*** Winter Sowing Show and Tell ***

At first I thought you meant they had sprouted for you, but now I see that you have sowed 118 containers! Wow, Susan, that's incredible. Is your snow gone yet?

Sandy

Ooops... I posted to the wrong thread. You are right Sandy, these are the seeds I have sown today. Most of my containers are still under the snow. The forecast for the weekend was for warmer weather but it hasn't happend yet.

Susan

I checked on my WSing containers today and bingo!

Agastache foeniculum
Catananche caerula
Lavatera trimestris Ruby Regis
Lupinus polyphyllus Russell Mix

I can't fathom why they'd want to sprout in the cold temps were having though as they've only come in the last day or two.

Today I did more WSing since it still feels like winter here:
Cynoglossum amabile
Aquilegia flabellata Cameo
Campanula medium
Meconopsis betonicifolia (may not grow well here but you never know)

I'm up to 25 containers now, but will do prolly five more as I'm having fun with it.

Happy to report that previous WS sprouts of alyssum, Shirley poppy, Clarkia, Lupines, Bachelor's Buttons & Yarrow are all okay, and in fact has increased in number despite the very crappy winter weather we've had for the last week (snow, cold wind chills, -10C and colder at night). Those milk jug mini greenhouses really work - ok, not that I doubted it for a second ; )

New sprouts as of today are Shasta Daisy 'Alaska', Purple Cone Flower, Lavatera, Stock, Sweet Pea 'Pink Cupid' & Scarlet Flax.

Was beautiful here today, finally, sunny, +15C in our backyard right now. Snow disappearing rapidly...hallelujah!

Joanne

This message was edited Apr 8, 2007 4:37 PM

Sighhhhhh! My WS containers are once again buried under the snow. I know we always get at least one last snowstorm in April every year, but it doesn't usually go on for days and days and days!!!!!!!!!!!! It hasn't completely stopped snowing here since Thursday.

--Ginny :-(

hehehe...I'm the only one in the villiage that didn't uncover my gardens that last warm spell....now I'm the only one that doesn't have gardens full of comforters and sheets :)))))

That's the only bright spot in all of this for me right now. I didn't get a chance to get my gardens uncovered yet either - thankfully :-)

Thanks for your nice words everyone :) They did give me some painkillers and stuff and I'm feeling quite a bit better now. I have no idea what type of drugs/meds they give you during surgery but I felt great when I came to and thought my life would be mperfect if I felt that good everyday :)

Haven't checked my sprouts recently as it has been snowing.......I did peep in a couple containers and everything looks fine....even the 'Royal Ensign' survived below freezing temps! It's great to see everyones getting sprouts now! YAY!

Steven

A few pix of my wintersown sprouts.

Bachelors Button...

Joanne

Double Shirley Poppy

Lavatera...

Lupines...

And Scarlet flax...

About 1/2 of the 46 things I've wintersown have germinated to some extent.

Joanne

Looking great Joanne!
I have the same types as you it seems, though not as many sprouts because I probably sowed a bit less in each container this year. Here's just a few pics taken last week.

Yes, I must admit that many of my containers have full packs of seeds in them. Will definitely not do that next year! No need. I will probably have lots of plants to share though, eh? LOL.

Joanne

I like to put lots of seeds in my containers too, but I rarely empty the packet.
I hate to see seed packs get emptied :(

Steven

Yipee! I get to join in.... I finally see green:

Pyrethrum 'James Kelway' (Painted Daisy)
Golden Marguerite 'Sauce Hollandaise' (Anthemis tinctoria)
Dianthus plumarius 'Thief of Hearts'
Tidy Tips (Layia platyglossa)
Crimson Clover (Trifolium incarnatum)

Susan

Hallelujah - Susan's got sprouts! Welcome aboard :-)

--Ginny

Most of my containers are buried in a snow drift but I did find a couple sprouting:

Sanvitalia (Creeping Zinnia)
Zinna haageana 'Persian Carpet Mix'

Hopefully there will be more green stuff and less of that white stuff from now on...

Susan

I pray we are over the white stuff for the rest of the season. I want to garden!!

Joanne

Joanne - I am optimistic that we should be over the 'white' but my husband still hasn't put the snowblower away. My snow drifted containers have reappeared this week and I see more green:

Bunny Tail Grass (lagurus ovatus)
Dianthus chinensis 'Baby Doll Mix'
Dianthus deltoides 'Arctic Fire'
Dragon's Head (Dracocephalum moldavicum)
Echium 'Blue Bedder'
Gazania Mix

Susan

Lest you folks think I suck at winter sowing, I'm pleased and proud to finally report that I have some action out there!

Ornamental cabbage 'Northern Lights' mixed
Lavatera 'Ruby Regis'
Dianthus carthusianorum
Dianthus amurensis 'Siberian Blue'
Dianthus myrtinervius
Draba aizoides
Draba brunifolia
Primula candelabra
Allysum caespitosum
Salvia hort. (painted sage)

Thumbs up!
Sandy

Yayyyyyyyy! I'm so glad you're finally seeing sprouts Sandy.

--Ginny

It was a crazy week last week and I didn't check my winter sowing for 3 or 4 days. And wow! When I finally got to them yesterday I found 21 new containers had sprouted! After 3 years I am still amazed with this method every time the green parade starts rolling along...

Susan

It is amazing Susan! I'm definitely hooked. Just need an acreage like you now. LOL. Still wondering where the heck I'm going to put everything I've wintersowed.

I have a question - does anybody bother wintersowing petunias? Someone on the Calgary Hort. forum asked the question, and I said I'd check with you guys. It seems to me I read somewhere that they're not worth wintersowing because they take a long time to get to flowering size, so they're better off started indoors. Comments anyone?

Thanks,
Joanne

Joanne - I think you are exactly right about the Petunias - I don't know of anyone who winter sows them. Some things are just too tender to start early enough (especially our zone...) to be able to reach a good size.

Susan

I just let the petunias self seed in the garden and move em around....I experimented one year, the ones that came up by themselves were way ahead of the ones I started inside.

I've never had petunias re-seed here but if they do it might be worth trying to winter sow some. Maybe an experiment for next year....

Susan

I agree, it's cheap to experiment. Will make a note for next year!

threeg - you're lucky they self seed for you! How awesome.

Joanne

Hi all......I'm not being stingy with my winter sowing pics, honest - there just aren't any! Since I did all of my winter sowing in 2 litre pop bottles, I'm still trying to figure out how to take photos of my sprouts through that little opening. Maybe I'll try taking a few through the side of a bottle or two and see if it works.

--Ginny

I just spring sowed a bunch of petunias a couple weeks ago, I usually spring sow alot of things in early April and I find that most plants seem to flower by the beginning of July. I will let you know how they do :)

Steven

Thanks Steven!

Got caught up this morning with all my sprouts - I am up to 80 out of 140 containers showing green!

Awesome Susan. Hey, what do you use for containers? Those aren't milk jugs, are they?

Joanne

Wow Susan! I think you're gonna need to hire *staff* to help you with all of those,lol. They look great! Are you keeping the lids off now? I'm finding they're at the stage where they no longer need the lids.
I was looking over my WSing containers today and I have 5 more I'm still waiting on out of 25....not too bad eh! While I was looking at them, I started thinking how much it would've cost to go and buy already-established plants if I wanted more than one of each kind, which I usually do want at least three because odd numbers are better than even right? Well, several hundred dollars later in my head tells me I'll be wintersowing the rest of my gardening days,lol.

Erynne

Joanne - Those are 2L pop bottles. I use them for all of my perennials because I like the depth of soil I can have. If I don't get to planting out right away they have lots of room to grow. For annuals I use a combination of paper pots and aluminum loaf/cake pans that have clear lids (you can buy them at Zellers).

Erynne - I don't have staff but I have a great husband who works in the garden too. He doesn't do the actual planting but we work together on all the other garden chores - weeding is his specialty (yipee!!).

I am leaving the lids off my containers but I have to say that because spring weather here is so goofy (translation: sometimes it snows and it can still fall below freezing at night) I use my small greenhouse as a large cover. Once my containers sprout I put them in my greenhouse so that I can protect them if necessary. Unless frost or snow is in the forecast, I leave all the windows, vents and the door open because I don't want to baby those seedlings. Hard core winter sowers might not approve because the plants do benefit from some 'greenhouse effect' (warmth/protection) but I try to minimize it. With the amount I am sowing I just can't see myself running around covering and uncovering that many containers. Also, I am protecting those seedlings from becoming bird food.

Cost and lack of space indoors were my main motivators when I started winter sowing. I could never afford the plant material required to make a dent in 7 acres of property so I think I'm a lifelong winter sower too!

Susan

Well tell that husband of yours that he is a gem! Mine won't have no part of planting or weeding BUT he will accompany me to any garden events or plant shopping and construct whatever there is that needs constructing. Can't have it all right,lol.

Yeah, I'm just letting my winter sown seedlings face the elements right now. It's cool at night here but if I knew a frost was coming, I'll just pick up the trays of containers and whip them into the greenhouse. There are two containers that I put into the greenhouse just as they were emerging because I absolutely need these plants for my butterfly garden (2 colours of Asclepias incarnata). I have to baby these ones or my plans are going to be shot. I really think using your greenhouse is smart, especially if the possibility of a bad freeze still looms.....no way would I want to risk all that hard work!

Erynne

Okay this is my first year winter sowing in Calgary. I am brand new to Dave Gardening too.

I am having trouble knowing how hot it gets in the milk jugs. When do you open the lids? Do you prop them open and then close them daily? Or just leave the tops off if frost is not imminent?

Welcome violist! I have a really scientific method for determining how hot it gets in the container - I stick my finger down inside :-)

If it feels too warm I start taking lids off. I know you're supposed to open them gradually, but I never do. I always seem to be playing catch-up at this time of year and never seem to have time to do it right. If the temp is going to fall too low at night I just throw some newspaper over top to protect them (newspaper holds in the heat) and hold it down with stones.

--Ginny

Hey violist,
I know you, don't I? LOL. Welcome to DG's!!

Joanne-you-know-who
Morning Glory & wintersowing enthusiast