Winter Sowing Data Base page 3

Here is a new page the old one was taking to long to load. We came here from

http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/794755/

Hi all, just wanted to say good morning :o)
Morning zen and fellow Minnesotan :o)

Morning all!

Mid-morning, all (I just crawled out of bed.)

My daffodils are popping through the ground!!! Isn't that going to be bad when the weather drops back down to the normal level (sometimes as low as -10)? Should I cover them with extra mulch? I know this isn't the right forum to ask, but maybe someone here has an answer or knows where I should ask? Also I don't know what to do about winter sowing. If the daffodils are confused I'm afraid my seeds will be, too. I was planning to start soon but maybe I should hold off even longer? LMK if anyone has suggestions.

pam, daffs often poke their leaves up this time of year. Unless it stays warm for an extended time (like a few weeks) they will be fine. If you add more mulch, wait until it is colder.

I'm new at WS, but I doubt the ground will get warm enough for sprouting.

pam - definitely don't cover them with mulch or anything, they're just getting faked out by the weather. Mother Nature has given bulbs the hooah to handle something like this - they'll go dormant and should be fine. Cathy's spot on with waiting until it's colder for more mulch. I know the feeling though - I was out back today getting my 1 gal. containers ready for seeds (this is my first year for winter sowing, I've been lurking and reading!) and was really surprised to see my iris putting out new leaves - even my italian parsley is trying to grow!!
Robin

I would have to shovel snow to check on mine.

Zen, I feel ya' - I lived in Chicago for many years on the lake. The weather down here is just something out of a Stephen King novel right now - yesterday it got up to 65* and the sun was out. I just stood there staring at the iris that were sprouting new leaves and wondering what in the heck is going on! Right now it's at 60*, but they say in another day or two we should be back to more "normal" winter weather - in the 30's. I was worried that I was late in starting my winter sown seeds (never having done this before) but now I'm not so sure - LOL!

Doesn't this crazy weather help in the freeze/ thaw cycle that so many perennial seeds need to germinate? We'll be back to normal winter tomorrow as well, but it's nice to have all the dirty snow melted.

That fits with all the advice I've received and read, but I'm a wimp! Gotta get the nerve up to let Mother Nature do her thing.

I understand!! I was not happy with Mother Nature when most of my roses died last Spring from the late freeze fluke. However, I did justify the need for a new location for a rose garden to DH (he has a difficult time yielding green, manicured lawn for gardening beds)

LOL - that late freeze is exactly what has me scared!! But, in all the years I've fiddled outdoors, one thing I've learned is Mother Nature NEVER does what you expect, even from one day to the next :) I'm just doing some final investigating of which seeds I have that can REALLY be WS, and then I'll have something else I can fuss about!

That's what makes it fun and exciting "like a box of chocolates"...you never know which bloom you gonna get! ;0)

See?? That's why I've been hanging around and reading these posts - you guys are so positive, and you share such wonderful tips that it helps take the uncertainty out of it for folks like me.

my bachelor buttons are sprouting, now I'm worried, too

Cathy~ you can W/S another jug of bachelor buttons if it brings you comfort, as the worst that can happen... the new sprouts fail to thrive, the best.... you'll have plenty of seedlings and transplants to share! ;0)

Enabler! lol

I do my best!! LOLl!! ;0)

tee hee hee!

I just realized I have no where near enough milk jugs. Now to start scrounging and begging my sis and mother.

Don't forget recycling dumpster diving!! I admit I got the idea from another DGer, and went out this morning for my first Dumpster Run :)

One thing to think about is; is it legal to take them from peoples recycling? Here in Mpls the city sells the recycling and it is illegal to take anything out of peoples recycling bins. We get credit on our utilities if we recycle so we don't get our credit if someone takes our recycling.

oooo - that's far too civilized... That makes a world of sense, I'm surprised more municipalities don't do that. Here you have to pay a monthly fee to have them pick up curbside! (I went to a large community bin...and felt awkward at that, but I've seen others doing the same thing at the same place, so I wasn't as afraid of being a trailblazer.)

Crocosmia & mums are coming up too. I think the Crocosmia are actually volunteer seedlings near the parent plants. That makes me think I really better wait a while to WS.

We had a very early warm spell last winter and most of my ws came up. When winter came back I lost a lot of my plants. Fortunately I didn't plant all of the seeds so I will try again this year. I am staying with natives other than a few annuals to get some early color.

dryad, I wished you lived closer, I'd go dumpster divin with ya.........:)

zen-you just voiced my very fear!!! I am afraid that will happen to me this year and I will be scrambling to get all my WS into the porch to save them-LOL I am not sure of my numbers now but it must be over 250! I will have to pay the neighbor kids to help out LOL!!
I better get my porch cleaned out just in case-LOL

You make me feel like I am way behind. I haven't done a thing about wintersowing other than talk about it.

LOL-no, not behind-I just have so many more pots to get out there. We have a long winter but if I don't use the time wisely-I will be stuck with tons of seed that i don't have WS data on :o)
You want some more-I can share!! LOL

No thanks, I have as many as I want.

With all the odd stuff that's been happening this past week I'm just flat gun-shy to put anything out, have it sprout and then get absolutely nailed. I think I'm gonna chew on my lips and wait a couple more weeks until I put anything in my containers. Now all I have to do is not continue to create more containers than I can handle!!

doccat - I think I would have collapsed in giggles if anyone had been with me - I felt like a little kid! But you're right, I think for divers it may be safer to go in a buddy system in those cities where it's not illegal, not to mention more fun :) (I will draw the line at living out of dumpsters or digging for coffee grounds though, I don't think I could ever be that "green".)

My dwarf zinnias are all up today, I do believe I jumped the gun for my zone. We have weeks of cold and weeks of warm alternating all winter, I'm waiting until closer to spring for the rest I think.

still frozen solid here :o) We had 2 days of a heat wave (if you call 35º-40º a heat wave) but still had plenty of snow-so all stayed chilled :o)
No more zone envy for me :o)

Well, it is supposed to get down in the 30's tonight. But high tomorrow is in the 50's. This is spring weather. Cold nights & warm days - that's what's confusing all the plants. I will just get some milk jugs ready to go & wait a while longer. I would not want my 1st WS experience to be a bust. Besides, I'm lovin' it. Turned the compost & transplanted over 4 dozen cuttings I thought would have to stay potted until spring. Always something to do if the weather is nice. AND research shows a reduction in cancers, heart disease, diabetes, etc, etc. in people with higher levels of vitamin D (the sunshine vitamin). So the next time you go outside to garden think of the good you are doing for your health!!!

Very true Pam! You highlighted the reason why I just voted "other" on Dave's poll on why I garden :) One reason just doesn't cover it!

We are getting snow this evening.

I am totally lost...lol

Can someone direct me to the WS data base? I have looked all over and can't find it anywhere.

Donna

Here it is, SoCal!

http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/ws/

Thank you CCG. Can you tell me where the link is for future use?

SoCal, when I try to type out the link to the "reports to the WS database," I always get the hyperlink below. But it should come up for you, and then you can bookmark it for your future use. Or maybe I'm not understanding what you mean?


http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/ws/