Winter sowing, is Natures way of gardening, so whats with...

all the fuss about "Winter Sowing".

I do know folks have always known you could gather seeds and sow them in the fall for spring plants. Even some packages of seeds one buys tells you if you have to wait to sow in the Spring, or can do it in the late Fall.... which is reall what folks have named "Winter Sowing?

So whats with all the tops and stuff. Sounds like a lot of extra work when you get the same thing if you just plant in the sections of the ground. I would think if you plant a lot and want to dig up or sell the little plants all you would have to do is mark your spot to know where it is and what you have, and in the spring if you want to water it, do so.

I never really did much with flower seeds, perfering veggies, most of which you can not put in the ground in the fall, although tomatoes, sometimes peppers and some herbs will reseed themselves... thus winter sowing.

This year tho I am doing this, I am putting in the ground my container and putting the seeds atop the container and marking the area. I am not doing any tops on anything, makes no sence to me..

I say, let nature take its course, and stop all this work and fuss.

However I would like to know why, folks are doing this sowing with all the work and fuss and certainly willing to hear of a "better way".

Nancy.

Some of the advantages of W.S. in jugs for me are: It keeps the critters from eating the seeds.It keeps the seeds from washing away or coming up in a place you don't want.The jugs help insulate the tender seedlings against late frosts.You don't have to make the decision where you want to plant them right away.If the seeds don't sprout,you didn't waste planting space,waiting for them.Early spring its hard to tell weeds from plants in an open area.Edge

Hi... edge of the world. What you are saying is true. The container is great. I use the bottom of milk containers put them in wood boxed containers, surround the containers with leaves to protect and then I can move the container in the spring, but I do all of that because I sell my plants to folks in my area. But when I plant my veggies which will winter over, I just mark out an area with brick or board, put in the seeds and forget it.

I guess because I have been gardening for over 40 years, I can pick out the little plants easier.

So most are doing this to prevent the plant from the last fronts.... interesting, nature does not do that. What makes it thru a front, are the stronger plants, I would think.

Well I have to try this out, although I am not sure I really like the idea of all those tops, and taping them in place. I think if anything, to cut the container leaving it attached like a hindge, would be a better idea for me.

Thanks

Nancy.

Since the jugs help insulate/warm the area, your seeds will also germinate earlier than they would if you just planted them normally. So you get a little headstart on the season, but that also means there's more probability of running into frost so the jug protects from that as well. If you don't use the jugs and just plant things normally, then you won't have as much need for the frost protection since your seedlings will wait until later to come up.

Hi.. ecrane3, what you say is true. I have just set all my shrubs in containers, that did not sell into the ground. I will spread leaves over them to protect them from poping out of the ground during the winter. I want to make sure they stay cold till it is time for them to come out.

That is how I kinda feel about the seedlings too, when the time comes they will come out. Getting a head start I understand too, that is one reason why I have planted Hollyhock seeds already for next year. Mine are up already and 3" high.

So I think it comes down to what is comfortable for each person. I probably will try the containers this fall and see what happens..

I did see a posting from a lady that did this winter sowing in bottles and I think out of 100 bottles 25% were fine the rest did not come up. I could be wrong on the figures, but I was impressed with the poor results so I remembered her posting. She thought that % was acceptable. I will check if I can find the site again to be sure. But if the % is as low as that, I would think it is a waste of time for any grower.

Oh the other hand nurserymen must be using something along this type of growing, in their greenhouses, as some seeds do need to be "cold" first before coming forth. I am sure they are "froced" growing. their plants.

Well as I said, I will try the bottle method and see what happens.

Thanks

Nancy.

I know a lot of people are fans of wintersowing, so I can't imagine that 25% of the containers being successful is a typical result. It wouldn't surprise me if some individual people out there have poor results--same thing will happen with any seed starting method since there are any number of things that you can accidentally do wrong and cause the seeds not to come up. But if that was a typical result for wintersowing so many people wouldn't still be doing it.

Is there a link with the instructions for Winter sowing? I'm new to the discussion, and would love to try it!

There's a whole forum here devoted to it--I bet you'll find tons of info there. http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/f/coldsow/all/

Thanks all for your input.

Nancy.

Thank you ecrane3, I'm going to jump right over there.

;o)