Winter Sowing Plans

Ibartoo ~ when deciding exactly what gets planted, be flexible. Lists will be altered and modified many times in the weeks ahead! LOL Wish you a speedy recovery too...

Thanks podster, I opted for a nap yesterday, so I will be working on seeds this afternon. Is there a place to trade winter sowing seeds other than the regular seed exchange?
Ibartoo

Don't really know on the winter sowing trades. Winter is hectic for me so I tend to fade back. Hope you enjoyed your nap ~ take another for me please! 8 ))

ibartoo -- we do this nutty Piggy Seed Swap... there many be a slot or two open still.

long story on how it got called "Piggy Swap" .... but a bunch of us in the Cottage Garden forum swap seeds... it starts Nov 1.

here is teh most current thread... http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1048599/
if you are interested, you can ask Starlight if she still has openings.

Terese

I plan to sow a lot fewer seeds! I just finished planting the last of the echinaceas I winter sowed lthis past winter - and they are planted way too close together - and I have no room for any more plants . . . but I do like foxgloves! so maybe some of those.

Michaela -- i say that every year, and still do too many seeds.

BUT - I do have to say... i'm running out of real estate, so i really can't do that many... though i can give them away.

Terese

that's where I am - seeds to give away. Not much room left for plants . . . sigh.

One thing I'm going to do differently this year is not sprinkle the seeds over the entire container. I'm going to mentally divide the container into 4 parts and then put 3-4 seeds in each little section. This should help when it comes time to transplant. At least, I hope it will.

Now that's a good idea; however, I must tell you - I winter-sowed just 5 seeds each from several types of echinacea. I wanted to see how many would germinate - well now I have almost 20 echnacea plants and no where to really put them. I have them in the ground (finally) but they are far to close together and can't stay where they are , , , I will have to find homes for some of them in the spring . . .

at the end of the season, I bought about 30 72 cell packs from the dollar store when they had been marked down to .75 cents. I am planning to winter sow in those and no more. i have no clue where I will put anything else, but I am sure the flower beds will make froom for just 1 more baby.

ibartoo: Have you wintersown before?

Small containers like cell packs generally aren't recommended. They're just too small, and dry out way too fast. Especially in your hot location, I'd rethink that plan.

I use gallon milk jugs with 3" of soil, great results.

Karen

Yeah, I think Karen is right. I always make sure I have 3 to 4 inches of potting soil in whatever I am using. This past year I found some large clear plastic containers with lids ( about the size of a laundry basket). My husband drilled holes in the bottom for drainage and the lids for air. Then I used 16 ounce drink cups for planting the seeds. Well, you can get a lot of those drink cups in each of those plastic containers, and I had three! That's why there were only 5 seeds in each drink cup.

Not everything was successful - buy OMG! did I ever end up with a lot of plants!

But those cell packs are great for spring-sowing all the stuff you forgot to winter sow, everyone is right it's NOT the same idiot-proof method as using a big jug. I always end up with a cell pack or two or three, but they need lots of water and transplanting and such.

Carrie: But you are in Ma, and ibartoo is in SC- much different weather in spring. I think they might need watered several times/day. Not something I'd try.

When I first started WSing, I had found the GardenWeb forum about it. I read every post for months. The experts all recommended gallon jugs, so that's what I used mostly. I experimented with a few other types, including deli containers (too shallow), paper pots and peat pots. They were awful, dried out several times/day, got moldy after rain... nothing in them did well. Since then, it's milk jugs for me. It's what I always suggest for beginners, too, but most want to experiment and do it their own way. Many make the mistake of thinking it's just like growing seeds under lights, but, as you know, it's really a lot different.

Karen

I too, find the milk jugs work the best.... i even like 1/2 gal jugs ... but for the depth, nothing like milk jugs.
built in handles, enough sun light gets thru, and they 'hinge' easily.

hmmmmm... to hinge or not to hinge... THAT is the question! LOL

podster: Lots of folks seem to prefer the window on the side over the hinge. I've never tried it; looks cumbersome to me in terms of both initially cutting the window as well as sowing/tending/removing seedlings.

I always use the hinge, and it has worked well for me. Even with that method, I generally cut up the bottom half of the jug to remove seedlings. My hands are pretty clumsy.

Karen

Karen ~ I agree with the hinge but was reading somewhere here that many preferred to half the jugs and tape back together. Have you ever?

I'm saving cardboard/paper egg cartons to winter sew the ones that don't like root disturbance...like poppies,cosmos,larkspurs,etc.

podster: I haven't done that with milk jugs, but I've done it with 2 liters and it worked well. First I cut all the way around the equator. Then punch drainage holes, sow seeds, water in. Take the top half of the jug, and cut slits in the bottom. Eventually, on someone's advice, I changed from simple slits to an upside down "V" on the bottom rim of the top half. It slides easily onto the bottom half. Doesn't even really need tape, it stays together. As the weather warms, just pull up slightly on the top and you have instant windows on the sides where the "Vs" are.

Works very well with the 2 or 3 liter pop bottles. The attached pic is from 2006 WSing.

Karen

bigred: Again, I'd advise against cardboard/egg cartons- too small, not enough soil, dry out too fast. In your zone especially, I'd advise big containers.

You can transplant poppies, just do it when very small, at one or two true leaf stage. The tap root hasn't really formed at that point. Those are poppies in the jugs above. They looked like this in bloom.

Karen

bigred: Also see this on Trudi's site

http://www.wintersown.org/wseo1/Life_of_a_Poppy_Bed.html

Karen

I use them all the time with no problems. I sit them in the green trays w/ soild sides and bottoms instead of the open weave trays and generally plant out seedlings when they are pretty small rather than hold them over very long.

I could see the V window system would work well on the 2 liters but I don't use those bottles... Milk jugs and vinegar bottles.

Red ~ are you using them as they are easier to pot up to resell?

Wow, that really amazes me. Don't they take an awful lot of babysitting and watering? Have you done that with other plant types too? I'm curious, when do you plant them out and what are your temps then?

Karen

pod,
No,for personal use.I use to just direct sew but now that the beds are getting more crowded I like to be able to spot in where there a hole.

k,generally just annuals that can go out quick and take a bit of cold. Doesn't work with perennials because they have to stay in them too long and that does get to be too much babysitting. I don't even use peat pots any more for perennials.

Funny, I plant out perennials and only very cold hardy annuals, like poppies, snaps, BBs, larkspur) very early here. (as early as late March, early April). Last year I transplanted some larkspur volunteers in Feb. It's the more tender annuals that have to survive in containers for a long time. Our last frost isn't until at least mid May.

Karen

Pod, I hinge my jugs.

I remember reading last year somewhere on the forum about making 2 little holes and using a twist tie to tie them together. Then you just undo the the twist tie (or 'twistie' as we say in Texas), lift the lid, then put it back together and tie it off. However....I think it's a PITA to have to make the holes for the twistie and then try to feed the darn thing through them!

Duct tape! 1003 uses ~ LOL

We used duct tape last year and didn't have a problem.

I used the duct tape on only a few jugs my first year... i found that to be a PITA .... I began using the Twisties instead... 3 yrs running and works like a charm for me. Though i did break my 'paper puncher' with it... i will have to get a new one for this year... hope they make an industrial strength one.

I am also a hinger.... then by spring, i cut the tops off, usually just leaving the handle of the jug attached, for ease of carrying them.

A couple of times, i used the "V" method with the 2ltr containers... found that on Trudi's site i believe, or GW [can't recall] it did work well... but we dont go thru a lot of 2ltr containers.

Terese

GROAN! I just had a horrible realization. I recycled all the milk jugs I used for WSing the last two winters. Now our local grocery has been carrying milk in glass bottles, with a nice $2/refund on each one when you return them, so we've been buying those. I have no milk jugs! And the family swears the milk tastes better out of the glass bottles.

Guess I'll have to ask around and see who I can get to save jugs for me! LOL

Angie

Don't ya hate when that happens!! LOL

Thanks for the tips on the cell packs. It would take me years to gather enough jugs to try it. We don't use milk and just small soda bottles once in a while. LOL. Maybe it is a sign, I should just direct sow and mulch like crazy. LOL Let nature do all the work. I think I am liking that idea right now. I like it alot.
have a great day everyone.,
Linda

Linda -- aside from milk jugs.. there are other larger containers you can use.... I'll use those 5qt Ice cream bucket with the lid, or large yogurt or sour cream... some times you have to be creative..... anything where you can have some sort of a lid, and at least 3-4" of soil... then a few more inches for the seedlings to grow.

In the sticky thread at the top of the forum there's TONS of good information. One of the links is to the thread about containers. There's lots of good ideas on various types of containers you can use on the thread.

http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/809636/

Thanks, I will check out the links. I can be very creative at times, maybe I can rally some kids at the school to save some milk cartons for me too.

ibartoo.... also - check with your local coffee shops, like Starbucks or Caribu ... places that go thru a lot of milk.

I also just a lot of QT sized bottles... Half and Half, Naked Juice, Orange Juice, Kefir ... plastic bottles like that... i generally do not buy a lot of juice, but i will in the winter to stock up on bottles.

You probably could even use water bottles.

I've been buying gallon jugs of distilled water for my humidifier and those are just like milk jugs minus the milk, got plenty. I also saved the prepared jugs from last year but not sure if I will use them or not -- I used some of them already several times and the hinges are getting old so the tops just don't like to stay down.

Tried duct tape and it just came right off, musta been a bad roll, but not even an off brand, so go figure. I am real disappointed in duct tape........ but it really made no difference. Not gonna mess with the twist tie thing, a definite PITA for sure, at least for me.

I am getting ready to experiment with wintersowing winter greens that should have been sown a month or more ago but my circumstances prevented that. I think it will work tho because of the good location I have for them. Five jugs will get seeded tomorrow -- kale spinach two kinds lettuce and a winter greens mix. Once they are at all sturdy they will go in large containers for the duration as the ground is not yet prepared. Maybe next year for that!

Anyway, after that I will, in proper winter timing, see what else I will sow, but I know one thing I'll do again is lavender as it did so well this year. I am moving though and decided only to dig up and transport the largest plant so will definitely want more. But that one big lavender plant, oh wowie wow what a beauty! I was thrilled with it and am in the process of separating out some seeds from some of the trimmed off flower branches.

Moving is the ruddy heck on garden seasons! But I think this will work....... fingers crossed!!!!!