I'm starting my alliums next week - leeks, green onions, storage onions. But thats indoors.

I am so happy I stored about 75 lbs of Candy onions. They are so much better than anything I can buy in a store.

This winter is my first try at WS so I can't advise on anything. I have only a few containers- of Asclepius, Stella d'Oro daylillies and some pink Echinacea that I collected seed from. I also plan to do some annuals and veggies in Spring.

I still have not completely decided what to WS but I got started anyway, figuring that if I don't like my choices, I can simply do something different next year, lol.

I live at 9k ft in southern NM. I wanted to start in late fall, but didn't get around to it until a few weeks ago. We've had a very mild winter with very little snow, so I figured I'd be ok.

Maybe some one here could help me, since this is my first WS season. Since it is so dry here, do I have to worry about watering my containers at all? There has been condensation inside the containers, so I figured I was ok.

I have only done 3 or 4 milk jugs of tomatoes and a couple peas. I still have lots to do though. I plan on doing green peppers, cantaloupe, chives, cilantro, basil, carrots (or is it better just to plant those?), and cucumbers.

Melanie

Hi, Melanie!

I'm surprised you are in zone 7 at 9,000 ft!

Since it is very dry there, I would recommend putting your containers in a mostly shady location, and yes, if there is condensation, than there is enough moisture in the container. As the temps rise closer to spring, you'll need to check the containers often to see if the soil looks dry, then either mist them from the top, or place the container in a shallow tub of water, and let it absorb from the bottom. You just want to avoid heavy watering from the top, or some of the seeds could wash out the drainage holes.

With you being a couple of zones warmer than me, I'm not sure about when to tell you to sow things, but as a general rule, if temps are much below freezing at night, you want to stick with cold hardy vegetables, herbs, and flowers. For example, the chives, carrots, and cilantro would be fine now, but for warm season veggies, such as melons, cukes, or tomatoes, I'd wait until closer to your last frost date. Otherwise, if you have a warm spell, they will germinate, and than when temps drop back into say the 20's or teens at night, you would need to provide additional protection, such as a row cover, or risk losing your sprouts.

Hope this helps some : )

Bonnie

Bonnie,
I know, it seems not right to me either, And I actually treat it more like a 5. Hardly anyone gardens around here grows anything, because It's so heavily forested. I happen to be on a property in the bottom of a canyon where most of my yard gets 7-8 hrs of sun a day.

We just moved here from MN last spring. I didn't know much about growing here and assumed it was pretty close to growing in MN. I learned after growing in pots last year and having to bring them into the garage every night because it just doesn't stay warm enough at night for them. I did a little reading and found out I should definitely be using seeds hardy seeds. I also read about winter sowing and that milk containers act like mini greenhouses. They made it sound like germinating before the last frost wasn't a big deal because of the Hardy seeds and cold prepping the plants. I could have misunderstood though.

This year I got all Hardy seeds, and nothing more than about 55-60 growing days. I was hoping the early start would actually give me red tomatoes this year. I have been toying with the idea of a high tunnel house too. Which I am hoping will combat the huge amount of elk we get, nightly temps and monsoon hail storms.

I will be very bummed if I get plants to germinate and they freeze. Thanks for clarifying the watering. Would I be better off just leaving them in my empty unheaged back bedroom? At least until I can get the hoop house up?

Melanie

The containers DO act like a mini-greenhouse, but an unheated one. The seeds may be hardy, and the container will offer some protection for the sprouts, but if the temps drop low enough, say teens or single digits, and you already have sprouts in those containers, those sprouts will likely die.

I don't think you'd be better off putting the containers indoors, because then, you'd have to harden the sprouts off, because they are accustomed to warmer temps than they would be subjected to outdoors.

The only things I would say hold off on wintersowing, are the non-hardy plants, such as melons, cukes, squash, etc. Keep in mind that just because a seed can survive freezing temps, doesn't mean the plant will survive freezing temps once it germinates.

I would say sow the rest of the stuff, and keep an eye on the containers. It doesn't matter what the temps drop to until you have germination. Once you see germination, watch your forecast for nighttime lows. If the temps are low 30's or even upper 20's, the sprouts will most likely be fine. If the temps drop much more than that, either throw a row cover, or old blanket over your containers until morning. Or you could bring them in an unheated garage, but that's a lot more work if you have a lot of containers.

Bonnie

Bonnie,
Thanks for the tips. I can put them in the garage if I have to, and I know what a pain it can be...I brought pots in and out every day for almost all summer...

I wish I had gotten your advice before I planted my melon and tomato seeds. I'll just have to watch those closer than the others. Maybe I'll move those to a more shady spot like you said.

Thanks! Now if I could just figure out if the elk will leave my hoop house alone...I had a heard of over 80 in my yard on Sunday morning.

Melanie

Wow, 80 elk, that's amazing! My yard's not big enough to hold that many, LOL.

Well, now that my wintersowing presentation at the Colorado Farm Show is over with, I am trying to finalize my growlist for this year. I do one germination chart with everything on it, including stuff that I choose to direct sow, such as carrots, cucumbers, pumpkins, etc. and the things sown indoors, which for me is just peppers - LOTS of peppers : ) So far, my grow list has over 220 different items on it. Hoping to wintersow a few containers this coming week, which will already be February. This is the latest start I have ever had with wintersowing, but since I don't have much, if anything, that requires cold stratification on my growlist, there really isn't any rush to get started.

The only things that I haven't made up my mind on yet is the peppers and tomatoes. I keep adding more, removing one or two, adding a few more, and so on ...

Bonnie,
How did your presentation go? I asked for the day off, but my boss had already taken the day. I'm sorry to have missed it.
This will be my first attempt at wintersowing. I have 3 milk jugs saved so far. I'm thinking about starting with pansies, columbines, bell and balloon flowers.
I'm looking forward to reading about your plans.

I'm sorry I missed you too, Barb!

There was almost 20 people in the class, and probably just as many men as women. They seemed interested, asked lots of great questions. What was funny to me was that the women seemed to enjoy the hands-on portion, actually prepping and sowing a container to take home. The men seemed to just want the information. I suspect they will go home and experiment what works best for themselves.

It was a great experience being able to share this germination technique with people, and hope I get a chance to do it again sometime.

Bonnie

Hi all,

I'm finally starting to get it together to do some Winter Sowing this year! I'm just hoping when I get stuff in soil and outside it stays cold enough for it to work! As all of you along the Front Range know, it's been a totally warm winter, and yesterday it was 75 degrees in my backyard! I was out Digging and Doing, and I had to put shorts on! It was TOO HOT! It's supposed to get bone-chilling cold by Monday or Tuesday, and I'm hoping to start some seeding in the next few days and get it outside, but if it gets back up into the fifties or sixties again, and stays there for more than a couple days, this stuff is gonna germinate and then FREAK OUT when it gets COLD out again! And if it gets warm and stays warm, it's gonna all start growing---and then need "taking care of!" The point of Winter Sowing, for me at least, is you can just stick seeds in pots and not really have to worry about them till the "right time" in spring! Going out in early March---during a blizzard---to tend to my foot-tall seedlings just does not sound like fun at all! Also hoping it's cold enough, long enough, to stratify the stuff that needs it! Time will tell!

I'm trying out a new "method" for my Winter Sowing this year! When Bonnie's demonstration at the Farm Show was first posted, I "got sidetracked" to the Winter Sowing Forum, and spent a day looking here and there. I found that other people do what I had already been thinking about, and while I'm making some of "my own" changes to how they apparently do it (Hey! Experimenting keeps it interesting!), this is what I'm gonna try this year!

The first (and only) year I've done "real" Winter Sowing so far--in '07, I didn't have any milk jugs, or any other "little tent type" containers, so I sowed my seeds in rows in 14" X 14" shallow flats, and then covered the whole shebang up with multi-layer drop cloth plastic. That worked surprisingly well, but some things germinated very early, while other seeds in the same flat weren't up yet, and eventually I had to try to dig out the seedlings without disturbing the ungerminated seeds, and then fill it back in with soil to keep the seeds from "sliding around." That was a real pain, and I also found trying to separate all the tiny seedlings to put them into "separate pots" (they were way too small to put in the ground) was way more than I had the patience to deal with! I got some good things out of it, but the way I did it, it was way more work than it "should have been!"

The next couple years I was here, there, and everywhere around the country, and not here consistently enough to uncover and cover when necessary, and having things germinate and then all keel over while I was gone sometime would have been indescribably depressing, so I just didn't do it!

THIS YEAR I'm gonna be here, and I have a LOT of Pent Up Winter Sowing ENERGY! I thought about doing it in milk jugs, and I've been saving them, but I have a small yard, and really only want one, or maybe two, of each of the things I'm starting, so even in milk jugs I'd be starting different things in each jug, and then I'd have the same "some germinated and some still thinking about it" problem, and the tedious transplanting problem, so this year I'm going to sow each different type of seed in an individual styrofoam cup---the same size I use for the swaps! Then I'm gonna set them in some LARGE clear plastic storage containers that I found really cheap at WM about a month ago. The lids clamp on tightly, so I shouldn't have to worry about the wind, tho they may just each get a brick on top to be sure! I'll be here to remove and replace the lids on sunny days, and if it's cold and cloudy out, I'll just leave the lids on---or maybe crack them a little bit during the day.

Here's the difference in how others do this, just in case some of you decide to try it! According to Bonnie, when she was here a couple days ago, the people on the WS Forum who use the "individual pot" method, make holes in the bottom of the big storage containers! I'm not gonna do that! I figure if I water individual pots carefully as they need it, there won't be any water left sitting in the bottom of the container, and if it turns out that there is, I'm gonna try putting "something" in the bottom to set the pots on to elevate them just enough to keep them out of any water that might collect. But if I am getting water on the bottom of the containers, they'll be open as much as possible to evaporate it as quickly as possible! I'm really not expecting "excess" water to be a problem, as long as I'm careful with the watering! Might just go with a "removing the individual pots to bottom water them" system, which for sure would keep the bottom of the big containers dry---and for sure not disturb the seeds in the pots since I'm planning to sow most of them on the surface this year. I'll be reporting back how well it works.

Doing the seeds in separate pots, I'm thinking I can just leave them grow there until they're rooted to the bottom, and then plant them out without really disturbing the roots. SOUNDS like a good plan! It'll be interesting to see if it IS a good plan!

I went thru my seeds today, got them organized enough to figure out what I have, and these are the perennials I'm planning to seed soon! I have a little pile of annual seeds too, but I for sure don't want them germinating yet, so they're not going in for at least a month yet. And I start my tomatoes, eggplants and basil inside, and the rest of the veggies go straight in the ground--don't have the patience to sit out there transplanting tiny veggie seedlings into the ground--so I don't think I'll be doing any veggies this way.

For those of you doing veggies, just a heads up! Root crops don't transplant well unless they're still VERY small, so for your carrots, beets, etc., you'd be better off just waiting and sowing them directly in the ground. It's easier, and they should do better.

Here's my list---so far!
Skybird

Agastache 'Apache Sunset' (Bonnie '07)
Androsace septentrionalis 'Star Dust' ('07) (a/k/a S. lactiflora ?)
Aquilegia saximontana (old)
Carex 'Frosty Curls' (old)
Delosperma 'Hogan' (old)
Delphinium - "electric blue!" ('07)
Delphinium grandiflorum 'Blue Mirror' (?)
Dianthus gratianopolitanus 'Spotti' (old)
Echinacea - "new mix colors" (?)
Echinacea purpurea 'White Swan' (old)
Eschscholzia californica 'Mission Bells' (Seedman '08)
Lavatera tauricensis (Stevation '07)
Papaver alpinum (old)
Papaver nudicaule, golden-yellow ('09)
Papaver nudicaule, mixed (Stevation '07)
Penstemon - dwarf mix ('Rondo' ?) (old)
Penstemon grandiflorus (old)
Penstemon (utahensis I think) (collected along Burr Trail Road @ Boulder, Utah '08)
Polemonium caeruleum (old)
Rudbeckia hirta 'Denver Daisy' (Park '10)
Rudbeckia hirta 'Ruby Gold' (Park '10)
Rudbeckia hirta 'Rustic Colors' (Pinetree '06)
Rudbeckia hirta 'Rustic Colors' (collected '08)
Rudbeckia hirta 'Uranus' (Park, old)
Ruschia indurata
Sisyrinchium bellum, blue-eyed grass (old)
Trollius chinensis 'Golden Queen' (old)
Trollius europaeus (yellow) ('09)

Well, I just finished up my tentative germination chart for this year, and yes, I realize it is ridiculously long. Anyway, it has everything I'm planning on growing on it, not just the things that are being wintersown. The list is something like 10 pages long, so I just copied and pasted from my Excel file. WS = wintersown, SS = springsown (same as wintersown, but done in late March through May), DS = direct sown, and SI = sown indoors. Some have more than one designation, because I haven't decided which way I'll do them this year.

ANNUAL & PERENNIALS
Agastache 'Apricot Sprite' (Can't locate, may have to buy some more seeds) - WS
African Daisy - SS
Amaranth 'Autumn Touch' - SS
Amaranth 'Love Lies Bleeding' (Green) - SS
Aquilegia 'Firecracker' - WS
Aquilegia 'Chocolate Soldier' - WS
Antirrhinum 'Frosted Sunset' - WS
Antirrhinum 'Scarlet Giant' - WS
Asclepias curassavica - SS
Asclepias tuberosa - WS
Calendula 'Bon Bon Yellow' - WS
Calendula 'Pacific Beauty' - WS
Calendula 'Radio Extra' - WS
Castor Bean 'Carmencita' - DS
Chrysanthemum carinatum 'Sunset' - WS
Chrysanthemum 'El Dorado' - WS
Coreopsis, Dwarf Red - WS
Coreopsis 'Red Shift' - WS
Coreopsis tinctoria - WS
Crocosmia 'Lucifer' - WS
Dahlberg Daisy - WS
Dahlia 'Hello Bronze' - SS
Dianthus 'Black Magic' - WS
Dianthus 'Sooty' - WS
Dicranostigma franchetianum - WS
Gaillardia 'Red Plume' - WS
Gazania 'Talent Red' - WS
Gazania 'Daybreak Orange Cream' - WS
Gazania 'Kiss Bronze Star' - WS
Heliopsis 'Lorraine Sunshine' var. - WS
Linum flavum 'Compactum' - WS
Lychnis 'Burning Love' - WS
Lychnis 'Lumina Red' - WS
Lychnis arkwrightii 'Molten Lava' - WS
Marigold 'Safari Primrose' - SS/DS
Mirabilis (light orange, terra cotta) - SS
Nasturtium, Tip Top Apricot - SS
Nasturtium, Tip Top Gold - SS
Nasturtium, Copper Sunset - SS
Nicotiana 'Perfume Red' - WS
Nicotiana 'Hot Chocolate'/'Choc.Smoke' - WS
Osteospermum 'African Sun' - SS
Pansy, Fire Dream - WS
Petunia 'Picobella Red' - WS
Petunia 'Prism Sunshine' - WS
Petunia 'Pirouette Red - WS
Poppy, peony 'Red Ruffles' - WS
Poppy, Oase (red) - WS
Portulaca 'Sundial Tangerine' - SS
Portulaca 'Warm Gold' - SS
Rudbeckia 'Autumn Colors' - WS
Salpiglossis 'Royale Chocolate' - SS
Scabiosa 'Ace of Spades' - WS
Strawflower, Monstrosum Fireball - SS
Strawflower, Tall Double - Orange - SS
Strawflower, Tall Double -Yellow - SS
Sunflower, Autumn Beauty - DS
Sunflower, Chocolate - DS
Sunflower, Claret - DS
Sunflower, Lemon Queen - DS
Ursinia anethoids (Star of the Veld) - SS
Viguiera (Showy Goldeneye)
Wallflower, Siberian - WS (3rd and final try on this one)
Zauschneria - WS (Thanks, Skybird!)
Zinnia, Envy - SS/DS
Zinnia 'Highlight' - SS/DS
Zinnia 'Profusion Orange' - SS/DS
Zinnia 'Profusion Fire' - SS/DS
Zinnia 'Benary's Scarlet Giant' - SS/DS

HERBS:
Basil, Fine Verde - SS
Basil, Lime (sow 2 containers) - SS
Basil, Mrs. Burn's Lemon (sow 2 cont.) - SS
Basil, Red Rubin - SS
Basil, Summerlong - SS
Basil, Super Sweet Chen - SS
Black Cumin - SS
Broadleaf Cress - SS
Bronze Fennel - WS
German Chamomile - SS
Marjoram, Sweet - WS
Parsley - WS
Safflower - WS
Stevia - SS
Summer Savory - WS
Tagetes lucida (Sweet Mace) - SS
Thai Red Roselle - SS

VEGETABLES
Bean, Black Valentine - DS
Bean, Bush 'Vittoria' - DS
Bean, Contender - DS
Bean, Supernana Marconi Gold - DS
Bean, Dixie Speckled Butterpea - DS
Bean, Jackson Wonder (bush lima) - DS
Broccoli - WS
Carrot, St. Valery - DS
Carrot, Tendersnax - DS
Carrot, Touchon Long - DS
Carrot, Jaune de Doubs - DS
Carrot, Lunar White - DS
Cauliflower, Brocoverde - WS
Cauliflower, Chef's Choice Blend - WS
Cucumber, Gherkin - DS
Cucumber, North Carolina Heirloom - DS
Cucumber, Satsuki Midori - DS
Ground Cherry, Aunt Molly's - SS/SI
Ground Cherry, Giant Cape Gooseberry - SS/SI
Ground Cherry, Pineapple - SS/SI
Lettuce, Freckles - WS
Lettuce, Jericho - WS
Lettuce, Lollo Rossa - WS
Lettuce, Mascara - WS
Lettuce, Nevada - WS
Lettuce, New Red Fire - WS
Lettuce, Simpson Elite - WS
Lettuce, Tom Thumb - WS
Melon Osh Kirgizia - DS
Melon, Amarillo Oro - DS
Melon, Amish - DS
Melon, Canoe Creek - DS
Okra, Red Burgundy - SS/SI
Onion, Ailsa Craig - WS/DS
Parsnip (need to buy some seeds) - DS
Pea, Sugar Ann - WS/DS
Pea, Sugar Snap - WS/DS
Pea, Super Sugar Snap - WS/DS
Pepper, Alma Paprika - SI
Pepper, Anaheim - SI
Pepper, Ancho Gigantia (or College 64) - SI
Pepper, Ancho San Luis - SI
Pepper, Beaver Dam - SI
Pepper, Big Red (Bell) or Franks's - SI
Pepper, Black Hungarian - SI
Pepper, Boldog Hungarian Paprika - SI
Pepper, Cascabella - SI
Pepper, Chinese Giant - SI
Pepper, Fresno - SI
Pepper, Georgia Flame - SI
Pepper, Giant Szegedi (yel. Elong. Bell) - SI
Pepper, Gourmet (orange bell) - SI
Pepper, Jalapeno - SI
Pepper, Jimmy Nardello - SI
Pepper, Joe E. Parker - SI
Pepper, Lemon Drop or Aji Yellow - SI
Pepper, Pasilla Bajio - SI
Pepper, Patio Red Marconi - SI
Pepper, Peppadew - SI
Pepper, Sante Fe - SI
Pepper, Serrano - SI
Pepper, Soroksari - SI
Pepper, Tollie's Sweet Italian - SI
Pumpkin, Baby Pam - DS
Pumpkin, Musque de Provence - DS
Pumpkin, New England Pie - DS
Pumpkin, Rouge Vif d'Etamps - DS
Quinoa - SS
Radish, Cherry Belle - DS
Radish, Early Scarlet Globe - DS
Radish, Easter Egg - DS
Radish, French Breakfast 3 - DS
Squash (Winter), Butternut Rugosa - DS
Squash (Winter), Long Island Cheese - DS
Squash (Winter), Sweet Meat - DS
Squash (Winter), Delicata - DS
Squash (Winter), Upper Ground S. P. - DS
Tomatillo, Purple - SS/SI
Tomato, Amish Paste - WS
Tomato, Black Cherry - WS
Tomato, Black Krim - WS
Tomato, Box Car Willie - WS
Tomato, Carbon - WS
Tomato, Caspian Pink - WS
Tomato, Earl's Faux - WS
Tomato, Giant Belgium - WS
Tomato, Gold Medal - WS
Tomato, Hillbilly or Marvel Stripe - WS
Tomato, Indian Stripe or Cher. Purple - WS
Tomato, Lancaster Pink - WS
Tomato, Neves Azorean Red - WS
Tomato, Rainy's Maltese - WS
Tomato, Romeo Paste - WS
Tomato, Soldacki - WS
Tomato, Striped German - WS
Watermelon, Blacktail Mountain - DS
Watermelon, Desert King - DS
Watermelon, Orangeglo - DS
Watermelon, Sugar Baby - DS
Zucchini, Black Beauty - DS
Zucchini, Cocozelle - DS

I'm waiting on a couple of packages from swaps that I'm in, so depending on what I receive, I may have to adjust this list a little, but it won't change too much.

Now all I have to do is actually sow something!

Bonnie

WOW, that is quite a list. The first time I wintersowed, about 5 years ago, it did awesome. I haven't really done it since but you have inspired me. I have some containers out in the garage and am going to do a bit of planting tomorrow.
BTW, I noticed a lot of water wise plants in your list. Have you ever been involved in a water wise seed swap. I have searched for one with no success.
Thanks,
Rebecca

That is definitely quite the list, Bonnie! I'm curious what you do with the quinoa? How large of a garden area do you have?

Melanie

Ooooh Rebecca, what an awesome idea for a swap! I'll have to work on that : )

Melanie, last year was my first to try quinoa. I had planned to use it as a rice substitute. It grew really well for me, but unfortunately, I didn't pull it soon enough. We had an early frost, and I lost it all. Ended up buying some at Vitamin Cottage to cook while my vegetarian sister was here for a visit. They had a red heirloom quinoa there that was very similar to what I had been growing. I made something similar to a rice pilaf with diced zucchini, shredded carrots, and shoepeg corn.

As far as the size of my garden, the veggie bed here at the house in only ~ 60 sq.ft., but I have a couple of Earthboxes, a perennial herb bed, and rented a double plot at the community garden (20'x 20'). Plus, I grow a lot of pots full of annuals on the front porch. Somehow I manage to squeeze it all in. Last year, when I ran out of space, I planted pumpkins and sunflowers down the outside of our backyard fence in the empty lot next door : ) Where there's a will, there's a way, LOL!!!

Bonnie

Well, I finally got started today!

Here's what went out:

Aquilegia, Firecracker
Aquilegia, Chocolate Soldier
Crocosmia, Lucifer
Dianthus barbatus, Black Magic
Dianthus barbatus, Sooty
Lettuce, Jericho
Poppy, Oase (peony)
Poppy, Red Ruffles (peony)
Snapdragon, Scarlet Giant
Snapdragon, Frosted Sunset

There are about 15 more things that could have gone out today, but I need more potting mix.

Anyone else got started yet?

Oh, BTW, I switched from permanent Sharpie markers on colored electrical tape for labeling containers, to just writing on the container with a paint pen. Saved a lot of time. If it doesn't fade in the sun, than I'll be switching to this method permanently.

Bonnie

Well, I finally got a start on mine today too, Bonnie! It took a couple hours to get the seeds organized and get the tags made up to mark them, and then a good couple hours more to get the pots/cups filled with soil, get the seeds in them, and get them watered and put in the big containers. I continue to label mine with a regular soft lead pencil on plastic plant labels. The graphite never fades, and the tags are ready to stick in the ground when I plant things out.

I added 14 more perennials to my list above, and I seeded 42 different things, 1 - 3 pots of each, for a total of 63 individual pots/plants so far! With my limited space to plant this stuff, and with the annuals I still plan to start, that's probably about all the perennials I'll try this year. Along with the flowers, I'm also starting some more alpine strawberries, Fragaria vesca. I'm trying again to start some of the yellow ones, 'Yellow Wonder', and I sowed a couple more of the red ones. They're tiny, tiny berries with a BIG to-die-for flavor! And they're runnerless, which is perfect for me since I just have a tiny little corner to grow them in.

I probably won't put any of the annuals in till at least the beginning of March. In the next couple weeks I need to go thru the ones I'm gonna start and figure out which ones can take colder temps, and go in sooner, and which ones need to wait till I'm pretty sure it won't get really cold overnight anymore. But if I get a chance in the next week or so, I'll probably start a couple new parsley's yet. Didn't think about them today!

It was a lot of work, but it's SO nice to have something in to dream about now! I bet it won't be very long till some of the poppies are up! I LOVE staring at seeds and seedlings!

Skybird

Skybird, I wintersowed the Yellow Wonder strawberries last year, and I had some germination, but the sprouts withered away before I could get them planted out. I did Temptation the year before, and ended up with three plants. They're in a fairly shady spot, but they don't seem to mind too much. I only got to eat a couple of them though, since they are in the backyard where the children play ...

I just added a couple parsley's and a new cutting celery for this year to my WS stuff. Figured if I didn't get it done right away, I'd forget about it! BUT, of course, in the process of looking for the seed, I found some more things I think I'm gonna try! I've never gotten a decent crop of lettuce or spinach, because of my clay, I'm pretty much convinced, so I think maybe I'm gonna WS individual plants of a few different varieties of lettuce and spinach, and then stick them in pots with good soil as soon as it seems feasible! It'll just be a few plants that way, but maybe I'll at least get SOMETHING! I'll plant them in the ground again this year too--with all the "raw" compost I mixed in this fall when I turned it over, I'm hoping to actually start seeing some improvement in the soil, but if the WS/grown in pots system works, I'll get something even if the in-ground stuff fails again this year!

The other time I WS'ed, I started some 'Fresca' strawberries---from FORTY year old seed! I THOUGHT they were Fragaria vesca, but the berries turned out to be "too" big for vesca, and they didn't have the wonderfully intense flavor the alpine strawberries have. Wasn't sure what I had, and when I researched them more, it turned out I just had a runnerless "regular" strawberry--Fragaria ananassa! I had never heard of 'Temptation', so I just checked it out, and apparently it's another runnerless ananassa hybrid, so I think you still haven't had the pleasure of medicating yourself on a true alpine strawberry, Bonnie.

The vesca's have berries that are very "elongated" and barely a quarter inch in diameter--really not shaped at all like a "normal" strawberry, and they are VERY tiny! I think maybe that's partly what makes them so amazing! Even just one of them fills your whole mouth with an intense burst of STRAWBERRY! Hard to describe, but there's nothing else quite like them. I'm not sure where I got it, but I somehow got ONE of the "real thing" when I started mine--it's easy to tell by the size, shape, and flavor. Don't remember if I had another pack of seeds or what! The ones I'm starting this time are'Ruegen' (or 'Ruegen Improved'). which is kind of the "old reliable" alpine strawberry. I hope they take!

The 'Yellow Wonder' is also a true alpine. I've never had one of them but from what I've read online, they're supposed to have the "real" alpine strawberry flavor too---though I have found where different people seem to describe the flavor differently! Hopefully I'll get to find out for myself this year! I'm mostly starting them for the novelty of growing a yellow one, and I'm really curious if the flavor is comparable to the red alpines. I've also read that they can be especially hard to transplant, and if mine germinate, I think they're gonna stay in their cups till they're clearly big enough to survive going in the ground.

You like to play with things, and I really think you should try some of the vesca's, alpine strawberries, a/k/a gourmet strawberries, tho once your kids discover THEM, I'm not sure you'll EVER get a taste of them! ;-)

Here's a pretty interesting article I found about alpine strawberries when I was looking around!

What a GRAY day we're having down here! But it's snowing, so I guess my Winter Sowing is truly Winter Sowing!

Skybird

P.S. You saw where mine are on the northeast corner of the house, and mine seem to do fine with not a lot of direct sun too!

I did my fall lettuce crop in a rectangular planter, so that I could bring it in to the garage when the temps got really cold. One day maybe I'll have a cold frame, or other some such contraption. Anywho, it worked really well. I was still harvesting fresh lettuce around the holidays, but once the cold set in for good here, it stayed in the garage, and I kind of forgot about it. With your temps being quite a bit warmer than mine, I'll bet growing it in a container would give you a nice harvest, and you could move it on to that covered porch when it gets really hot.

I haven't wintersown my parsley yet, but I brought a pot of it in to overwinter. Even though it will bolt as soon as spring arrives, it provides me with fresh lettuce all winter. Never tried cutting celery. Do you use it like you would parsley?

Yeah, I'd like to try the yellow alpine strawberries again. Maybe I'll order some more seeds ...

Well, I prepped a bunch of containers last week, and then got busy and never finished. Things have finally quieted down around here, so I managed to sow 15 milk jugs today.

Asclepias tuberosa
Lychnis Lumina Bronzeleaf Red
Petunia Picobella Red
Petunia Pirouette Red
Petunia Prism Sunshine
Poppy, Iceland Mix (it says white, yellow, orange, and pink, so guess I'll have to pull up any that bloom pink!)
Bronze Fennel (I've WS it before, germ. fine, but died after planting out)
Marjoram, Sweet
Parsley, Extra Curled Dwarf
Lettuce, Freckles
Lettuce, Majestic Red
Lettuce, Mascara
Lettuce, Nevada
Lettuce, Silvia
Lettuce, Simpson Elite

Okay, Dee, I have a confession to make. I had a milk jug prepped for the Zauschneria, and can't for the life of me figure out where I put that packet of seeds. I've practically turned the house upside down searching for it, but no luck. Now I'm just hoping that little clump from last year's swap makes it through the winter.

I probably won't do any more wintersowing until March, because my plan is to start my peppers (indoors) next week.

Anyone else doing any wintersowing?

Bonnie

I'm off to a slow start as I only recently began collecting milk jugs.
I've started:
Blue Balloonflower
Blue Bellflower
King Henry Viola
Perennial Wildflower mix
Swiss Giant Pansy
Graceful me caught the bellflower container with my foot reaching for the watering can and flipped it upside down onto the porch. So, I sowed that one again and am now out of bellflower seeds. I hope they make it!
Barb

I sowed 4 more jugs on the last day of Jan. Alyssum and some Asian greens to keep my previously sown containers of perennials company. My total is 9 jugs. I can't sow any more as I don't have the room and apartment management has complained about my collection of "trash" (sown and labeled milkjugs)on my patio. BUT, I get to move into my new house the 2nd week of March so maybe I can do a some more then.

Good luck with your WS efforts everyone!

I'm sure the Zauschneria seed will show up sometime, somewhere, Bonnie! You can always start them next year if they don't turn up in time this year! And since you got the little starter plant last spring, if it was establishing well over the summer, even if it was still very small, I'd be pretty surprised if it DIDN'T make it---and come up considerably bigger than it was in fall. AND, I'm sure I'll have a few more small starts at this year's Spring Swap too, so you can always get another one then. I'm still hoping the couple I planted for the swap in November will make it and have pretty well developed root systems by the time of the swap, but it's way too early to tell which of my fall planted Spring Swap plants are going to make it, and which aren't.

Also, never got back here to answer your cutting celery question! I had planned to post about it on Digit's Celeriac thread, but never got it done there either!

Looking at the plant, it looks very, very much like a flat-leaf version of regular parsley--both the stems and the leaves, but if you pull off a little piece and sniff it, it's VERY celery scented. I don't know this for sure, and I doubt that I'll ever get around to researching it, but I suspect it is, or is close to, the species that our "modern" celery was gradually hybridized from. The first time I ever tried it was this past summer, and I'm glad I did, and plan to have a plant of it every year from now on---like parsley.

You can use either the leaves or the stems. This past year I only ever got around to using the stems. The scent/flavor is VERY intense, so you want to be careful to not use too much of it when you first start using it. I only use it in cooked things like soup, so far at least! The stems are quite "tough," like parsley stems, so to use it I put a whole bunch of them together and slice them into tiny, tiny little "rounds," about a sixteenth of an inch "long." The reason I like it so much is because when I use "real" celery, I don't like big chunks in things like soup, so I take the time to cut the stalks into tiny, narrow little strips, about the same size as cutting celery stems, and then I cut the strips into the same 1/16" pieces! With the cutting celery, all the work of cutting the big stalks down to skinny ones is already done for me! All I have to do is cut them crosswise! And it doesn't take all that much to get the same flavor effect as you would with a bunch of "real" celery! The only reason I haven't used the leaves is because I always had plenty of the stems, and by the time I got them cut up in the whatever, I had enough flavor and just didn't mess with the leaves.

The other reason I love it is because I don't use that much celery, and every time I buy a whole stalk, half of it gets rotten in the fridge before I find something to use it for. The cutting celery I always have growing outside over summer and I can get as much as I want whenever I want it! (And I'm sure it would grow inside over winter as well as parsley does.) And it grows MUCH faster than parsley. I gave a LOT away this past summer, and several times I went around the outside of the plant and pulled off the oldest leaves--a lot of them--and threw them on the compost pile! One plant was way more than I could possibly use! (Well, it looked like one plant, but, like with parsley, I always put in several seeds, so there's a little "clump" of plants all growing as one!)

The one thing I didn't get done this year that I wanted to, is that I was gonna dice up a whole bunch of it like I described above and freeze it in ice cubes to use over winter. Just never got it done! But it would be a REALLY easy way to have "quick" celery flavor for cooked things! I'm gonna try to get some of that done over the summer this coming year, when I have so much that I'm giving it away anyway.

Because the stems are tough, I'm not sure how useful it would be fresh, like in a salad or something like potato salad! It would provide great flavor, but would definitely need to be cut up into very tiny pieces. The leaves, diced up, wouldn't be tough, but I've just never tried it. Would be interested in what you think of it fresh if you ever decide to try it that way!

I had the lids off of my two storage boxes of winter sown pots today to give them a good airing out. Nothing coming up yet, but I really think with the warm weather coming up for the next week or so, I'll be seeing some of the poppies starting to come up by the end of next week. Put it this way! I'll be checking the pots every day looking for those telltale green specs!

Skybird

P.S. Congratulations on the new house---and GARDEN---Kat! Have fun!

Big Lots has a couple of small greenhouses for sale - they are both about the same size, but the one that is a little more expensive (about $30) comes with 2 solar lights. I opted for the $20 one, because it was a couple of inches bigger and I just couldn't see a value in having the solar lights (it's the sunshine you want, not having lights on it at night, in my book).

So it measures 27" wide x 11.8" deep x 49.6" high. Very simple to put together (no tools needed!). Of course, it's not a highly sturdy item, but it actually seems fairly well made. For $20, I think it's worth a try!!

I picked up one yesterday, and plan on going back today for one more. We plan on using them for starting our seeds and may try to tie one down out in out yard (against the fence) and try using the other one inside with some lights.

Here's a couple of pics of it:

{{gwi:1188370}}

I put one of our peat pot trays on one of the shelves so you can get an idea of the size. This tray holds 72 of those little peat pots:

Happy seeding!!!

I'm kind of excited. We got a warm morning on Saturday, so I decided to plant 4 pots full of herbs. I've been keeping them in my cold back bedroom. I came home today and found my first tiny little sprout of cilantro! Yay!! I have 8 or 10 milk jugs that I moved to a slightly more shaded spot than they were. Even though it's still pretty cool out, I don't want them to sprout yet. We've had a lot of 50 degree, windy days.

I'm itching to get the ground tilled! The rest of my seeds are going to be planted right into the ground in my hoop house (I say with huge hopes I actually get it built!).

How fun!
Who else has sprouts?
Too early for me tho I keep checking...

I keep staring at them, Kat, but they're not cooperating---yet!

Mine have been out for almost a month now, and I'm kind of surprised some of the poppies aren't up yet, but since they've been frozen solid about half of the time, I guess I really shouldn't be TOO surprised! But on all the "nice" days, I grab my glasses and inspect them---CLOSELY! Haven't taken a magnifying glass out there to look yet----but I've been tempted! Maybe I'm scaring them!!! I'll back off a little bit---a LITTLE bit!

There's definitely not gonna be any action out there today! It was down to 15 last nite, and they're frozen solid again!

So far I'm really happy with my new WS method! It's been SO easy! I have 63 individual cups/pots in two large, flat clear plastic storage boxes, and they happen to be the kind with the "latches" that lock the lid on, so I don't need to worry about them blowing off---and the boxes themselves are heavy enough with the pots/soil in them, that I don't have to worry about them blowing around either. The soil hasn't really started drying yet, so on the warm days, if there's condensation on the inside of the lid, I take it off and either lay it crosswise on top of the box, or remove it completely, depending on the weather. When I have the lids off, it's easy to look at (intimidate) my seeds as closely as I want--as long as I don't mind cleaning the soil back out of my eyes, and the best part is that I can stack them up when I have the lids on, so they take up very little space on my little deck! It's supposed to be up in the 50's and 60's for most of the coming week, and I really expect to see some poppies by the time it gets cold again!

In the meantime, I guess it's time to figure out which tomatoes and eggplants I want to start inside!

I just noticed that we switch back to daylight saving time on March 13th! Just a couple more weeks!

It's time to grow!

Skybird

Heehee, I have my first little WS sprouts! Mizuna, kale and arugula. None of the perennials have poked up yet.

My big pot temporarily housing sedum and mums has some mystery shoot coming up. The only thing I can think of is that it might be a tulip from last year. Thought I had pulled them all. We shall see!
Skybird, the hinged boxes sound like a great idea. I'll have to keep an eye out for some.

Hey, me too!!!

I checked this weekend, and had nothing. Today, Jericho, Nevada, and Simpson Elite lettuces have sprouted.

Spring is on it's way : )

Yes, Yes, YES! Houston, we have lift off!!!

Went out to open the lids on my boxes, stuck my nose in the dirt, and, lo-and-behold, my Papaver rhoeas, Shirley or Flanders poppies, are coming up! I was expecting the poppies to be the first things up, and hope to see a couple other types up in the next few days! Haven't gotten any lettuce in yet, or they'd probably be racing each other!

Kat, you can take the lids completely off of the boxes I'm using--no hinges. But they have "handles" that lock the lids on to keep them secure in wind. The two I'm using right now are very shallow ones, barely tall enough for the 6" labels I have in the pots---they're pictured at the link below. I found them really cheap--like $5---at WM right after Christmas. I got three more (for $4 each) that are WAY deep, which I'm planning to move the "pots" into as things germinate, but they don't have the "locking" lids like the shallow ones, so I'll need to weight the top down somehow on those when I start using them. Wish I had splurged on a couple more of the shallow ones with the locking lids! They're working really well for getting things started in! If you come to the swap, you'll be able to see them!

Grow little (almost) plants,
Skybird

Here is a link that might be useful: Storage boxes with locking lids!

Well, I have another opportunity to spread the word about wintersowing! A local women's group has asked me to do a presentation on it next month. Since the Power Point presentation is already done, it should be a breeze.

Oh, and I'm going to wintersow some lettuces/herbs with my daughter's preschool class this month too.

A couple more lettuces are starting to sprout, and I sowed a few more containers today. It's already starting to look a bit crowded on the patio, and I'm not even half way there yet.

Here's what I sowed today:

Coreopsis tinctoria 'Roulette'
Lychnis 'Burning Love'
Wallflower, Siberian
Shasta daisy 'Silver Princess'
Gaillardia 'Mesa Yellow' (rec'd in trade, probably won't come true from harvested seed, but I'm going to try anyway)
California poppy 'Copper Pot'
California poppy, dwarf red (no ID, rec'd in trade)
Euphorbia 'Summer Icicle'
Snapdragon, short yellow (rec'd in trade)
Parsley, Big Italy
Summer Savory
Broccoli, Di Ciccio
Cauliflower, Brocoverde
Cauliflower, Snowball X
Cauliflower, Violetta

Feels like spring outside today!!!

Whee!
Got my first perennial sprouts today from Echinacea and Asclepius.
Grow sprouts, grow!

Yep, quite a few popping up this week - Asclepias tuberosa, Coreopsis, Dianthus, Snapdragons, Petunias, Wallflower, and several kinds of poppies.

I've got to prep a bunch of containers tomorrow, since I'm doing some wintersowing at my daughter's preschool on Friday.

Still need to sow some more things, and then start on tomatoes. The problem is, I haven't even got my tomato grow list figured out yet! Maybe I'll get to that this weekend ...

OMG!OMG!OMG!OMG!OMG!OMG! You all rock! This is the first time I am wintersowing ( does sowing a couple of weeks ago count!!??) I got 1 sprout! not terribly sure what it is since I sowed both Snaps and Linum in the same container but the sprout is on the Snap side. Did I mention I have 1 sprout. Whoopeee! Now I have to keep it alive.

Congratulations, Alice!!! That first sprout is soooo exciting!

Had fun wintersowing with my daughters' preschool class. I even printed out little instruction sheets, and attached them to the milk jugs with ribbons. So then this week, I find out that several of the moms did not put the jug outside, even though that was instruction #1. And I was worried that the preschoolers wouldn't be able to follow directions, LOL!

I've got about a dozen milk jugs prepped, but first I have to sow my tomatoes. Then, if there's enough potting mix left, I'll sow some more flowers. We'll see how it goes ...

YES! Congratulations, Alice! Isn't it exciting! I thought I heard somebody hootin' and hollerin' a while ago! ;-)

I still have more ungerminated than germinated, but mine are in full shade and it's been getting down to or a little below freezing for the last several nites, so they don't really warm up much during the day. So far I have some different poppies, a couple kinds of Rudbeckia, a couple tiny Androsasace, an English daisy, and a couple different Penstemons that have germinated. The most exciting one is that ONE of the Penstemon seeds I collected along the Burr Trail road in Utah has germinated! Have tried that one before and not had any luck! I'm also trying your Agastache 'Apache Sunset' seed again, Bonnie! Maybe I'll get lucky this time with that like I did with the Penstemon! A lot of the seed I sowed was old, so it'll be interesting to see what else comes up when it warms up more again.

Bonnie, one thing I've been trying to remember to tell you for over a month now! Somewhere above where you listed what you were gonna sow you mentioned that you were starting some fennel! Last year I grew a couple of them, trying to get the "bulbs" to eat. Well I never got any "bulb" that was anywhere near big enough to eat---but I did get a LOT of wasps! Fennel seems to be a total wasp magnet! They even kept trying to build a nest up along my roof overhang! Had to spray them several times. I'm allergic! So, since you already have a problem with wasps, I just wanted to let you know to plant them over at your community garden, rather than right there next to the house! I won't be trying Fennel again! I do still have one bronze fennel planted in with my perennials--which I put in for the "bronzy, feathery" look, but that only lasts a month or so before they start to flower, and then they're not pretty anymore, and the WASPS come zooming in from everywhere, so as soon as it starts to flower this year it's outta here! Just thought I'd let you know so you don't have to learn it the hard way like I did!

Skybird

Thanks for the heads up on the wasps! I did wintersow some more bronze fennel, and if it sprouts, it will go in the herb bed, which already has a few bee magnets in it, such as the garlic chives, sage, oregano, etc. As long as I work that bed in the early morning, it's fine, but in the afternoon, I try to stay away from there : )

So I wintersowed 19 different tomatoes today. Yeah, I know, I only have space for about 14 or 15. I'll deal with that issue when it comes time to plant out, LOL! I also wintersowed 4 kinds of Calendula, 4 kinds of Gazania, 2 types of annual Chrysanthemums, an annual Gaillardia, and Dahlberg Daisy.

Plus, DH got my grow light installed for my pepper sprouts!!!

It was a good day ...

Bonnie,

One of these years I'll start winter sowing. It seems I have enough other things going on. I was looking through your photobucket pictures and this picture makes WS really simple.

http://s111.photobucket.com/albums/n160/bgpadios/?action=view&current=Wintersowingwithpreschoolers002.jpg

Give me something for preschoolers and I can understand it :-)

Bonnie, can you show us what your chart looks like? I'd love to be half as organized as you, but if I could even keep a list of what was sown on what date, that would be helpful...

I've started everything indoors this year except for the things that volunteer every year--mostly the sunflowers and chives! Anyway, I LOVE LOVE LOVE wintersowing, so maybe next year I'll do some of that again. I'm still giving serious consideration to throwing some strawberry seeds in a pot for this year... if I'd been thinking, I'd have done it before this snow we just had on Thursday!

Okay, I tried to cut and paste from Excel, but it didn't really work. My sheets are actually very easy to read grids. This is just the first page. I have 12 pages worth of stuff, but that includes everything that is direct sown, indoor sown, or wintersown.

GERMINATION CHART 2011

Here are the column categories:

Name of Seed
Date Planted/ # of Seeds
WS, DS, SI (wintersown, direct sown, or sown indoors)
Germ. Date
Date Planted Out
# of Seedlings
Bloom Start Date

Agastache 'Apricot Sprite'
WS

African Daisy
WS/SS

Amaranth 'Autumn Touch' (sow April)
SS

Amaranth 'Love Lies Bleeding' (Green)
SS

Aquilegia 'Firecracker'
2/3/11
WS

Aquilegia 'Chocolate Soldier'
2/3/11
WS

Antirrhinum 'Frosted Sunset
2/3/11
WS
3/25/11

Antirrhinum 'Scarlet Giant'
2/3/11
WS
3/16/11

Asclepias curassavica
SS

Asclepias tuberosa
2/17/11
WS
3/16/11

Calendula 'Bon Bon Yellow'
2/26/11
WS
4/2/11

Calendula 'Pacific Beauty'
3/26/11
WS
4/6/11

Calendula 'Radio Extra'
3/26/11
WS
4/6/11

Calendula 'Touch of Red - Orange'
3/26/11
WS
4/6/11

Castor Bean 'Carmencita'
DS in May

California poppy 'Copper Pot'
3/3/11
WS
4/2/11

California poppy, dwarf red
3/3/11
WS
4/2/11

Chrysanthemum carinatum 'Sunset'
3/26/11
WS
4/2/11

Chrysanthemum 'El Dorado'
3/26/11
WS
4/5/11

Chrysanthemum 'Primrose Gem'
OUT
WS

Coreopsis, Dwarf Red
WS

Coreopsis tinctoria 'Roulette'
3/3/11
WS
3/16/11

Hope that makes sense.

So far I've wintersown 71 containers, and almost 50 have germinated. Most of what hasn't sprouted yet, are the tomatoes, and it's a little early for them yet. I'm just about ready to start sowing the tender stuff, like basil, zinnias, etc., but my schedule has been so crazy lately, that I just haven't found the time to do any more sowing. I did direct sow some carrots and radishes earlier this week, then today I discovered that a cat used the vegetable bed as a litter box, so I had to remove the present he/she left, and resow a section of carrots. Grrrr!

I gave a talk on wintersowing at a local women's group this week, and it went very well. Hoping I made a few converts : )

Bonnie

Sowed a few things today - German chamomile, lemon balm (again! Why can't I keep the invasive stuff alive, LOL?), Greek Dwarf basil, Viguiera, African daisy 'Buff Beauty', Scabiosa 'Ace of Spades', and Linum Flavum Compactum (if this one doesn't survive this time, I'm giving up on this one. Three strikes, you're out!)

Here are some pics of my jugs:

The overflow area

Topless jugs:

For herbs that stay in pots on the porch all summer, I sow directly into their permanent home, cover with plastic wrap, and poke a few air holes in the plastic. Saves me from having to tranplant them later.

So far, the only things I've planted out are a few lettuces, and some Siberian wallflower. Had hoped to plant out a few more things, but it's been raining off and on all day.

How's everyone else doing with their wintersowing?

Bonnie

Bonnie, I can't seem to keep invasive things alive either. For some reason mint eludes me.

I have some new sprouts. Onions, lettuce, spinach, viola and switchgrass. I think I might move some of my older seedlings to where they will get more sun.

Wondering when to sow annual seeds. The average last frost date here is around May 17.

Well, I'm glad to hear I'm not the only one, Kvenkat! Every year I get various mints from the spring plant swap, and haven't been able to overwinter them ... until now that is. I put the pot in the garage at the end of the season last year. Then, in late winter I brought it in the house, put it in a sunny window and started watering it a bit, and lo and behold it sprang to life! Well, the pineapple mint didn't, but the chocolate mint survived. I'm so relieved. It was looking like my green thumb status was a little shaky for a while : )

I'm starting to sow annual seeds now, and my last frost date is similar to yours. I save the most tender stuff, like marigolds, nasturtiums, and zinnias for last, but I've already got sprouts of Calendula, Petunias, and Gazanias up. I still need to sow things like Nicotiana, Strawflower, Portulaca, but since they are all going in pots on the porch, I may do what I did last year and sow them directly into the pots they will stay in all summer. I just covered them with plastic wrap until they sprouted (see last pic in my previous post). Worked great, and I didn't have to transplant them.

My problem right now is that I have containers with sprouts that could be planted out now, but there is so much grass growing in the perennial beds that I'll have to spend a couple of days digging it all out, before they can go in the ground.

I think I will try your idea with the plasic wrap on pots. Maybe this weekend I'll start some annuals.

Thankfully, the chocolate mint I got from the Fall swap is still going.

I've been planting out a lot these past 2 or 3 weeks. Here's some of what's in the ground.

Siberian Wallflower

Dianthus 'Sooty'

Coreopsis tinctoria

Iceland Poppies (got lazy and planted the entire jug in one hunk!)

Annual combo

Lettuces

Herbs

There are still plenty of jugs waiting to be planted though ...

And the tomatoes are just now sprouting, so I am far from done with planting out. How's everyone else doing this season?

Bonnie

Your plants look fantastic! You are way ahead of me, that's for sure.