Depth of seed when Sw'ing

This is my first year at WS'ing - I ordered a bunch of seeds:

Heavenly Morning Glory
Lavender
Velvet Queen & Skyscraper Sunflower
Cosmos (bright lights)
Wave Petunias

I was given (by way of SASBE) seeds in which i know nothing about:
Datura Moonflower
Lavender HollyHock
Vervain
Bean Vine (HUGE bean like seeds)
Red Huskers Penstemon
Yellow & Purple Siberian Iris
JoePye Weed
Shasta Daisy
Mexican Hat
Mammoth Sunflower

some seeds are microscopic while others are medium to large

I've been doing some research on all the plants, but really can't find at what depth to sow these at

some are sort of obvious but others I'm clueless.

So far, I've done baby's breath (where i did the "tooth pick" thing) and lavender with the "sprinkle and lightly pat" method
where the HollyHock i pushed a lil bit into the damp soil as they were larger seeds.

any other tips would be great.

TIA,

Terese

Terese- I'm new to WSing, too. Sounds to me like you have the right idea.

I think that the size of the seeds is a determining factor in how deep to sow. Tiny seeds: surface sow. Half inch seeds: not more than a half inch down. Something like that.

I also read somewhere that between the freezing and thawing cycles the seed will work its way down into the growing medium.

I'm sure an experienced WSer will correct me if I'm wrong.

Petunias and penstemons on top of the soil, then just pat the soil with the back of your hand.

How deep to plant the seeds? Hope this helps. http://www.wintersown.org/wseo1/Sowing_Depth.html

perfect!! thanks.

i have her site bookmarked, just havent read it all yet.

Okay, I am very late in getting started...I guess..I haven't planted any thing yet...so I have about eight containers I can get done in the next day or so...am I too late? When do you do annuals? Or do you just plant them all when you start planting? I am so new at this WS thing....LOL

Janet,

i'm a first timer too -- if you haven't yet, go to that site that Shirley posted -- it has a lot of great info

i'm not doing any "tender" annuals (I think I"m still going to buy impatiens this year)

but I know I've SW'ed some annuals already;

babys breath, sunflowers and some others i can't recall right now.... but again, i'm zone 5
and my last frost date is end of April to mid-May

The way i see it is - once you get them in soil, Mother Nature will take over from there and the seeds will pop when they are ready.

Happy Sowing

terese

Thanks!

Janet, How many packs of seed total do you want to grow this year? Just start with the perennials, then go to the early-blooming annuals -- Calendula, Bacheler's Buttons, Mimulus, Alyssum, etc. Then go to the rest of your annuals.

tcs, Wanted to make sure you know that impatiens are NOT tender annuals. They are hardy suckers and will reseed with abandon if they aren't mulched to thickly. If you wanted to save some money, you could buy 1/2 from the garden center and winter sow half. You would calculate the number needed for the area you want to cover and plat the garden center ones every other one, then the ws seedlings would go in between. It worked for me using reseeding ones (not in a milk jug). The seedlings bloom late June/early July in Indianapolis.

Suzy

Well, I got some started today. Poppies, Black eyed Susan Vine, Morning Glory Bush, Petunias, Flax, Rock Rose, Holly hocks, Mallow,cyrinthe, cosmos..... I can't remember all I planted, oh, and Tomatoes, I will have to check and tell you all the rest tomorrow...I am on a roll, now so I will finding some more containers to use...lol

Suzy,

>>impatiens are NOT tender annuals

WOW, i had no idea. Since they dont handle the cold well, i just considered them to be "tender"

I'm guessing mine never reseeded since i have wood chips. I always yank'em before first frost since they turn to mush and are harder to get out. Maybe I'll look into seeds too for this year.

Janet,

>>finding some more containers to use

me too - I started eyeing a bunch of 24oz water bottles my kids have stock-piled in the basement. So far, i've only used 1, but for tossing in 1 or 2 seeds, it will work well.

LOL, I have been wandering over the house and basement checking out "possible" planters....LOL that is what we do right...