I tried to do a search for the wintersowing threads from '09 and '08, but they seem to be gone. The other forums still have 60+ pages of threads, the RMG forum is only showing 3. What is up with that???

For anyone new to this forum, I usually start a thread at the beginning of the year for anyone interested in wintersowing to learn how to do it, and also for experienced wintersowers to share their experiences. The old threads had lots of detailed explanations and pictures, but I guess we are starting from scratch this time.

So my first suggestion if you have never done any wintersowing, is to check out the FAQ's on the Wintersowing Forum, here on GW. I'm also linking the Wintersown.org website that has lots of great information to get you started.

Now for the list. Here is what I WS'd today:

Anthemis tintoria (Golden Marguerite)
Asclepias tuberosa
Berlandiera lyrata (Chocolate Flower)
Eschscholzia californica 'Apricot Flambe'
Eschscholzia californica 'Dairy Maid'
Papaver atlanticum 'Orange Sherbet'
Feverfew

Considering my grow list has about 200 things on it, I'm off to a slow start. Guess I need to encourage the kids to drink more milk, LOL. Actually, I'm about a week earlier than I started last year, and winter's just begun.

Anyone else started WS yet, or at least making plans for it?

Bonnie

I hadn't noticed the problem with the missing threads, but I just emailed the administrators about it, and hopefully all our old files will be restored soon. I know all the threads still exist because I can still pull up threads that go back to 2005 that I had saved the links to in my favorites! They're out there-----somewhere!

Garden on, Bonnie,
Skybird

After seeing the first year's (2009) results, DH helped me store my jugs in the attic!! Since I am terrified of heights, I have thought about having him get the bags of jugs from storage.

My parents lugged totes across country, repurposed for my WSing efforts this year - the kind that fit under a bed. DH, of little faith, wonders what can possibly grow in such a short container...PERENNIALS!!

Although Bonnie suggested it last year, and I failed to listen, this year all jugs will be in full shade until closer to planting out time. In 2009, I noticed that many of my jugs were in half shade/half sun. The halves in the sun, maybe only 4 hours, rarely had seeds sprout. The line was distinct, and heart breaking.

I started zinnias and other annuals way too early last year. They got cooked when I neglected - not enough water and failed to remove the lids.

Planting tender annuals later and full shade should prevent many growing issues I had last year. Paint pens should prevent the lack of jug ids. Nothing like having beautiful flowers in the yard and having to answer "What is that?" with "I don't know".

As Austinnhanasmom mentioned above, at our high altitude it's probably best not to place the containers in a southern exposure, full sun location. Mine are on the east side of the house, and receive mostly morning sun.

Bonnie

Glaucium, Burnt Orange
Lychnis, Lumina Red
Lychnis, Molten Lava
Penstemon, Firecracker
Feverfew, Virgo
Lemon Balm
Lettuce, Freckles
Lettuce, Nevada
Lettuce, New Red Fire
Lettuce, Mascara
Lettuce, Simpson Elite

WS'd Lychnis last year and had good germination, but I think I waited too late to plant them out, and the sprouts fried. I did the Glaucium last year too, but only one plant survived. Besides, it's listed as a biennial, so I figured I needed to do some more.

This is my third year to try Lemon Balm. The first year, I bought a plant, and managed to kill it. WS'd it last year, and it started out great, but gradually withered away ... again. This is supposed to be an aggressive plant like mint, probably why I can't grow it, LOL. Anyway, if anyone has tips on how to keep it alive this year, I'd love to hear them.

I love to wintersow lettuce. It is always one of the first things to germinate, and can handle the cold, so it's also one of the first things to get planted out.

Was getting worried about having enough containers, but I put the word out at the preschool/kindergarten where my kids go, and also at church. I scored over a dozen this week alone, so I'm thinking containers won't be an issue after all : )

Bonnie

Dan (obviously not a WSer)

Here is how it looks a couple months after transplanting

Bonnie

I came here specifically looking for this thread. I had great success last year with many vegetables. I didn't do any flowers but I'd like to start some. I'm getting the itch and have a ton of containers saved.

Bonnie, as usual, I'm impressed. I'll probably sow a few next week and thereafter. I may even set up a sowing day and invite friends over! I still have the babies and hope to adopt them but the process is long. So time is still not so readily available.

Last year I seemed to have a bit of a hard time getting the seedlings out of the milk jug without almost damaging the plants. Maybe I need to cut the opening larger?

I'll keep checking back.

Charlene

With those chickens of yours having free reign, you may want to wintersow a lot more this year to make up for what they are going to eat. There are tons of flowers that wintersow well.

I got a few more containers done today:

Aquilegia, Firecracker
Dianthus, Black Magic
Dianthus, Sooty
Dicranostigma franchetianum
Echium russicum
Iceland poppy, Solar Fire Orange
Lettuce, Tom Thumb
Linum flavum, Compactum
Wallflower, Blood Red
Wallflower, My Fair Lady
Wallflower, Siberian

What are you guys sowing this year? I still have quite a few annuals and herbs to do over the next month, and by March I start the tomatoes. That gives me a few more weeks to finalize that oh-so-important tomato list : )

Bonnie

Gaillardia - a few blooms towards the end of the first season

Verbascum - same

Lychnis - same

Rudbeckia - blooms the first year

Dianthus - blooms the first year

Echinacea - usually not until second year

Perennial poppies - not until 2nd year

Geum - not until 2nd year

Agastache - a few blooms the first year

If it's something that doesn't bloom until year 2, I just fill the extra space with annuals the first year.

As much as the garden centers charge for full sized perennials, it's worth it to me to start them from seed.

Bonnie

I'd really like some more input about wintersowing tomatoes in Zone 5. I read your post in the Wintersowing forum and I was so surprised to see you did it successfully. It really is a pain with all the seedlings inside. Can you expound?

Wintersowing the tomatoes freed up my kitchen windowsill for more pepper plants, so it's a win-win for me : )

Bonnie

When did you put the tomato seeds out?

I thought of you today as the daycare children in my care were watching an episode of Pooh. The characters were wondering how to make Rabbit realize how to have fun. They did several activities and told jokes.... none of them slightly amusing to Rabbit. Then, as they passed by his house they heard him laughing and giggling. They looked into his window to find him counting seeds. He was having a ball.

I immediately thought of you and couldn't help giggling outloud myself!

Connie

Milehigh, sometime during the first two weeks of March.

Bonnie

My point will be it can be done here and I'm going to state that folks around the Front Range do it. So, I thought of this forum.

It might be my search terms, but I thought I remembered that someone posted a pic of their setup - lots of containers on a patio - but I can't find it. Can someone remember what I'm talking about and please give me a pointer, so I can bring along a picture or two to show I'm not crazy (well, not on this topic, anyways)?

Thank you in advance! :o)

Dan

... and here's some buried under the snow

Hope that helps some. Or do you need a photo of how to prep the containers?

Bonnie

Anyhoo, it might be my remembery, but I thought I remembered seeing a thread with a pic of a bunch of various containers on a screened-in porch. I can make do with the one immediately above, which conveys one of my points very well. and on the other thread, thank you !

Dan

I use a soldering iron to put drainage holes in the bottom, and to make it easier to cut the window opening

You can hold the flap open with an office clip to fill, but they stay open pretty well on their own

If you write directly on the jug it can fade, but I use colored electrical tape, and place on the bottom where the sun won't reach. Some folks use paint pens instead of permanent markers.

Here are some pics of how I prep the 2L bottles

Dan, I'm not sure about that picture you are referring to. If the containers are on a screened in porch, I'm not sure I would consider that true wintersowing, since they are not subjected to the elements - snow, rain, direct sun, etc. It sounds more like a greenhouse environment to me.

Bonnie

:o)

Thank you so much for posting those pictures. I just thew away my 2-liters because they were so difficult to work with, but the way you put those together looks do-able to me. Also, the window in your milk jugs looks easier than what I was doing too!

You've encouraged me a lot!

Rhonda

I’m a sorta off-the-wall winter sower—the only time I did it was in spring of ‘08, but if you’re interested in another possible way to do it, here are some pictures. I’ll post them small so they don’t take up a lot of room, but you can click on them to get the bigger version if you want to see them better. The year I decided to do it (I was off work, so able to tend them) I didn’t have any bottles to use so I came up with an alternate plan!

A LONG time ago I got a case of 11" square flats, so I decided to use them! I sowed the seeds in rows if there were a lot of seeds, or here and there for things I only had a few of, and I marked them with regular plant labels (using graphite pencil which doesn’t fade). Here’s a picture of the flats right after I finished sowing. The empty flat is in front just so people could see what I was using!

This is how I covered them until they started to germinate—which wasn’t very long!

Once they started to germinate I had to get the plastic up higher so I put a bunch of one gallon pots around the flats, laid a piece of hardware cloth across the pots and pulled the plastic over that.

Then I just rolled the sides up during the day when it was getting warm enough that I could have wound up with steamed seedlings if they didn’t have some ventilation! When they were covered, the plastic had to be weighted down really well so it wouldn’t blow away!

They were right against the east side of the (two story) house, so they didn’t get too much sun at that time of the year. This is after some of them had germinated.

They were saturated when they were seeded and didn’t need to be watered until after things started to germinate. When they did need to be watered, I uncovered the whole thing as shown in the last pic, filled a tray with water, and sat them in the tray to bottom water until they were saturated again.

The pic shows "too good" germination on some of them! That’s because I was lazy and put way too many seeds in for some of them—the ones with TINY seeds! Most of those germinated in the pic were the more cold season perennials—poppies, etc. The seeds I used (all perennials) ranged from brand new to over 30 years old! I decided it was an easy way to try some of the really old seeds. Some of them (yes, even the VERY old ones) germinated, and some of them didn’t. Some of the seeds were ones I had collected when I was in the green industry and I didn’t even know for sure if they were from sterile plants or not, or if they were for sure all the way ripe (if I saw it and I liked it, I grabbed seed any chance I got!), so, not surprisingly, a bunch of them never came up.

It was an interesting experiment, and I got some good perennials out of it—FREE!

I highly recommend it as an easy way to start seed for anyone who has the "equipment" (bottles or whatever), time, and space to do it.

Happy winter sowing, Bonnie—and everyone else!
Skybird

Here's what I sowed today:

Alyssum, Summer Peaches
Amaranth, Red leaf
Arugula
Chrysanthemum, El Dorado
Chrysanthemum, Primrose Gem
Chrysanthemum, Sunset
Coreopsis, Dwarf Red (annual)
Coreopsis tinctoria
Mentzelia linleyi
Petunia, Fire Chief
Petunia, Prism Sunshine
Rudbeckia, Autumn Colors
Cilantro, Slow Bolt
Dill, Mammoth
Marjoram, Sweet
Oregano, Wild Zaatar
Parsley, Big Italy
Parsley, Extra Curled Dwarf

That brings my total containers to 47 so far. The patio is getting pretty full, and I've only done about half of the annuals, and still have tomatoes to do too! I think it will be a very busy spring for me : )

Bonnie

Red cabbage, white cabbage, brussels sprouts, spring onions (white lisbon), broccoli, cauliflower, kale, swiss chard, turnips (I think that's all of it!).

I'll direct sow my lettuce, spinach, peas in the raised beds under plastic this year which I've not done before.

When will you all do tomatoes?

Charlene

My containers are mostly gallon milk jugs. I am planning to setup the milk jugs as Bonnie (highalttransplant) did in her pics on 1/30. My questions are these:
1. Do you need to tape down the flap and seal it completly, or can you tuck the flap back into the jug?
2. Do you need to provide slits in the top of the jugs as temperatures warm up to expose the seedlings to the air, or can you simply lift up the flap slowly?
3. What is the easiest way to get seedlings out?

Thanks,

Red

1. Last year was my first to use milk jugs, and I started out taping the flap down, but once the temps started to warm enough for things to start sprouting, I ended up pulling it off to make it easier to check on things, and then I decided it wasn't really necessary anyway. The flap tucks in well enough, even if it's not a perfect seal.

2. Yes, I just lift the flap on warm days, and close it if a frost is expected. When I'm about ready to plant something out, I leave the flap open all of the time, to be sure the seedlings are fully hardened.

3. Well, this is my fourth year, and I wouldn't say that I've mastered this part. There are people over on the wintersowing forum that reuse their containers from year to year, I usually end up cutting mine to pieces to get those silly seedlings out. I try scooping them out with a spade or spoon, but I'm not very graceful at it, and usually end up grabbing a pair of scissors.

What are you planning to sow?

Charlene, I'll be starting my tomatoes sometime this week, if I could just finalize that list. Glad to see you've gotten started : )

Bonnie

Here's what's up so far:

Lettuce, Nevada - As usual, I sowed heavily, and there are over 30 sprouts in that jug so far.
Lettuce, Simpson Elite
Arugula
Chrysanthemum, Primrose Gem
Wallflower, My Fair Lady

There are a couple other jugs of lettuce that have sent radicles out, but no leaves yet.

Just checked the forecast, and it's supposed to snow tomorrow night. I'm sure the sprouts will be just fine though.

Anyone else have sprouts yet?

Bonnie

A friend of mine came over today. She's a young mom and fairly new to gardening, and hasn't had much luck with sowing things indoors. She wanted me to teach her how to wintersow. She left with tomatoes, lettuces, and basil, and lots of information to help make her successful.

More sprouts up yesterday:

Lettuce, Tom Thumb
Lettuce, Freckles
Golden Marguerite

Got most of the tomatoes WS today, but ran out of time, so I'll finish the rest up over the weekend. Here's what got planted today:

Amazon Chocolate
Amish Paste
Black from Tula
Hillbilly
Brown Berry
Cherokee Chocolate
Earl's Faux
Giant Belguim
Gold Medal
Indian Stripe
Lancaster Pink
Neves Azorean Red
Rainy's Maltese

My friend calls before she leaving her house and asks, "Should I pick up some seeds at the store on my way over?" Hahahaha!!! Uh, no that won't be necessary : )

Bonnie

Thanks in advance! Really excited to have my first real gardening season! :)

perennials: DONE

Echinacea Purple Coneflower
Echinacea Green Envy
Echinacea Pixie Meadowbrite
Agastache Blue Licorice
Columbine Red & White
Rudbeckia hirta Corona
Monarda Blue Stockings
Agastache Honeybee Blue
Agastache Blue Fortune
Columbine Black Barlow
Echinacea Sunset
Asclepias tuburosa Butterfly Weed
Echinacea White Swan
Monarda Raspberry Wine
Columbine Granny's Bonnet
Asclepias tuburosa Gay Butterflies
Rudbeckia hirta Green Wizard
Asclepias tuburosa orange butterfly weed
Amaranth Hopi Red Dye
Asclepias viridiflora Green Milkweed
Centaurea unknown
Purple Liatris
Monarda Cambridge Red
Lily Buff Pixie
Blue Flax
Sedum Autumn Joy
Columbine White
Rudbeckia Henry Eilers
Cerinthe glabra Smooth Honeywort
Centaurea dealbata
Columbine Red & Yellow
Asclepias incarnata Swamp Milkweed
Sedum Rosy Glow
Agastache Golden Jubilee
Agastache Pink Pop
Coreopsis Mardi Gras
Centaurea Mountain Bluet
Eryngium alpinum Blue Lace
Geranium New Hampshire
Tricyrits Toadlily
Painters Palette Tonara
Allium Lavander Globe Lily
Giant Allium
Verbascum chaixii Wedding Candles
Sedum Purple Emperor
Chelone Turtleheads
Anthemis Kelweyi
Sedum Lynda Winsor
Aster novae alma porticae?
Knautia macedonia Red Knight
Mexican Hats
Geum Mrs Bradshaw
Helenium Mardi Gras
Shasta Daisy
Trollius
Allium Azure
Coreopsis tripteris tall Coreopsis
Sheep Scabious Blue Light
Verbena bonariensis
Platycodon grandiflora Fugi Blue
Salvia coccina Lady in Red
Echinops nitro Veitchs Blue
Purple Liatris
Obedient Plant
Agastache White
Salvia Coral Nymph
Agastache Aurea
Breesialia
Penstemon Red Red
Geum Rivale
Centaurea Amethyst
Sweet William Sooty
Penstemon Red
Centaurea Amethyst in Snow
Geranium Ballerina Pink
Rudbeckia Denver Daisy
Chocolate Flower
Maltese Cross
Salvia Red
Family Jewels
Coreopsis Quills and Thrills
Nigella Curiosity
Nigella Curiosity
Nigella Red Jewel
Penstemon Cambridge mix
Columbine Sitka
Aster Champagne
Columbine Denver Gold
Agastache Coronado
Centaurea Cyanus Double
Geum Rivale Salmon Red
Columbine White
Columbine Green Apples
Blazing Star Torchlight
Agastache Honey Bee Blue
Red Hot Poker
Echinacea Pallida Purple
Agastache Purple
Echinacea Pink Double Decker
Geranium Blue
Echinacea Harvest Moon
Moon Carrot
Agastache Heather Garden
Cupid's Dart
Columbine Canadian
Rudbeckia Cherry Brandy
Rudbeckia Maya
Balloon Flower Mariesii
Columbine Nora Barlow
Flowering Kale Sunset
Balloon Flower
Columbine Magpie
Rudbeckia Hot Chocolate
Rudbeckia Green Wizard
Mexican Sage Vermilion Bluffs
Rudbeckia Cappacino
Rudbeckia Toto
Monarda Fistulosa
Echinacea Ritro
Columbine Blue
Penstemon Fuschia
Geranium Pink hardy
Aster Champagne Florette
Rudbeckia Autumn Colors
Echinacea Double Decker
Echinacea Coconut Lime
Centaurea dealbata
Rudbeckia Knee High
Salvia Red
Penstemon Purple
Echinacea White
Columbine Yellow
Columbine Blue Star
Bellflower white
Green Mist
Mexican Prickly Poppy white
Beauty Rose Cirsium
Ensign Rose
Cub Scout
Carnation White Bridal
Geum aveys mix
Painted Daisy
Hibiscus
Balloon Flower dwarf blue
Sheep Scabious blue light
Hummingbird Salvia
gaillardia yellow plume
Milkweed common
Gerbera Daisy Yellow
Heuchera Palace Purple
Yvonne's Giant Red Salvia
Perilla/Red Shisi
Dianthus Siberian Blue
grow indoors
Penstemon Husker Red
Angelonia purple
Plectranthus Silver Shield
Malva Zebrina
Black Eyed Susan Vine
Browallia
Columbine Rose Barlow
Verbena purple
Gazania Yellow
Hibiscus Moschuetos Red
Milkweed
Milkweed silky gold
Coreopsis mahogany midget
Hibiscus
Echinacea Green Envy
Delphinium dark blue/dark bee
Coreopsis Jethro Tull
Balloon Flower white

Pictures---now and later!

:-)
Skybird

Yeah, I'm done with perennials too, and most of the hardy annuals as well. Things I plan to sow this month include - peas, gazanias, calendulas, nicotianas, and ground cherries. All of the really tender stuff, such as basil, zinnias, nasturtiums, and marigolds will be sown in April.

Wonderwoman, what you are describing sounds a lot like a low tunnel, such as the one in the link below. You might want to do a Google/Yahoo search on low tunnel to get more info on that. I only have experience using recyclable containers to wintersow. Love to hear how it turns out though ...

Bonnie

Tomato, Marianna's Peace
Tomato, Caspian Pink
Tomato, Soldacki
Tomato, Striped German
Pea, Super Sugar Snap
Pea, Sugar Daddy
Pea, Tall Telephone
Cauliflower, Chef's Choice (Snowball, Green Macerata, and Purple of Sicily)

I also finished sowing the peppers indoors too. Ended up with 21 different kinds. Never mind that there is only room for 12 in the garden. That's what containers are for, right?

Bonnie

I have the perennials in keg cups - which are then in last year's saved containers, which have lids and handles.

I have no idea where to plant everything. I do have some space, but not nearly enough for all of these perennials.

I think last year I over did the annuals. Many were/are on the "direct sow" list, and I killed more then my share with my 1st year WS mistakes. So this year, those will get direct sown.

The perennials seemed more tolerant of my newbie issues (listening to Bonnie this time and placing jugs out of direct sun and sowing fewer seeds in each cup).

So this year, I'm over doing the perennials:))

I finally finished the perennials and DH asked why I don't WS tomatoes. Seems Remy and Bonnie have converted a non-WSer. I started my tomatoes so late this year, seems like I should have WSed them.

Bonnie - I also started way more pepper varieties then I allotted space for.

I am thinking of starting a determinate, container tomato for indoor/winter tomatoes. I tried it once but used a indeterminate variety and it was a mess. Florida weather patterns should make grocery tomatoes even worse.

Happy Gardening All -

I'll post the rest later.

Gotta find some more containers!!!

I found containers at the local recycle center - icky but worth it:)

Your herb list sounds great! They are one of my favorite things to wintersow, but you might want to wait a little later next time on the basil. It is not frost tolerant, and will need some protection once it sprouts. I usually WS mine in April.

Congratulations on getting started! Have to warn you though, that it can be addictive ... just look at Deb's list, LOL!!!

Bonnie

I'm in heaven and will be up late tonight.
Thank goodness all I have to do is pack, cause the next few days will be winter-sow-tastic!!!!

I'm officially addicted, thank you Trudi & Bonnie for all your advice (and everyone else too!). Couldn't have come at a better time.

This was sown yesterday. We'll see what comes up. I'm not starting anything indoor until I return from Hawaii in 2 weeks. So, if the winter sowing doesn't turn out well, I'll be forking out a bunch of cash for starters!!!

Annual Cut Flower Mixture (Strawflower, Aster, Calendula single mixed, plains coreopsis, bachelor button, clarkia, cosmos, chinease forget me not, larkspur-giant imperial, gysophilia elegans white, corn poppy, black eyed susan, marigold crackerjack mixed, zinnia cactus, godetia
Marigold - petite mixed
Marigold - Queen Sophia
Marigold - Citrus Mix
Gillardia - sundance bi color
Zinnia - old mexico
Zinnia - burpeeana giantus mix
Zinnia - Candy Cane mix
Four O'Clock - Kaleidoscope
Butterfly Flower
Oriental Poppy
Pole Bean - purple
Pole Bean - Scarlet Runner

Now, to gardening. CRIKEY, I haven't WS'd anything yet. Not to fear; I live in COLORADO! I'm going to WS all of my tomatoes this year--last year, the Cherokee Purples did great, and hubby asked if we could plant more than one of those this year (perhaps he's asking me to simplify by planting more of fewer variety... instead of 24 different ones?). Anyway, also going to start the peppers indoors--I've really been debating, because I don't have a south windor or a good lighting setup, but I'd rather have my own --and have the varieties that I want--than "settle" for what I can find at the nursery. Curious to see if anyone's wanting to do the spring swap, and what veggies ya'll will be bringing if you do...

Containers? I think I've got enough. I really have limited space since I garden 100% in containers, including flowers, so I don't need a ton of stuff. I am excited to see what
comes back that I planted from last year's spring swap--may be able to swap some of that out this year! Deb, are you going to have peppers galore again? DH absolutely loved the ones we got from you last year! Also, we loved the Thessalonica toms... can I swap you for a couple seeds, and do you think they'll WS at all?

Hmm... looks like it'll be a busy weekend, even if I am getting a late start!!!

Here's what was WS today:

Calendula officinalis
Calendula, Bon Bon Yellow
Gaillardia, Red Plume
Gazania, Daybreak Bronze
Gazania, Daybreak Orange Cream
Gazania, Daybreak Sun
Gazania, Kiss Bronze Star
Ipomopsis, Hummingbird Mix
Nicotiana, lime green
Nicotiana, Chocolate Smoke
Nicotiana, Crimson Bedder
Scabiosa, Ace of Spades
Scarlet Flax
Summer Savory

The ground in the perennial beds is still frozen in spots, but the veggie bed is semi-raised, and it has thawed and dried, so I moved around the t-posts I use for tomato supports. Last year, they were too crowded, and a couple of plants at the back didn't do well. My arms feel like jelly after swinging that sledgehammer for a couple of hours! Felt good to get outside and get dirty though ...

Bonnie

I sowed a couple of containers today:

Lettuce, Cimmaron (the Mascara never came up, so I thought I needed another red lettuce)
Rhubarb, Victoria (the one I WS last year is up, but the plant I got from the spring swap in '08 looks like it may not have made it, so I thought I better sow some more)
Snapdragon, Scarlet Giant

and I had to resow the Black from Tula tomato because the kids knocked it over with a ball the other day ... grrrr.

Quite a few more jugs have sprouted, including annual coreopsis, dianthus, annual alyssum, lychnis, cilantro, dill, feverfew, and more wallflowers. Everything survived the low of 15º last night. It's supposed to drop even lower tonight, but hopefully everything will make it.

Bonnie

Bonnie

When will anyone be planting their WS greens to the garden? bonnie

I checked my records from last year, and I planted out the lettuce on 4/7/09, but that's not going to happen this year. Things are not nearly as far along. It is still cold here. Took the kids to an Easter Egg hunt this morning, and we were freezing! I am ready for it to warm up!!!

Bonnie

Seeing those little sprouts makes me so happy :)

Endive "Tres Fine Maraichere"
Romaine "Little Gem"
Romaine "Freckles"
Romaine "Paris Island Cos"
Mesclun mix "Valentine"
Mesclun mix "Baby Greens"
Lettuce "Red Sails"
Lettuce "Buttercrunch"
Lettuce "Salad Bowl Blend"
Spinach "Melody"
Peas "Progress #9"

Tomorrow I'll be putting out some toms and peppers. Hope it works!

Osteospermum, African Sun
Tithonia, Fiesta del Sol
Ursinia anethoids
Venidium fastuosum, Zulu Orange/Jaffe Ice Mix
Quinoa (anyone grown this one before?)
Heliopsis, Lorraine Sunshine
Perilla, Moonlit Seas
Sage, Pineapple
Ground Cherry, Pineapple
Ground Cherry, Aunt Molly's (thanks for the seeds Deb!)
Ground Cherry, Giant Cape Gooseberry
Tomatillo, Purple
Tomatillo, Toma Verde

Still have a good bit to go, and I now have over 100 containers sown. Thinking about sowing some of the annuals in the pots where they will stay all summer, instead of having to tranplant them. That means I need to figure out my combinations, so I'll know which ones to sow together in each pot.

In spite of all of the cold, snow, and wind over the past week, quite a few jugs have sprouted since I last checked. The forcasted low is 19º, so I'm hoping everything comes through okay.

Bonnie

Interestingly, Trudi thought I meant to freeze my seeds. Yeah, uh... no. I realize that they have to be moistened and in the soil for WS to be effective. So, after the question was posted, I got the "don't make it harder than it has to be" advice, because veggies don't really need a freezing stratification.

On that note, I planted a bunch of peppers inside (geez, I wish I had a south-facing window!), and "wintersowed" a bunch of other stuff--including, of all things, OKRA. We had a great year for okra last year, and I actually found several places that said okra is suitable for WSing. However, because my husband loves me more for having grown okra last year, you can bet I'm insuring my WS on that one with some indoor starts!

Also, have direct-sown (hey, I don't have the time to mess with the rest, and it's late enough anyway!) peas, carrots, beets, lettuce, spinach, radicchio, cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower and radishes.

So, I'm pretty sure I'm gonna have extras of stuff... Did we ever get a firm date set for the swap? I'll have to go over to that thread and check it out. If so, I will probably have peppers (mostly generic yellow or orange bells) and tomatoes (mostly heirloom varieties) to swap.

Still need to direct sow my carrots and radishes, but between the Easter holiday, the weather, and now sick kids to deal with, I can't seem to find the time to get it done.

Bonnie

For the record, our okra had the prime place in the garden last year: up against a south-facing brick wall, in a SWC with black film, and on top of more black film that I would use to puddle water to help create a mini-climate with some higher humidity and heat. The plants didn't even get 4 feet tall, but I fit 10 plants into one Garden Patch GrowBox. Of course, with okra, either you love it or you hate it, and if you love it, there's never enough of it. Hubby has been told that can choose to lose one of the pepper boxes and do a second okra box if he wants (he was adamant after last year that we needed a second box of okra), but he loves his peppers, too!

How do you serve your okra? The two ways I like it are fried, or in soups, gumbos, etc. I'm not sure the kids have ever had okra, and DH doesn't care for it, so I'm growing it just for myself. Wouldn't give up a planter box of peppers for it though, LOL!

Today, I dumped the dirt out of the large pots on the porch, put fresh potting mix in them, and sowed seeds directly into a couple of them, then covered the top in plastic wrap. Kind of wintersowing, except that I won't have to transplant later. Still have 4 or 5 more to go, but I'm excited to see if this will work out okay.

Here's what was sown today:

Dahlia, Dark Red Beauty
Asclepias curassavica
Gerbera daisy, yellow
Strawflower, tall double yellow
Strawfloer, Monstrosum Fireball
Chamomile

I may try and get some basils wintersown tomorrow afternoon.

The other thing I accomplished today in the garden was direct sowing six kinds of carrots and some radishes. My little girl was helping today, until she decided to pull the flowers off the daffodils - the only thing I have blooming right now!

Bonnie

How do you fry yours? We're gettin' kinda off-topic, (about two posts ago!), but I like to make mine "slime" so it will hold more of the breading. I do that by chopping into 1/2 inch pieces, putting them into a zip-top baggie w/ 1/4 to 1/2 cup water, rolling that all around to get everything good and wet (and SLIMY!!!) and then to the 50/50 whole wheat flour/corn meal mix. Makes lots of little crunchies with the extra slime...

Okay, to get back on topic, my WS stuff has ZERO germination yet. And, it's really NICE here today, so if it doesn't come up soon, I'm going to start getting concerned...

Sorry about your daffs!

How many days ago did you do your wintersowing, and what did you sow? Can't say if it's time to worry yet or not, without more details : )

I WS 6 kinds of basil today, Tagetes lucida (Mexican Tarragon), that Burgundy okra I was telling you about, and some Mirabilis that I received in a recent swap.

It was a gorgeous weekend here! Hope everyone enjoyed some time outdoors!

Bonnie

Lettuce:

Spinach:

Now on to sow the warmer season stuff...

On the wintersowing forum, they use May 1st as the cut-off. Doesn't mean you can't still sow in recyclable containers after that date, but it is considered spring/summer sowing at that point.

Anyway, by May 1st I had sown 129 containers of herb, veggies, and flowers. As of yesterday, all but 19 had germinated, which comes out to somewhere around an 85% germination rate. Not bad IMO! Some of those will probably still germinate, but are waiting for warmer temps.

The past couple of weeks, I have been gradually transplanting annuals to the pots they will grow in for the rest of the summer. I've had to bring them into the garage a few nights when it got below freezing, but since they are on a covered porch, and can be pushed up against the house for wind protection, they have done fine. Haven't lost any yet.

Yesterday, I started planting out wintersown perennials, and covering them with the top half of a milkjug to give it them a little shade and wind protection. Things like Berlandiera lyrata, Asclepias tuberosa, Feverfew (hope I don't regret growing this one!), Anthemis tinctoria, and Dianthus. Most of what is left to plant out are annual herbs, which will go in pots on the porch. Well, there's also the tomatoes, but those will be planted out last, along with the peppers that were grown inside.

To give you some idea how far behind this year is from the previous ones I've wintersown, my germination records show that I normally start planting out the perennials the first week of April. This year, I didn't even plant the lettuce out until April 24.

Anyone else planting out their wintersown sprouts yet?

Bonnie

I think tomorrow or Sat, it'll finally be warm enough.

I have much better germination this year, vs last.

I think I read to plant Feverfew in a container - like planting mint??

MANY MANY containers have sprouts too small to plant, but I am already wondering where I'll put all this stuff!!

Such an issue!! WOOHOO!!

I thought today was a perfect day to plant out. It was overcast, in the 50's, and not too much wind ... well, at least not until I was done. I did have to chase the milkjug tops around the yard this afternoon, and then secure them with wooden skewers.

I had Feverfew set aside to go into a pot and dang if I can't find it!! I must have planted it - oops.

The WS perennials from last year are getting ready to bloom!! No idea what they are but I'm anxious to see the beauty!!

Much more controlled planting this year - yeah right!