Winter Pollinator Fun at School: Seed Sowing Activity

A native plant winter seed sowing project in milk jugs or other plastic containers is a great, low-cost way for schools to grow a lot of pollinator-friendly plants from seed for school gardens.

It gives students the opportunity to connect to the outdoors at a time when they’re often spending more time inside, it can help them develop an interest in gardening, it incorporates a hands-on activity into pollinator curriculum during the winter, and it lets students play a part in supporting wildlife and their environment.

Wild Ones Twin Cities Seed Sowing Workshop at Wood Lake Nature Center, January 2024

You may be asking: What is winter sowing? As explained in this Native Plant Winter Seed Sowing handout by Wild Ones Twin Cities, “Winter seed sowing is an easy and inexpensive method of starting native seeds outside by making ‘green houses’ out of clean plastic containers with lids.” The handout includes great information to get you started, including which Minnesota plant species will sow easily. Another great resource is this Winter Seed Sowing Guide by Blue Thumb – Planting for Clean Water, with step-by-by step instructions and more reasons for winter sowing.

We recommend checking out this great discussion in the KidsGardening Growing Together: Open Forum about Growing Habitat to Inspire Learning Through Winter Sowing. In that community forum you’ll find tips and other resources from teachers and garden educators. For more inspiration, check out this Bethel Land Trust winter sowing project with an elementary school and high school in Bethel, Connecticut, as well as a presentation and quick instructions from that project.

In addition to all the resources above, it may be helpful to watch a how-to video. There are a lot to choose from, but this video from author, blogger, and Master Gardener Susan Mulvihill provides an easy-to-follow explanation. 

You may also want to participate in a winter sowing event held in your area for some hands-on instruction. Keep an eye on events held by the Minnesota Chapters of Wild Ones, or if you’re in the Twin Cities the MN SEED Project and Altlawns of Richfield and Bloomington also usually hold events. We recently participated in an event held by Wild Ones Twin Cities at Wood Lake Nature Center and had a great time while learning!

After doing some research for your project, you’ll be ready to start gathering and preparing your materials. For safety reasons, the preparation of the jugs/containers (#3 and #4 below) should be done before a project with students. Here's a quick task list:

1. Collect seeds. Contact your local university extension office, Master Gardeners, soil and water conservation district, or garden club to ask for advice on reputable, local native seed companies or ask if they can donate any seeds for your project.

2. Collect milk jugs or other plastic containers (i.e., clamshell salad package or distilled water or vinegar jugs). Ask the school foodservice team if they’d be willing to save some, reach out to a Facebook sowing group or your local Buy Nothing group on Facebook, or ask a local coffee chain if they could set some aside for you. Remove the caps on the jugs.

3. Drill or poke drainage holes in the bottom of the jugs/containers. Four to six holes is recommended. Create the holes in the jug BEFORE you cut it in half. It’ll be much easier and safer, as the jugs will have more stability. 

4. Cut the jugs almost in half, creating a hinge. You can either use a box cutter or scissors for this. See this blog post for a good Milk Jug Winter Sowing How-To with photos for this step.

5. Get soil. Look for well-draining potting soil. 

6. Get small coin envelopes for the native plant seeds (unless you’ve been given or purchase seed packets of individual plant species). Label the envelopes with the common names of the plants and paper clip stacks of the same kind. Note: DO NOT seal them, to avoid creating conditions for the seeds to mold. 

7. Get 3.5-gallon white plastic buckets. On the day of or before your activity, put the soil in the buckets and moisten it. 

8. Get soil scoops or find other alternatives. Large yogurt containers, plastic cups, or Tupperware that’s not being used will work too. On sowing day students will scoop out the soil from the buckets and place it in their containers.

9. Get 3” x 5” index cards. On the cards, write “3-inch fill line” with an arrow up to it so students can compare the cards their jugs as a visual reference of how much soil to put in the jugs.

10. Get spray bottles. On sowing day students will use these to moisten the soil in their containers once they’ve placed the seeds in it.

11. Get plant identifiers for the jugs/containers. This will make it easier when it’s time to transplant. If you write on the outside of the jugs, rain or snow may make it hard to read. 

12. Get duct tape. Once the students have placed the seeds in the soil and put the plant labels in their containers, they’ll tape it closed.

13. Collect milk crates or other crates for transport. This will make it easy to transport the containers and other materials to the school.

14. Find a spot outside for the students’ containers that will get morning sun and afternoon shade. Or find a somewhat shady spot out of full sun. On sowing day, either have the students move the containers outside when everyone has finished or ask for help from your fellow teachers or school staff.

You may have questions before you kick off your project, and we recommend reaching out to Master Gardeners in Minnesota. One of their volunteers also may be available to assist with your project at the school. 

For advice as you’re going along, it would also be a great idea to join the Twin Cities Winter Sowers group or Winter Sowers group on Facebook to view or participate in their discussions. 

Once you’re ready to transplant the seedlings you’ve winter sown in the spring, we recommend watching this video with Minnesota State Horticultural Society instructor Michelle Mero Riedel.

Here is an informational sheet from the Xerces Society about the sun requirements for many native plants in Minnesota, and a link to the Blue Thumb – Planting for Clean Water Plant Finder for any plants that aren't on that sheet.

Thank you for supporting pollinators with your students, and happy sowing!