Seminar 1: The ABCs of Winter Sowing

Saturday, January 20, 2024, at 11:00 a.m.

In our first seminar of 2024, you'll learn everything you need to know to successfully germinate seeds outside in winter. Many plants - especially natives - need a period of repeated freezing and thawing, called cold stratification, to break dormancy and germinate. By mimicking nature, winter sowing is an easy, cost-effective way to increase important plant diversity in the garden, grow hard-to-find varieties often not available at your local garden centre and get an early start on spring veggies.

Grey County Master Gardeners Jennifer Deeks and Vicky Thompson share their different approaches to winter sowing - with straightforward, science-based advice on timing, equipment, seed selection, soil, what to do, what not to do(!), including a demonstration of the “pop-bottle” mini-greenhouse method. If you've ever wanted to try winter sowing, this is a must-attend event.

Vicky Thompson has been a member of Grey County Master Gardeners since 2013. She gardens in downtown Owen Sound and at the family cottage on the Bruce Peninsula. A major interest (and challenge) is making home gardens more ecologically responsible – more a part of nature. As a retired physician Vicky is also interested in the links between gardening, plants and human health.

These interests coalesce in a passion for native plants – growing native plants from seed and planting them wherever possible is her focus in gardening. Our native plants are crucial for the survival of our native insects, which are crucial for the health of our ecology. The link between ecology and human health becomes more obvious, and important all the time.

Jennifer is a Master Gardener with the Grey County Master Gardeners. Originally from Mississauga, she has been based in Owen Sound since 2019. She has a diploma in horticulture from the University of Guelph and owns and operates Jenny’s Farm – a small landscape company. When the winter weather hides the gardens, her collection of over 150 houseplants gets much more of her time and attention.

With a particular interest in plant propagation – particularly of native species, her most exciting new acquisition is a small greenhouse to experiment with a longer growing season.

Jennifer generally enjoys caring for living things and is also a Registered Veterinary Technician of 23 years and counting. She considers herself a lifelong learner and is currently working towards a specialized veterinary certification. When not working, you can find Jennifer combining her two favourite things by spending time in her own gardens with her bearded collies, Watson and Moriarty.