Propagation: WS 2011 changes, 0 by tabasco

tabasco wrote:
Hi, everybody,

Have been lurking and pretty quiet recently but just read thru this 'Wintersowing' thread. I agree that reading thru the Sticky threads at the Forum top will clear up lots of questions and save a lot of grief.

A couple of thoughts on changes I've made (after six years of WSing in zone 6a Ohio climate):

Just wanted to agree with tcs about the annuals and tomatoes too: I DON'T sow them too early. Had to learn the hard way that seeds generally won't germinate until soil and ambient temps get to a certain warmth (around 70 degrees usually) and if the seeds are just sitting there in the cold containers there's a good chance the seed will rot. Or they will germinate early and then a freeze will kill the seedlings off.

One point about the steel shelving and wintersowing~~part of the charm of wintersowing for me is relying on Mother Nature's spring rains to do the watering of the jugs . If milk jugs are stacked up on shelves I wonder how much rain will get to them? Same issue with keeping seeds on the covered porch.

About the 'cold frames': I like cold frames, too, but generally most WS ing purists don't consider using them 'wintersowing', in the sense used on this thread, because they don't typically allow for Mother Nature to provide the moisture (unless you poke holes in the roof/top). They are another great way to start seeds and plants though and I love 'em. There could be a whole other forum discussing Cold Frames and Cloches and other ways to lengthen the growing season. The Propagation Forum has some good threads on building and using coldframes too. I found out a lot of good stuff about how to start difficult seeds on the Propagation Forum too.

About 'direct sowing' into the garden kale, cabbage and cool season crops: The seed packets often instruct them to be sown this way but WSers often like to do them in containers to protect the seeds and seedlings from the rabbits and other critters. Likewise WSing solves protection issues for zinnias and sunflowers and other seeds often times instructed to be 'direct sown' into the garden according to the seed packets.

Use of the 'big flat underbed' plastic containers: I have filled them with planting mix and sowed the seeds straight into them in the past and they are fine if you can keep your various seed varieties within them ID-ed thru the winter and spring but the depth is rather shallow for when the seedlings pop up and you still want them to be lidded for some protection. I also ran into issues because come spring time certain seeds were germinated and tall seedlings ready to plant out and others hadn't germinated yet so I the un-germinated seeds were left in the large (mostly empty) container. Got to be a little messy. So then I switched to planting in plastic cups and keeping them in the plastic containers and that worked a little better but tried to stick with the deeper Sterlite containers (available from Big Lots and Home Depot).

Reading thru the thread it occurred to me that a lot of Wintersowing success depends on how Mother Nature behaves in your garden. WSing in Houston is not at all the same as WSing in Cincinnati so adjustments need to be made for winds, rain, bright sun, growing seasons, etc. It took me a few years to get the WSing intricacies of my particular location down.

I love wintersowing too~~what a relief to have most of the seed starting outside~~and one winter I didn't do it and I sorely missed the fun of trying to grow rare and fussy seeds and getting darn good results and joining in the chat on this forum. Like others, I highly recommend trying it!

I'd love to read more tips and tricks from others here. Always something new to learn about seed sowing....t.

Pic of seedlings in Sterlite Containers from Big Lots:

This message was edited Oct 4, 2010 9:06 AM