Hi there. ... just starting w/s this year, usually don't bother with indoor starting, just throw seeds out into the garden and deal with what comes up! :) Do have some things this year that I want to get a head start so I figured I'd try the winter sowing angle and see what happens.

Victoria

Hi there. ... just starting w/s this year, usually don't bother with indoor starting, just throw seeds out into the garden and deal with what comes up! :) Do have some things this year that I want to get a head start so I figured I'd try the winter sowing angle and see what happens.

Victoria

Hi there. ... just starting w/s this year, usually don't bother with indoor starting, just throw seeds out into the garden and deal with what comes up! :) Do have some things this year that I want to get a head start so I figured I'd try the winter sowing angle and see what happens.

Victoria

Welcome Sandy! Once you have read the FAQ on the 'mother forum' you will be delighted. And do take care, WSing is addictive. You have so many options since basement space is no longer a limitation that you end up 'over-sowing'. Add to that the generosity of the 'exchangers' and that adds another dimension. What a wonderful problem to have!!!

Hi, I am also a newbie to wintersowing. I've been reading this forum for weeks and have reread the FAQ several times...LOL. Think I am ready to try it though. Wish me luck. Good luck to all newbies.

Lisa

Thanks northerner for your kind words, and Lisa I'm glad you are going on this adventure with me. We will have to exchange our stories with each other. Do you have lots of seeds and containers?
Sandy

Welcome Sandy!

If you need any seeds to play with, do e-mail me without hesitation. This will be my fifth year winter sowing, and looking at my seed boxes the other day, I know I can spare some.

Nicole.

Hello I am also going to try my hand at winter sowing this year. I have been growing indoors with florescent lights for years now and I am getting tired of loosing plants in the hardening off process. Its alot of work, in and out, everyday and then when you think their hardened off - frost sets in and so does disappointment. I am going to do most of my stuff outside this year. I also have seeds, my list is posted, let me know if anyone wants anything. Janet

Hi again,

Thanks Nicole and Janet. I have never swapped seeds yet, or sent away for them, but I guess there is always a first time. I would love to try sowing some of your seeds. I will send you an e-mail, and hopefully set something up. This is my first year collecting seeds as well, and I'm not sure if everything I've collected is really a seed. :)Plus, I don't have that much.
I'm glad to know about some Canadian seed savers, as the American postage and stuff must be different.
Sandy

Hi Sandy!
I too am going to try this W/S for the first time this year and am so excited!!
So glad to know I am not alone! We will have to keep in touch with our successes.
Good luck and happy gardening!! Brenda

Hi! This is my first time winter sowing. I have been growing under lights for a few years now. I always tend to lose some hardening them off. As usual, I am impatient to get started especially when the new catalogues come in. Have lots of saved seeds and can't wait to get started! Marg

Me too, me too! I've just been listening and learning so far, but can't wait to get going. My windowsill just doesn't cut it!

Toots :^)

Hello fellow Canucks,
How's the wintersowing going? We've got a thread on the Canadian site about some trading and exchanging so you can check it out.
Toots: I didn't know you could garden in zone 1! Where do you live? You are a true Northerner!
I've got 90 containers sown so far, all covered with snow with the precious seeds sleeping away waiting for warmer days when they can wake up :)
Sandy

Hi Sandy! Sure we can Garden up here (North Eastern BC), just for not very long :^( I'm hoping WSing will allow me to start more plants, rather than being so limited to house space. So many plants need to be started ahead of time in my zone in order to have time to bloom, let alone any early blooms.

I goofed already on my containers...they were all too shallow. So I'll have to come up with something else. I haven't planted any seeds yet, but I'm planning on it in the next couple weeks...its supposed to be very cold again here next week. Good luck with yours!

Welcome Victoria,
It's great to get more Canadian w/sers, I'm investing big hopes in this method. I've got 100 containers sown so far, and if even 50 of them sprout I will be happy. Of course I'm hoping for 100% germination, but that's being a little too optimistic. Anyway, keep warm, Sandy

I am a newbie, to gardening as well as WS. I have a small garden in my yard but would love to expand it this Summer, and this seems like an interesting, inexpensive way to try.

So far I am planning on planting purple & white coneflowers (sorry, really NOT good with latin names :), malva, hollyhocks, and hopefully some lavender (although I can't seem to find any info. on WS lavender). I would also love to try boltonia, delphiniums and russian sage, to name a few :)

I have been collecting 2L coke bottles all winter, and probably have at least 30 so far :)

Cynthia

Welcome to WS and gardening Cynthia!

All your seeds that you have planned are good candidates via the WS method. Oh, btw, I had great success WS'ing 'Munstead' Lavender a couple of years ago.

Sharon

This is my first year at WS as well. I must have a dozen milk jugs outside already and probably another dozen to go out yet.(This weekends project I hope) Thanks to Sharon (Crazy Gardener). She was very generous with some seeds. And of course I had to buy some different seeds as well.
I have mine sitting on the North side of my house on my picnic table for now. Once it warms up I'll set them into the sun. We have so much snow that I have no other place to put them.

Shelley

I'm a wintersowing newbie too. I have four milk jugs & 1 flat with 32 cells out already. I'm collecting more milk jugs as I have a LOT more seeds ready to go. So far I've seeded:
Blue Fescue Grass
Gaillardia
Rudbeckia
Shasta Daisy
California Poppy
Clarkia
Phacelia
Scabiosa
I'm not crazy about the flat - I'm thinking it might not have enough headroom, but got the idea from another Canadian posting (on this website?, not sure). Anyway, I'm having fun with it so far.

Joanne

I'm a newbie, first year. Well I just went hunting and raiding blue boxes. Boy I hit the mother load.

Hello Shelley, Joanne and Narcissus and all other lovely Canadians,

Well, not too much longer till we start looking for sprouts. Tomorrow is March!! Unbelievable. I have 150 containers sown so far, sown with seeds from the dollar store, a generous Nova Scotian (you know who you are), some taken from public parks and not sure if they will germinate, a local gardening shop, etc., etc. Well, happy countdown to everyone, Sandy

Hi Everyone,

This is only my second year gardening and first year starting from seed. I just built a set of shelves with lights for seedlings but think I have bought just way too many seeds! I want to try out winter sowing but am a bit afraid of losing seeds since I just spent a fortune on them! Any tips of things NOT to do? I will probably be sowing in 2L coke bottles.

I presume wintersown plants take longer to flower/fruit than ones that were started indoors since they sprout later (I have a lot of veggies)?

Lakshmi

Welcome Lakshmi, I still prefer to indoor sow tenders like Tomatoes and Peppers indoors just because here in zone 2, I need as many days as I can get in order for them to fruit before our first frost.

In your zone 4 you maybe lucky to wintersow early type tomatoes outdoors, you'll just have to experiment in your climate. Good idea to keep a data and compare.

Sharon

When can my small plants go out into a mini greenhouse on the back deck? Kitchener/Waterloo area

Here is a link that might be useful: My garden plants

My advice is..don't bring them in, forget about the lights. I'm waiting till mid-april to start my tender annuals here in Oakville. I have sprouts outside already, and I definitely don't worry about them. They sprouted when they were supposed to, and they can take whatever nature throws at them right now (temps of -2 this Friday).

Stop fussing! They will be OK!!