First sprouts

I have my first sprouts from my first attempt to winter sow ... some coreopsis and black cherry tomatos ... it's still quite cold here off and on ... not sure what to do when they get bigger as I only have access to the garden on weekends ... will they need someone to open them up on warm days? I'd hate to lose them!

(Well, I'm no expert but that won't keep me from giving my opinion!)

I think your containers will be OK, as long as you followed the instructions for air circulation slits and drainage slits in them.

If you put at least 4 inches of soil in the containers, the seedlings will have enough to grow in for a while and the soil will stay moist enough until you can check on them and/or plant them out on the weekends. When it seems 'right' you can put bigger slits in the lids or take the lids off. And you won't have to 'harden off' the seedlings because they are already growing outside.

I think when the seedlings start getting bigger you will have a better 'feel' for what needs to be done.

Am I right?, you more experienced wintersowers lurking out there?

They say you have to take the Wintersowing "Leap of Faith", which Is hard to do, but seems to be a useful approach!

Good luck. t.

Follow tabasco's advice...you won't go wrong!

Crockny, I'm in the same boat as you are, I think, with work. Except for the occasional vacation today (today, yay!), I do most of my gardening on the weekend. During the week, the first thing I do when I get home is check on my sprouts. As soon as something has sprouted, I cut a slit. Otherwise, it gets way too hot in those containers. As it gets warmer, I cut more. Tabasco is right....your perennials will be fine. The tomato will be a lot more sensitive to frost. If you have an area with a little shade.....under a tree or something, you may want to move your sprouted containers. Even without leaves, it should provide some shade. Just keep an eye on the moisture and you should be fine.

I used milk containers and left the cap off from the get-go ... is that enough ventilation or do I need to cut more slits as it warms up?

Merryma: I wish I could check on them during the week but I'm physically in another place during the week and only at the garden on weekends -- if necessary I could ask my BF to uncover things during the week on warm days -- but he already does so much!

crockny, I think yours will be OK but I think you probably will want some slits in your milk containers at some point.

Did you plant just the two kinds of seeds?

I have my containers in part shade too. I may have sacrificed some speedy green growth, but it's easier for me to keep track of the moisture (they don't dry out so quickly or get so hot) and it's also more protected from the storms and wind, etc.

crockny,
The only containers I used this year were milk and water jugs. Once my seeds started sprouting and the temps warm up I begin cutting slits in the top portion of the jug. Eventually I will remove the whole top altogether. The reason for doing this as explained by Trudi at GW is to harden off the seedlings not to the "cold" because they were "born" in the cold but gets them used to increased sunshine, fresh air and breezes.

On the weekend I would check your local forecast and see what is in store for the coming week. If you will have warm temps then I would move all of your containers to a shady location and put some ventilation slits in the containers that have sprouted. With some seedlings like my BB that have alot of growth I took the duct tape off of the whole container and used a clothes pin to prop up the top of the milk jug.

Hope I haven't confused you. Good Luck!
Michelle

Thanks for all the advice ... the past three years of gardening have all been a learning experience! It continues! No, I didn't just plant the two kinds of seeds -- I have about 12 containers of different seeds! I got seeds from some people on this website and also from Wintersown.org ... that's where the tomatoes came from. Those were just the two that had sprouted as of last week ... hope to see more this weekend ...

Congratulations crockny on WSing your seeds and getting germination! It's exciting isn't it?

Even if some people have been gardening for a few months and other for decades, there is ALWAYS new learning happening on a continuous basis. That's one of the reasons that makes gardening so exciting.

I don't know if this will always work or if I was lucky..my gallon jugs have been completely open for awhile now. I watched the weather and if it was going to be nice and not too cold at night, I left them open. Of course, there had to be sprouts with their second set of leaves. Once they were open, I didn't close them. I figured that was as close to the natural way of things. I have recently moved them to a part shade spot as they were drying out quicker.