Welcome!

Lewiston is a great town, love visiting there.

I start my annuals indoors in March, but might do some earlier or later depending on how long they take to germinate and reach a decent size.

Definitely check out the winter sowing forum here! Most of us are addicted!!

Tracy

Well, it's afe to say I became addicted to the WS in a matter of minutes. Already started the baby's breath, rudbeckia, echinops, poppies, and chinese lanterns on the deck. Just wish I hadn't cleaned out the fridge yesterday and thrown away all those containers!

Guess we'll order Chinese food tonite :)

Hi Julie and welcome. I am down the road from you (sort of) in N. Tonawanda. There are a couple of us in N.T. and one in Wheatfield so you have good company not far away. I have been wintersowing for 3 years now and it is the perfect way to go up here. I assume that you checked out the Wintersowing Forum and the FAQ. Just keep in mind to sow the seeds for the more tender annuals and perennials later in the season. I do my tender perennials and annuals usually around the beginning of March. That still gives them plenty of time to put on a nice display.

Penny

Welcome! Ignore my comment on the plant swap thread, now I see where you live! Brand new and willing to host, that is very hospitable of you. This forum will get more active when we get into the active growing season. Things are a bit slow now . . . .

Hey there, saw you on the WS forum :-)
I'm originally from Rochester, but I've lived in Oswego for the past 4 years.
I'm not big on indoor seed starting, but I do some. I have several coleus started (I think I have well over 30 plants!)
I'm also starting Impatiens (but I don't expect them to live...lol), Freesia (first time try, we'll see what happens). I'm going to do some peppers, and try some Cumin (regular and Russian), and I also have some Pergolariums and Geraniums started.
I want to force some bulbs indoors too (Double Freesia and Rannuculus), but I'm not sure how to go about it. Researching that this month.
Mostly everything I'm starting (I'm up to about 100 varieties of flowers and ornamental plants) are being WS.

Thats quite a mix. I was going to do everything indoors but I only how room for about 300 peat pots. Then I got addicted to the seed exchande forum and since I have about 50 new seed packets I became addicted to wintersowing them! We'll see what happens, I'm not sure that I did it right.

Julie
There really isn't a w2rong way to winter sow unless you bring the containers in the house for the winter. The main rule is to sow the seeds in containers, keep moist and covered until they sprout. Of course some of the die-hards add a few rules of their own like container must be snbitched from someone elses recycle bin, etc LOL but just think of it as direct sowing but in a container.

Penny

tastefullyjulie,
here's a link with pictures of this years WSing and last years results from WSing.
Last year was my first year WSing. It actually helped me learn enough about plants and gardening. Now I'm gaining the courage to start some seeds indoors--ones that don't WS here-- and overwinter some.
It sounds like you'd be coming at WSing from a different direction (as an experienced gardener), but people of all different experience levels do it.

Here is a link that might be useful: This year's jugs, last year's plants

lblack, I am also from Oswego. I have been gardening for many years and work part-time for a landscape company but this is the first year I am trying WS. I have grown seeds indoors in the past. Your pictures are very encouraging.

lblack, I'd say your 1st year of wintersowing was quite a success! I was afraid to WS my lavatera. Don't know why, just thought I should baby it indoors. Maybe I'll give it a shot. Not WS'ing my Evening primrose "innocence white" though. Only got 10 seeds so they are precious to me, lol.

By the way, when do you guys usually get the little plants in the ground? I know I won't get to it until the 1st week of June because we'll be away the week before (another crisis, who will water all the containers?!?!)

Anyway, how long is too long to leave them in flat takeout containers and such?

bonnie_ny,
It's so exciting to have someone here from Oswego :-) Feel free to email me anytime. Maybe we can get together for a plant swap or something (or travel together to someone else's).

tastefullyjulie,
WSing opened a whole new world for me. I walked around my yard hardly believing I had anything to do with all the color in the yard. My relatives now think I'm a gardening pro and ask me questions I can't even answer...lol.
I'm WSing a lot more Lavatera this year because my MIL loved them. I think I did mine in Feb-Mar last year. I'll probably wait until March to WS it this year.

Julie,
My plants go in the ground off and on all summer long. It pretty much depends on when they germinate and the weather. Last year I planted out sunflowers and morning glories in March (not really recommended but they had gotten way too big). Once they have at least one or two sets of true leaves and the weather is somewhat stable I start planting them out because I know it is going to be a long process as the various seedlings emerge. The last two years I had the bulk of my planting down by the 1st and second week of May but I still had a lot of containers that sprouted over the course of the season and they were planted out accordingly. what I do if I am going out of town, which we did last year, was to put everything in the shade, and water thoroughly.

Penny

Julie,
I do the same as Penny...it's an all spring-summer affair. I did put lettuce out really early (March) and Bachelor Buttons too.
This year, I'll probably wait later for most things (except for lettuce and spinach)-- even if we have the same warm weather as last year. I'm trying to have more "organized" gardens this year, so it's going to take a little more time and planning for me to get things how I want them.

Also, I noticed some types of flower seedlings (foxglove, basil, and monarda) were just providing food for the voles. I lost every foxglove seedling I planted last year to them. I'm going to wait for those to get bigger before I put them in the ground.

Hi Julie,
Welcome to the forum. I am originally from Lewiston. I live in Tonawanda now. As you can probably tell by now(I've been away all week). A lot of great people frequent this forum. Though it may get slow sometimes in winter, people are reading it. And seed trading and winter sowing are addictive!
Remy