Wintersowing 2009-2010

Thanks tsc1366! I will do that as Missouri doesn't have recycling! And our church has a coffee shop, milk jugs, duhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. I bet they'd love me picking them up every day.

With two friends winter sowing (I have thousands and thousands, I mean thousands of seeds) I need a ton of jugs to share!
Cyn

Hansey: Have you thought about daycares? I bet they have a gazillion jugs of milk and juice that they use every day!

Cyn, you could also collect the coffee grounds from the coffee shop- great compost and mulch! Our Starbucks here won't let us collect their grounds- that just seems stupid to me!

Neal: I'll bet it's fear that you're going to reuse them, set up your own coffee shop and compete with them!!! Maybe call it Starbucks Stops Here!

A recycled coffee shop, LOL!

Desperate times call for "desperate" measures!

>>Our Starbucks here won't let us collect their grounds- that just seems stupid to me!

Neil... i bet "corporate" would love to hear about that. I know Starbucks is very into 'recycling' of sorts... I'd drop them an email [at corporate] and mention that you want to use their old grounds, and they wont give them to you.

someone may get a slap on the wrist... but i'd bet you will get grounds out of the deal... if you dont want to do it... tell me which store # [location] it is.. .and i'll do it.

Starbucks here doesn't (won't) save grounds, either. Not much of an issue for me, my neighborhood isn't classy enough that Starbucks would ever come to this part of town. But I do have a little local coffee shop a few blocks from my house that saves me all their grounds. I have a 5 gallon bucket of them in my garage to dump today.

Karen

That's a good idea Terese! I've read Starbucks is into being green and using earth friendly products, so I bet they would like to know that!

Karen, we're just lucky to have a Starbucks in town, it's in our Kroger grocery. Did they give you a reason for not saving them?

No, just that they don't do it. I rarely get to a Starbucks anyway, so doesn't matter to me. I'm glad to have the little shop in the neighborhood saving them for me.

I just dumped a 5 gallon bucket of grounds into one of my bins. It's cold out there! 47 degrees now. One of my bins is 85 degrees, the other 95. Not terribly hot, but a whole lot warmer than air temp.

I really lose my enthusiasm for composting in winter. I did keep adding the grounds most of last winter but I'm not sure how long I'll keep it up this year. The older I get the less I like winter.

Karen

im new at this where do you put the milk jugs after planting??????

Sissy: They go outside. Be sure to check out the wintersowing sticky at the top of this thread. It has lots of great info on this technique and it does work!

This message was edited Nov 20, 2009 8:01 AM

Here's my Gaillardia that I wintersowed last year:

Rudbeckia Irish Eyes also wintersowed:

Here's what my wintersowing jugs looked like over the winter:

This was early on as I started. Later I had LOTS more jugs!!

Sissy, that first year I tried it I worried myself sick over those poor jugs out there frozen solid, covered in snow and ice, but alas, they sprouted and grew beautifully with hardly any effort!

Neal's right, Sissy. You will be thinking that there's no way this will work, but it does!

Okay, stupid question ... on one WS thread, I read a gal's DH drilled holes in all her containers. They were beautiful containers - beautiful holes. I tried drilling through a milk jug - no way - do you have to actually puncture them with a nail first or what's the SECRET to getting a drill bit through plastic?

I'm totally non-tool ignorant, had to borrow the drill. Am I just drill challenged???
Cynthia

PS Our church's coffee shop is going to save their milk jugs for me so I have to get the 50 I already have cut and ready to go so I have more room. ~grin~

Starting seeds indoors has become such a pain for me, I'm pretty much wintersowing everything from now on. I used to be in such a hurry to get blooms I'd try to get an early start indoors with some things, but these days there's enough blooming to keep me happy in spring without the annuals. The annuals kick in later in the summer after my Lilies and early summer perennials are done, just when the color is needed.

Cynthia, I just use a knife. First I make 4 or 5 stabs in the bottom of the jug, and with each stab, I twist the knife to make a hole (and not just a slit that may not allow enough drainage). If you make the holes in the bottom first, the jug doesn't collapse as badly (as it does if you've already cut the jug partially in half). It's quick this way, and I go ahead and get a bunch ready beforehand.

Thanks GeminiSage, I'll try that. The jugs with the drilled holes look so nice, but wow, what a pain it'll be since the drill bit won't go thru. I want to get the spare room cleaned out so I can make room for lots more!

I use a utility knife (box cutter) and just make triangular holes with 3 slits. Very quick and easy. I use a metal skewer (like for shishkebabs) to make 2 small holes ( one in top and one in bottom) to put twist-em through to keep top secure on bottom.

Use a "brad point" drill bit to make the "beautiful" holes. I use a 3/16" bit on mine but, I suppose 1/4" would work...don't know for sure...newbie here.

I'll google a brad point drill bit so I know what it looks like, LOL. I think I'll try the twist tie vs. the duct tape to hold the top down. Which one is easier in the long run? I don't mind spending the time now preparing the jugs.

Have you seen the winter sowing video on youtube? It's really good.

hey guys i use a ice pick

Hey Sissy, do you cut your meat with an axe?

LOL, I want pretty holes in my milk jugs. ~grin~

maybe and i eat it raw lol

I use an awl (like an ice pick) and heat it to push it through.
I like your idea of 2 small holes to keep the top and bottom together,Perennial

The 2 small holes with a twist tie is easier than duct tape for sure, but its not really necessary to secure them shut. I've found they keep the proper shape and shut just fine without securing. It's much better for me because I'm out there every day in early spring checking every jug- and I never can get away with doing fewer than 100, LOL

A woman after my own heart, LOL. I'm planning for 100 myself - keep one, give two away; keep one, give two away...

hehehehe...you mean "man after your own heart" LOL! Don't worry, I'm used to it- I have long hair and get mistaken for a lady from behind quite often.

Woops, sorry! I assumed Gemini was a May birthday baby (like me) and Sage was probably the woman's first name. I like to try and figure out the DG names, really blew it with yours. Maybe we'll call you Mr. Gemini Sage, lol, and you can call me Mrs. Hansey Collie. (Han is my collie, duhhhh, way original in my name, not.) ~grins~
Cynthia

Well half right aint bad, LOL. I'm a June Gemini, who just likes Sage plants :-)
Neal

This message was edited Nov 20, 2009 4:44 PM

Oh, that makes sense. I'm a May Gemini who likes way too many different types of plants, so I went with the dog.
:)
Cynthia

quick little diddy on Starbucks... if they are in a store, like Dominicks or Krogers... or even hotels... they generally are not "Owned" by Starbucks. I know an "establishment' can pay a fee.... like 15k a year... yes, HUGE money, to sell the starbucks products... even the employees are not actual Starbucks employees.

so -- that could be a reason why they would not 'recycle' the grounds.

I hear ya there! I don't know how I chose one plant, I never met a bloom I didn't like, LOL.

I have to admit... i've met a plant or two i didnt like... one that jumps into my head was ... Oh geeze, of course i can not think of the name now... but it was very thistly, with white blooms.... planted them with my tomatoes because i read they were 'good' for them.... it'll come to me...

but i yanked them and i'm still getting volunteers.

borage officenalis

This message was edited Nov 20, 2009 4:08 PM

Cynthia and Gemini sage:

I'm working on almost 200 milk jugs for my first time.... hate to think what that number will be after 2010 WS ....lol

Janet