MOSES LAKE — Winter may be wheezing out its last gasps, but we’re still a ways off from time to put most spring plants outdoors. Seeds can be planted ahead of time in milk jugs or ice cube trays, but there’s a third medium that’s had some success: plastic resealable bags. 

“You can start sweet peas in bags,” said Valerie Parrott, president of the Columbia Basin Garden Club. “You can start a lot of winter sowing things putting them in the (plastic) bags. Just line them up outside.” 

The bags should be filled with some sort of absorbent material. Parrott uses potting soil, but moss, coffee filters or towels are also options, according to the website Gardening Tips and Tools.  

Fill the bag about halfway with the soil or other material, then soak it thoroughly and squeeze out any excess water. Put the seeds on the material and fold it over them.  

The zipper on the bag should be closed about a fourth of the way in on either side, leaving a gap in the middle, Parrott said. Some gardeners put the plants on a rack or even hung on a clothesline, she said. 

The seeds should be checked every few days, and the absorbent material should be kept moderately wet, according to Gardening Tips and Tools. If mold or mildew develops, spray the seeds with a mister bottle filled with a 1:20 water/hydrogen peroxide solution or chamomile tea. 

It’s important to make sure the bags are carefully labeled, Parrott said.  

“I try to mark on (the side of the bag),” she said. “And usually I put a tag down (in the dirt) as well. I try to place it so I can see what it is by just looking down, not having to pull all of them out.” 

The plastic bag method is especially useful for dahlias, Parrott said, which are a specialty of hers.  

“I sprout them like this, and then I’ll go put them outside in my raised bed under frost cloth,” she said. “I (may be) crazy to start these plants this early inside. This is the second year in a row I’ve started my dahlias outside early, and it worked well for me to propagate them, and then all my dahlias will be planted outside Mother’s Day weekend.” 

    Plants that have been started in plastic bags can be stacked up on racks until it’s time to put them outside.
  

    Keep plants in plastic bags moderately wet, spritzing them as needed.