Help-anyone interested in a Winter sowing Database at Dave's

I say yes please. Im trying it for the first time this year.....I say that every year and havent done it yet. I would love a guide to help me with a good success rate, and DG WS sounds perfect.

I think that would be a wonderful source of information. great idea!!

I am Trudi Davidoff and I am the author of Winter Sowing and it's creator.

While I appreciate that you like the database that was created by GW members, I'm not sure they would appreciate you copying it or using the format that was worked out on the GW WS forum.

Hosestly, on WinterSown I offer information freely for Fair Use purposes, duplicating or altering the info and publising it on .com would not be part of Fair Use. WinterSown is a ful partner of USDA National Agricultural Library AgNIC (Agricultural Network Information Center)

Dave can contact the secretariat there and ask her about copying our information.

TG Davidoff

This in an absolutely OUTSTANDING reference site for seed starting:

http://www.backyardgardener.com/tm.html

The only thing is, it doesn't print well AT ALL!
So, what I did was I copied the information all they way down to where it starts to list the seed names and pasted it into Word. I then formatted my page to be landscape, minimized the margin size, underlined headings etc. so that I liked the way it looked.

Then, I painstakingly went through and copy/pasted all the seed information line by line into an Excel spreadsheet. It was ALOT of work! I didn't keep a copy (I was at work *lol*) of the top information saved but I certainly saved the Excel Spreadsheet! I also formatted the excel spreadsheet so that I was MUCH easier to read.

Dave, I don't know how to attach a spreadsheet to a D-Mail though? Is it possible? If not, I would be happy to send it via e-mail to anyone who would like it. Just D-Mail me your E-Mail *lol*

Kim

Any type of germination database would be terrific.. I have to stuff both indoor and outdoor that I over planted and germinated later with the new seeds in that location too.. So, this info would be ever so useful.. :)

This would be a great Idea to have a database of our own! I do feel for Dave trying to get all of this done though :) Maybe Dave you could figure out how we will do it and then bless someone with the dirty task of putting it together :)

I liked the idea of putting them in by zones that would work for me. Maybe something with different pages/tabs?

I have winter sown for several years, have kept records sporadically but will be glad to share any info i have
Tommie

Yes, yes! A database would be fabulous.

I remember my grandfather "winter sowing" when I was a child, using hay and old windows like a coldframe, but he put the containers in the first part of January. He learned it from his grandfather in Kentucky. If there was a freak freeze late in the season after things has begun to sprout, he would put a bucket of fresh manure inside to keep it warm for the night.

Yes, would love a database for WS!

Another YES vote!

I have wintersown for a few years but have been propagating plants and germinating seed using other practices longer. I would be in a position to contribute information for at least 200 different species to our own DG database. Although a wintersowing database would be nice, I think I'd prefer to see a DG propagation database that was more inclusive than simply winter sowing. What a phenomenal educational tool such a database would be particularly if each entry was linked back to the PlantFiles as well as to the PlantScout.

Maybe that is what should be done...as has been suggested before, add it to the plant files under a heading of propagation. It could have a place for winter sownabilities (lol-I just made that up lol), if it needs light, what temp and also how deep it should be sown-all included under a heading on the plant file. That way when we get new seeds in we will know right away if we can throw it out in the snow bank as soon as we get it-LOL

Thanks all for jumping in here-so glad I am not alone in hoping this happens :o)
Robbi

I think a propagation database would be wonderful not just wintersowing but for all methods of propagation. I do wintersow have for several years but also there is so much more, what needs light, dark, chipped etc? I think a database like this would make PF almost perfect :) if it could be linked together.

That would sure be a most helpful thing for me.

I'm willing to offer whatever info I have about wintersowing here in Southcentral Alaska, and I'll bet Ceeadsalaskazone3 would be a real source of information, as well. I'll ask her.

I'm just positive Dave isn't busy right now so he should be able to have it ready any time now, haha!

I hope he sees all of the wonderful input that people are adding-when I started this thread-everyone must have been at work :o)

I'm so glad you started it. I can't wait to see the end results. I hope to have good results from my attempt at the WS this year. I've done poppies before and did ok. This year I'm counting on a whole lot more to come up besides the poppies.

I too think having our own winter sowing information would be a good thing. But please rememberthat the information usedshould not come from other sites and pasted here unless you have asked and been given permission to do so. It is better to add a link to all those wonderful sources of information than to steal it!

DG For gardeners by gardeners... we have the gardeners and many of them have the experience and knowledge needed to make this happen without infringing upon copy rights.

That sounds good to put the information in the plantfiles under propagation/germination that way more plants would be put in the plantfiles too and a lot of the other information would be in the plantfiles already :) On some of the plants anyway. I can see our plantfiles pages getting really really long lol

Thank you for starting this thread. Many of us are just backyard gardeners and any help we can get will be invaluable. Elaine

Good luck to everyone I have sent the Seed Starting Excel Spreadsheet to :)
Don't forget to copy and paste the top information into a Word Document and format it landscape with 1/2 inch margins :)

Best Wishes All :)

Kim

I agree Zanymuse, this is why I posted the link to Dave. I also contacted Trudi to tell her how wonderful her site was and to let her know that we were planning on doing a database here and asked her if she would like to be involved. I have collected my own data from family and friends for my zone, and plan on trying many new species this year. Don't laugh but I have over 500 different varieties of seed that I am sorting through and hope to winter sow many-LOL, I know I have been warned that will be way to much, but I figure what I can't plant-I can share :o)
I have spent my summer collecting and trading seed with many of you all for this and am thrilled that it has now dipped below freezing for the entire day and now my pots are going out-I am having so much fun!
I have asked several of my friends here at Daves if they would share their results with me so we can have a database in case it takes some time to get one started...this is why I contacted Dave about a winter sowing place.
It will be interesting to see how the results turn out-I think of it as a big experiment that in the end will benefit many :o)

So copy from another site-no way-this is way to much fun :o)
~Robbi

kim-could I see it? I would love to have a look. I use a spread sheet but would love to see if yours works better! Landscape is already an improvement to mine!!
Please :o) !!!!

Kudos, Robbi!! I love the idea. Your original one on winter sowing is great and the addition of all germination/propogation would be fantastic. I love the idea of clicking if it worked in your area like it does in plantfiles and having the info on the Plantfiles page. You are my hero!

where have you been stranger-get the job??

Robbi,

I would be happy to send you my spreadsheet but I need you to D-Mail me your regular E-Mail as I can't attach a spreadsheet here.
The spreadsheet is done in landscape and formatted to print on the least amount of pages as possible.
You will need to copy and paste the top information from here http://www.backyardgardener.com/tm.html down to where it starts to list the species by name into Word.
You will need to format that information so that it fits your needs :)

:)

Thanks so much Kim for the wonderful link...I will have a look see but it looks great so far! I am sure other members here will enjoy this information :o)
Robbi

I have a wonderful book with very similar information (but with much much more) it is called "The gardeners A-z guide to growing flowers from seed to bloom" written by Eileen Powell. It is a fantastic book with so much info! It doesn't mention winter sowing-but if it says "sow outdoors in fall" and it is good for my frigid zone-its a pretty safe bet that it is good!
Robbi

I think seed propagation info in one place would be awesome. I have just been to 3 websites and looked thru 3 books (counting Deno's as 1 book) for info on rhododendron prinophyllum seed which I happened upon today and of course have to plant. I finally have an amalgam of info which I will assimilate into sowing these seeds. Now with this to look forward to, y'all have twisted my arm behind my back and I WILL MAKE NOTES, I WILL MAKE NOTES (and NOT lose them) LOL

I was thinking more along the lines of a stand alone DG database where members contributed based on their own personal experiences. I would think there are enough of us out there to capitalize on collective experiences to be able to come up with an extremely sophisticated and comprehensive propagation database. Why be limited to just winter sowing> Hmmm, PropagationFiles just as we have the PlantFiles? Imagine the hits that would get particularly if each entry had a link to the PlantFiles andvice versa. I know a few schools that already allow kids access to the PlantFiles so they're already being used in academic settings. I can't imagine why a comprehensive propagation data base that included sowing seeds outside in winter as one propagation method wouldn't become a classroom tool just as the PlantFiles has.

LOL-can you put mine my notes in the same place as yours so I won't lose them either :o)

Sure-- if you'll help me remember WHERE exactly that is :)~

for those who want to join..dylancgc is starting a Round robin for seeds for winter sowing.

come join
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/793847/

Robbi

I'm going to play the devil's advocate here. Please don't get angry, I mean this as only constructive information, suggestion, (or critique?).

I also belong to GW and have religiously followed that wintersowing forum for years. This will only be my 3rd year of actually WSing, but I followed the forum for nearly a year before I started planting my first seed. Trudi and the other WSers there have been very helpful and kind to me. Same for this forum. I like both and follow both WS forums as well as the soil forums on both sites and some others.

I have contributed my data to their database in the past. It includes only seed name (common and botanical), zone, date sown, date germinated, and a column for my own use like sun exposure and plant size. During the busy germination, planting out seasons it's all I can do to keep this minimal information straight for so many containers, remember to jot down in my notebook. For germination some have only yes or no because I didn't get around to recording the date, or I lost my pencil in the dirt or something. Who knows, but it didn't happen. Heck, half the time people lose labels and don't even know what they are growing in that milk jug!

The more data you try to track, the more difficult it will be to maintain with any accuracy. Morover, for tiny seeds you couldn't possibly count how many you planted. (Ever try to count petunia or foxglove seeds?) You won't know how old many seeds are. I have no idea the age of some of mine.

Gardening should be fun. This project sounds more and more like work.

Moreover, Trudi has offered to include data from both Dave's site and GW, and I think this would be the best use of the information. Wintersown makes the information available to everyone, and if both sites contributed--- well, all the better.

Again, no offense to my friends here. But I do urge everyone to pause and take a deep breath before getting too carried away. Give it some thought before setting your wheels in motion, and consider what's important. Just the basics. We can only tweak the seeds so much, they're going to do their thing .

Thanks to all who stuck in there and read my thoughts.

Karen

Great points Karen. I agree about the more info added the more potential of problem.
As for merging the site, I see problems here as well. If GW people take offense at sharing their info with another website now-why would they not in the future. Also it is clearly marked all over that website "Gardenweb" would this change if Dave's people work on it?
I am also a member of both, but I have closer ties to Dave's and have made this my home for many reason's. I have been going to GW less frequently because I have had people refuse to trade when I mention that I am a member here. It is because of some of this friction that I thought it would be a good idea to have a database within our own garden so to speak.
Bottom line is I enjoy gardening and I enjoy sharing my seeds, my plans, my findings and anything else I have to share...I would never turn someone away (and I have never had anyone at Dave's turn me away because of GW-in fact I have had wonderful members here point to GW as an option) because they were from another garden site. Dave's just seems to be a bit more comfortable as everyone here accepted me and helped me from day one.
:o)

"I too think having our own winter sowing information would be a good thing. But please rememberthat the information usedshould not come from other sites and pasted here unless you have asked and been given permission to do so. It is better to add a link to all those wonderful sources of information than to steal it!"

Yes.

I said I would adapt the information for both sites...so whomever said I wouldn't was not speaking for me, but was sharing their own opinion.

Trudy,
I think it is very kind of you to offer to adapt information for both sites. Any information and assistance you might offer is a welcome thing!

I'd like to be Devil's Advocate for another reason. I think propagation/germination would be a great addition to PlantFiles, but I think a separate winter sown database makes more sense. It would be easier to browse through to get ideas for wintersowing if I didn't have to first think of the seed and then go to the proper place on PlantFiles. I'd like to explore by zone, by sun/shade, by as many categories as Trudy has set up on the GW site and whatever other info is out there. Unless I'm missing something I would hate to see the two projects merged.