By Gretchen Bravacos and Cynthia Whitty

Winter can be a particularly difficult time for gardeners who want to be out digging in their gardens rather than inside watching temperatures drop and snow fall. There is a sound reason for gardeners’ sometimes winter blues: working the soil can be a mood lifter. The smell of mycobacterium vacii, a microorganism found in soil, compost, and leaf mold, lights up neurotransmitters that release serotonin, a mood-lifting hormone. (www.facebook.com/SaveEarth03)

To help gardeners get through the winter months, the Ashland Garden Club (AGC) is offering a make-and-take workshop, “Winter Seed Sowing.” This seed-starting method is one of the easiest and most cost-effective ways to grow seeds into healthy baby plants. Healthy seedlings are grown in a protected environment and therefore don’t require much care. Better still, they don’t require the usual “hardening off” that seedlings started indoors need because they have been outside in the cold and have already acclimated to the weather while they germinate. 

Winter seed sowing involves planting seeds outside in miniature greenhouses during the cold weather, allowing them to germinate outside naturally so they are ready for transplanting when the soil is warm. Planting seeds successfully in winter requires three things: adequate cover, proper ventilation, and good drainage. A common downfall to planting seeds indoors is that it is too easy to forget to water them. Planting seeds in miniature greenhouses eliminates that issue because snow and rain provide all the water the seedlings need.

Join the AGC on Saturday, March 12, 10:30 to 11:30 a.m., either in person at the Ashland Library or virtually, to learn how to create your own miniature greenhouse and plant your seeds. Live participation will be limited to ensure social distancing and masks will be required. All participants must register online to attend. To register, visit bit.ly/3tfenWE.