Will this be ok for WS'ing my seeds?

Or do I need to do it in small containers? It is open on both ends with a 3 inch gap for airflow.
This is my first time to sow my perennials in the winter.
Thank you for your help.
Kathy

This is my first year to ws, but I don't see why it wouldn't work...It looks like you have enough soil depth-wise. Surely you will get a more experienced opinion than mine, though:-)
Luck!

Would you provide the moisture?

That's your basic coldframe, and it'll work just fine... cold frames are generally propped open more on warmer/sunny days so seedlings don't cook, so check yours every so often until you know if your gap is providing enough air flow . As Shirley said, unless there are little holes in the top to let in rain, or unless water can soak up into it from underneath, you might have to lift up the top and water every so often.

In as warm a climate as NC I would guess that lid will need to be open more than closed. People in the south already are reporting sprouts. Here, it's currently 3 degrees, wind chill -3 !

Keep in mind that seedlings will cook very quickly.

Karen

I would think that it might need to be a bit open in NC, but the cold frame is in OH, lol! I wouldn't expect it to be so warm here, though...Our wind chill is 19 right now, brrrr. Just came in from checking my containers and am having trouble typing. Fingers freezing despite the gloves!

Thank you for all of your help. I can either poke holes in the plastic for rain, or water it myself. Right now it is ten below with the wind chill, lol~!
Kathy

Hi, guspuppy--

did you just invent your frame for wintersowing this year?

I want more WS space for more perennials and was thinking of making something like that placed under some maple trees -- do you think it would work?

Any details you could share?... thanks, t.

This started out as a raised bed to start my perennials and plant a couple of tomatoes, and this year we added 2 old wooden windowframes screwed together and some hinges ( we had a lot of frames to choose from to get the right size) , then stapled 4ml plastic around the edges of the windowframes. The sides are about 3 inches lower that the front and back so there is a gap on each end for air flow. The top lifts up and I use a stick to prop it open.
I hope this helps,
Kathy

guspuppy--thanks for the details--

Just wondering---do you have it in full sun or part shade or under a deciduous tree?

I was thinking of putting it under a deciduous tree in our south facing front yard (kind of hidden from the neighbors...)

It is in full sun, there is a black walnut tree that is about 15 yards from it, but doesn't give it any shade. I have to water it twice a day in the heat.
Kathy

Thanks--

I'll get going on the project--maybe put it in part shade so I don't have to water so often and use the moisture crystals, too...

I love your setup, guspuppy. I had planed on building a coldframe this year and never got around to it. Great job!

Tonight my winter sow bed/coldframe is under 8 inches of snow, ugh. I also have 43 winter sown pots in the yard, come one spring!
Kathy & Gus puppy

Cute pic!

A bit of snow, here too, so that will make us appreciate spring all the more! Hope we get all the freezing weather now before the magnoias are in bud!

Are your wintersowing jugs cozy in their snow cover? What are you WSing this year? I have a lot of WSing going on in rubbermaid bins--I haven't gotten my cold frame built yet but hope to soon!

Awww. Look at that cute baby!

Looks like the ws bug bit you hard, too. So difficult to wait...:-)))

Here is just a partial list, the first page I started when I began planting, then I quit writing it down, stupid me, there is so much more but they are all labeled.
Clematis/ mix
Delphinium Fantasia mix
Echinacea my purple mix, Sunset, Sunrise, Bravada, Pixie Medowbright, Magnus, Harvest Moon,
Flax scarlet
Foxglove Candy Mountain
Gallardia Burgandy.
Huechera Mix
Poppies, many varieties
Red Hot Poker
Rudbeckia Cherokee Sunset
Shasta Daisy/Crazy Daisy, Snowcap,
Stock Evening Scented Purple
Sunflower Chianti, Teddybear,
Sunset Giant Marigold
Sidiacea Little Princess
Sidilaca Rosanna
Sweet Annie
Wallflower mix
Zinnia Miss Wilmont, and many others
Verbascum shades of summer,
Verbascum yellow
Viola Fuji Dawn
Hollyhock Indian Spring

You can winter sow zinnias? I didn't know that. I love wallflowers! I think your gardens are going to be amazing! :-)

I'm not sure if you should WS Zinnia but I put just a few of each in the cartons to experiment. I kept the rest to start indoors. I love a challenge!

I "wintersow" zinnias in spring with great results here in Cincinnati. I use the same method, milk jugs, I just do them later, around March or April.

This is "Zowie" on July 4th.

Karen

Dreamland Coral

Dreamland white

Profusion apricot

Thumbelina

Oh I am so glad you wrote and posted those pics, whew, I feel better now. I will sow some more varieties then. I really like the Profusion Apricot, do you have any of those seeds to trade?
Kathy

Kathy: As far north as you are, it might be wise to wait until later- like April.

I know I have some seeds for the apricot, I just can't seem to find them now. Maybe DMail me in a few weeks. I will want to sow them then, too, so I will search more thoroughly.

Also, some people have told me that their profusion zinnias from saved/harvested seeds that were open pollinated don't come true to form or color. Always a risk with someone's open pollinated seeds. For that reason if there's a flower that I really can't live without, I buy fresh.

Karen

guspuppy-- I wintersowed zinnias and started them in April, too, (not now because of the cold and changeable weather and late freezes...) Will do a range of kinds this year, but no 'Profusions'...

I read that 'Zinnitas' were a replacement for 'Thumbelinas' this year...are you starting those, k.?

gg, Are you starting all those seeds in your 'cold frame'? I've got to get going on that~~!

Some nice zinnias from a friend's garden...I think they are Benary's

t: Not sure who you were asking, me or Kathy. But no, I'm not sowing any Thumbelinas this year. Still not sure which I'll choose, but thumbelina wasn't a favorite. Probably some more Dreamland, Profusion, California Giant, maybe Zowie, and/or whatever strikes my fancy between now and April.

Thumbelina wasn't a favorite only because the blossom size is small in relation to the overall size of the plant. Now enough "wow".

So many plants, so little time.......

Karen

Last year my Thumbalinas were about 4 foot tall, not short like I hoped. I love zinnias, all of them but I really fought the powdery mildew on them. The tall ones were so tall I had to cut bamboo to tie them up! They were amazing. I was going to save all of the seeds, then +bam+ it frosted and killed all the zinnia before the flowers had turned brown. I save them anyway and tried to germinate them in here, and got nothing. I was so dissapointed. I WS 12 diff varieties of perennials in that bed, the rest are in clear milk jugs or anything I could find at the recycling center.
Kathy

How are you keeping the sections or types of perennials separate in your cold frame, or aren't you? x, Carrie

I marked off rows in the soil and when I planted the seeds I used plant markers and also drew a sketch of what I planted.

Hope it works for you! (big smile) I used some diagrams last year but hmmm I can't remember, something changed with respect to something else. I don't guess your seedlings will get up and move from the hinge side to the open side! One of the beauties of winter sowing is that if one container needs more sun, shade, whatever, you can treat it separately while you figure out what that particular plant needs and wants, lol. I wish you wonderful luck!

xx, Carrie