{"id":25552,"date":"2025-02-21T15:26:40","date_gmt":"2025-02-21T20:26:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/gardening\/?p=25552"},"modified":"2025-02-21T15:26:40","modified_gmt":"2025-02-21T20:26:40","slug":"when-should-central-maine-zone-4-start-winter-sowing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/gardening\/2025\/02\/21\/when-should-central-maine-zone-4-start-winter-sowing\/","title":{"rendered":"When should central Maine Zone 4 start winter sowing?"},"content":{"rendered":"<h3>Question:<\/h3>\n<p><strong>When should central Maine Zone 4 start winter sowing?<\/strong><\/p>\n<div class=\"field-section2 slds-card slds-theme_default\">\n<div class=\"slds-card__body slds-card__body_inner\">\n<div class=\"section-layout-container slds-section slds-is-open\">\n<div class=\"slds-col slds-p-horizontal_small slds-p-vertical_x-small\">\n<div class=\"slds-grid slds-size_1-of-1 label-stacked undefined\" data-target-selection-name=\"sfdc:RecordField.Case.Description\">\n<div class=\"slds-form-element slds-hint-parent test-id__output-root slds-form-element_edit slds-form-element_readonly slds-form-element_stacked\">\n<div class=\"slds-form-element__control\">\n<p><span style=\"color: #0c598e;font-family: 'Roboto Slab', serif;font-size: 1.25rem\">Answer:<\/span><\/p>\n<div><span style=\"color: #000000\"><em>Jonathan Foster, Home Horticulture Outreach Professional<\/em><\/span><\/div>\n<div>\n<p>The answer ultimately depends on what you&#8217;re sowing, but realistically you can do most of it now. As it happens, I just wrote an article for the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/gardening\/maine-home-garden-news\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Maine Home Garden News<\/a>\u00a0on winter sowing, so I&#8217;ll include the relevant portion to your question:<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Circling back to the types of seeds, warm season vegetable garden crops are not great candidates for winter sowing, though this technique can be used to \u201ccheat\u201d for slightly earlier germination in the early spring. But for true winter sowing, stick to brassicas (broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, kale can all be sown outdoors in February), lettuce, beets, and spinach (these three can be sown outdoors in March). If you want to experiment with using this method to get an early start on summer plants like peppers and tomatoes, it\u2019s best to wait until April. If you\u2019re interested in winter sowing ornamentals, there are some clues for good candidates on the seed packet\u2013look for descriptions that include \u201chardy annual,\u201d \u201cwill colonize,\u201d \u201crequires chilling,\u201d \u201ccan be sown in Fall,\u201d or \u201ccan be sown early,\u201d among others (<a href=\"https:\/\/extension.umd.edu\/sites\/extension.umd.edu\/files\/2022-01\/Winter%20sowing%20talk%202022.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">UMD Cooperative Extension, page 10<\/a>). Options include asclepias, cosmos, pansies, zinnias, calendula, butterfly weed, echinacea, rudbeckia, and monarda. Hardy annuals and perennials can be started in January, standard annuals and tender perennials should be in March (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=6eWD9ZC-JPM\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Univ of IL Cooperative Extension video, time mark 15:52<\/a>).&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Happy gardening.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Question: When should central Maine Zone 4 start winter sowing? Answer: Jonathan Foster, Home Horticulture Outreach Professional The answer ultimately depends on what you&#8217;re sowing, but realistically you can do most of it now. As it happens, I just wrote an article for the\u00a0Maine Home Garden News\u00a0on winter sowing, so I&#8217;ll include the relevant portion [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":53,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_kad_blocks_custom_css":"","_kad_blocks_head_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_body_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_footer_custom_js":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[199,202,203],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-25552","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-ask","category-maintenance","category-propagation"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>When should central Maine Zone 4 start winter sowing? - Cooperative Extension: Garden and Yard - University of Maine Cooperative Extension<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/gardening\/2025\/02\/21\/when-should-central-maine-zone-4-start-winter-sowing\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"When should central Maine Zone 4 start winter sowing? - Cooperative Extension: Garden and Yard - University of Maine Cooperative Extension\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Question: When should central Maine Zone 4 start winter sowing? 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