatoe seeds do you put into one bottle? If one - you take a risk of not germinating and have a empty bottle (not much risk) or if more then one, if all seeds germinate, do you cut all except one?

My all time favourites are the plastic containers that lettuce greens/spinach come in, mostly because the lids fit tightly and stay on. They are easy to get the soil into, easy to drill the drainage and air holes into, they don't blow over in the wind, and given a thorough washing at the end of the season (using hot soapy water, and a rinse in hot water with a bit of bleach added), they can be used over and over. I have planted really fine seeds (oregano, petunia seeds for example), larger seeds like tomatoes, leeks, onions, you name it using these containers and they have worked exceptionally well for me.

I can see where the 16 oz. bottles might be useful, especially if you are growing single plants to give away.

That's the beauty of winter sowing. You can use almost anything and as long as you have provided drainage and air, it will work!