Any Photos of Last Year's Wintersowing Results??

Katymac--where did you find those nice big CLEAR plastic bags, may I ask? I looked all over walmart and kroger for clear big bags and could only find zip locs...

I'm going to borrow the clothes pin idea, too, if that's OK. Great idea.

Hi tabasco, they are turkey roasting bags. I've put them over turkey roasting pans from the Dollar Tree. Working great so far! The good thing about them is they will expand, umm, clothes pins on top of clothes pins? LOL Whatever, I'll figure out something when the time comes.

Thanks. I will comparison shop the turkey bags against the giant Zip Locks and see what I can come up with...someone said you can use opaque bags, too, and I suppose once you start slitting them for air circulation enough light would get through for the seedlings...that would make it very cheap to use white garbage bags.

I am using the roasting pans. Found nice ones at the Dollar store and even deeper ones at Big Lots...Easier for me to handle than milk jugs--(and we don't have those anyway) and easier to keep track of, too.

Tabasco, I was gonna ask you about WS until I stumble on this thread - I guess at walmart you can buy the plastic they sell for window/door shelter from the wind. I have them up my garage windows the sunlight still comes in very strongly.
Now, my question is, any kind of plants can be WS - perennial or annual? I was afraid of placing my hostas, daylilies, and hardy hibiscus trays outside, especially the hibiscus - they always say to put them under sunlamps - I will put everything outside to save me space and energy and money - sunlamps are very costly.
One more question, if I have the seeds in flats or cells do I need to bring them in to put the seedlings in individual 4" pots then put them back outside or do I keep the individual 4" pots inside? Please bear with me - new gardener - a lot to learn.

Thank you

Rose Mallow

rose mallow--

I am not that familiar with all the wintersowing seed results, especially for hostas and daylilies-- (I am rather inexperienced with Wintersowing)...http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/572592/

and I suggest a look at Wintersown.org's website http://www.wintersown.org/

and ask about wintersowing daylilies and hostas on their respective DG forums. Then decide if it's right for your project.

For wintersowing, they usually suggest 4 to 6 inch deep pots or trays (or milk jugs) with cut with good drainage holes so that natural moisture levels can be maintained more easily. Then cover them with a baggie/plastic with slits cut into the plastic for air circulation and to let rain/melted snow in to the tray/pot/jug. Check out the step by step pictures on the Wintersowing threads/sites if you want more details.

All kinds of perennials can be wintersown with pretty good success rates. Check the details on the wintersown.org site. Annuals can be wintersown, too. Generally it seems gardeners begin wintersowing Annuals a little later--perhaps March--

To check on Hibiscus try google-ing Wintersowing Hibiscus and see what comes up. It could be interesting. I'd like to Wintersow hibiscus, too.

tabasco and rose_mallow - hardy hibiscus wintersow very well. Success has been reported in both of your zones. I've sown my hardy hibiscus seed in late January-early February. Both of you can try sowing them now. Hosta (which I'm trying this year) and daylilies can be WSed too. Hardy (reseeding?) annuals can be done now (or even earlier); people do tend to wait until March to start their more tender annuals. But then again, folks have started tender annuals in January and February too, with reported success. It's mostly a matter of personal preference, plus having a basic understanding of your own climate.

rose_mallow: if you transplant your seedlings to 4" pots, leave them outside. Depending on the weather, you might still want to put the pots in a plastic house - I use plastic bags from the dollar store, propped up with cut-up venetian blinds or bamboo skewers, even straws sometimes. Or, depending on when you might need to transplant them, you can skip the 4" pot and put the seedlings directly in the ground. Folks transplant to the garden as soon as the plants have 1-2 sets of true leaves. I transplant mine in 4" pots mainly because I balcony-garden in containers, and the containers are never ready when the plants are. As the years go by, I've taken to starting my seeds in 4" pots, with fewer seeds per pot. But I garden on a very small scale, and my methods might not be feasible for someone who needs more plants.

If you care to take a look, I've got some pics of my winter sowing efforts at: http://community.webshots.com/album/67269041yvZrKl

PV

PV

I just went through and studied your 'webshots' of wintersowing. Thank you so much for sharing your pics and especially for your dated and IDed photos of seedlings. I found these very helpful and I really appreciate all the info.

Thanks too for your advice on timing the WSowing. I am starting my tender annuals this month.

PV --- I noticed you had many seeds planted in flat containers with simple plastic covers, which is the same thing I did. But, do you think there is value in 'tenting' the plastic to create a 'heat trap' effect to warm the soil earlier/faster or would this be excess work with no real benefit? Just wondering what you thought...

Thanks again. t.

That was very informative, PV - thanks for sharing!

PV, you are a great inspiration. I just had time to read your response - I'm floored. If only I knew. Thank you sooo very much to Tabasco as well as everyone who submitted.