Let's talk containers...post yours here

Lorraine: At those temperatures, definitely nix the aquarium lid. I'd also open everything else. Keep the lids in case of hard frost, you can always put them back on for a night if necessary. Another beautiful thing about milk jugs- you can open the lid and still have it attached in case it's needed later.

Those BBs should be in the ground by now; they'll take the cold just fine. Ditto perennials, like rose of sharon, and I would think sweet peas, too. Sweet peas like the cold. (Another thing I tried only once because they bolted as soon as our weather got hot). Even my nasties generally take a degree or 2 of frost, unlike the real tender stuff like zinnias.

But, I have been burned in the past, having planted out tender stuff and having to cover the beds with blankets for late frost. It worked, though. And, having always lived in the north, I have trouble relating to those temps in Feb. as I look out my window at snow. Two more inches coming today.

Karen

Ok, now you've done it, I'm going to actually get out my little plans and figure out where to plant stuff. Shame on all of you.
I wanted to throw them out and let them find a home. No, huh?

Just cut 'em into hunks and stick them into the ground.

"little plans where to plant stuff"? So someone actually does plan this stuff, huh? For me it's generally plunk and run anywhere I can find a spot, which is why I'm always having to transplant things later.

Karen

I know it's been a long time since the last post on this thread, but I please let me add what I used for my first attempt at "winter" sowing this past spring. I got the free seeds from the wintersown.org offer.

My husband likes to buy baked potatoes from Wendy's and we also take out soup from Subways. They both come in little styrofoam containers with a raised, clear plastic lid. It's easy to poke holes in the sides and bottoms of the styrofoam and you can write directly on it for labelling. The lids pop on and off easily.

I started seeds of three kinds of tomatoes in one cup that I put outside, and the same three varieties in an identical cup on the heat pad under lights for comparison. The winter sown tomatoes formed stocky, miniature little seedlings. The seedlings grown under lights were taller but more spindly, even though I transplanted them once into a larger pot as is common practice for growing tomato plants under lights. I transplanted two seedlings--one winter sown and one indoor one--into two ends of the same Earth Box. I'm trying to make growing conditions identical. Will see which one does better. So far the indoor one had some sun scald on one leaf, even though it had already been outdoors hardening off for a few days (albeit in cloudy weather).

Anyway, those containers seemed almost effortless to me, but I did not sow anywhere near as many seeds as you did! But if I saved them all year I might have plenty...

Also, styrofoam infamously lasts forever, and these could be washed and reused.

NisiNJ

We drink gallons of OJ in those waxy cardboard half-gallon cartons. I don't think they'd make good winter sowing containers, but spring sowing, sure! They're easy to poke holes in (no more "honey, when you get a minute would you please") and I can saw (with a knife) off the top, stick the dirt down at the bottom (away from birds) and still be able to tell the seedlings from the weedlings.

tabasco said in February:

LOL, Oh, but when they bloom your place will look like the Biltmore House!

Better than you complaining about your kids being messy, right? And that's a very tidy trailer park!

I've scanned through the post and recall seeing these mentioned. Has anyone used the clear plastic clam shell containers that strawberries come in? They seem like they may be too shallow, but hoping someone here has had luck. I've saved about 800 of them from work :0)

cocoa_lulu,

Hi from Emory! I think it depends on what you plant in them and how busy you are... LOL You could germinate most anything in it, but how soon will you get the seedlings out and in the ground or in pots? I have done some shallow containers and they did great, except I was still working and could not garden except on weekends so I had too much and too little time. A lot of things that did well declined when I did not get them out of the container soon enough. something that does not grow fast and has a fairly shallow root system could go in containers like that I think.

Carol

I found the strawberry containers too small and shallow, and also thought they had too many drainage holes. I found it too difficult to keep them moist.

Again, I favor milk jugs or other large, deep, containers.

Karen

Hi Carol, hope you've had some of the rain? It's so lush and green out! Far different from just a few weeks ago.lol

Thank you both, it sounds like they may be too shallow indeed. I'll stick with the milk jugs...no sense fixing what isn't broke.lol

I really like 2 liters and the starbucks clear cups in the above post of Feb 21

NisiNJ,

earlier you said:

Mary K:

The ones grown indoors started their Earthbox life somewhat larger than their winter sown counterparts, but the others quickly caught up. They both grew into such monster plants that I couldn't tell where one ended and the other started! They seemed to produce identically. I was able to transplant only two of the three varieties I started. I just kept postponing planting the third (Bonnie Best) so long that I finally had to throw it away (hate to do that!) The two that made it into the Earth Boxes were Blondkopfjen (spelling?) and Purple Calabash. The Blondkopfjen produced seemingly thousands of flowers, resulting in hundreds of little yellow cherry tomatoes. (That's right, not every flower produced a tomato.) I didn't think they were particularly flavorful, though. The Purple Calabash actually had beautiful leaf shapes, but the fruit seemed to me to be kind of mushy, not juicy. They were both free seeds from Wintersowing(Wintersown?).org

But you wanted to know how the plants did, not my opinion of the varieties. This was my first attempt at winter sowing--I had never heard of it before this year. Next year I may use wintersowing for almost all of my tomato plants, except the very early ones. They produce nice, stocky plants that are the same size by May as the ones grown in the professional greenhouses--and the stockiness is natural, not the result of the chemicals they put on them to prevent them from "stretching." And I won't have to worry about hardening them off--I've "burned" quite a few over the years!

Thanks for asking. I welcome any advice for next year from you experts.

Thanks for taking time to share your experience. I was just curious. I have never tried winter sowing but am looking forward to it next spring. I think it makes perfect sense because there are always volunteer tomatoes coming up in the spring. And if I start the tomatoes outside that makes more room for peppers inside lol. I just got some seed today from Wintersown.org. Not the tomatoes yet, just the mixed seed. I'm having my daughter save any containers that she is going to throw out. I'm also going to get some Earth Boxes for next year ... another first for me. C'mon Spring!

Thanks again.

Mary K.

This was the first year I have ever grown any veggies at all... not wintersown, those were only flowers. My daughter (high school senior) stuck some pepper plants in a container and got zillions of peppers. I put a tomato plant in a container and finally have a few (green) tomatoes. But it's good to hear I can wintersow tomatoes. Most of my tomatoes got eaten before I finally figured out what was happening and put the whole container up on a table!

yardqueen1948.....can you share on how well your starbucks cups did and if you plan on using them again. I found these types of cups at Sams Club and they will be right at $55 for 500. The cups are sold @ 100 per container but the lids have to be bought at 500. So before I went out and bought them, I wanted to hear from someone who has used them. Did you like them, love them or were they too small? Thank you so much for sharing with us all! This will be my first year to winter sow and I'm very excited.
~chele

Wow, that's a lot of $$$

Karen

Karen - you mean that's a lot of money for the cups? They are $0.11/cup with lid. And that's for the large cups. Anyone else find containers less expensive....other than recycled items - we only have so many of those per year.
~chele

Chele,

Yes I do plan to use them again. I saved them when I took the seedlings out last year. Unless they have deteriorated in the storage building I will get to use a large percentage of them over again. Some of the lids didn't make it, but I will have plenty along with other containers. They worked very well for me as far as size, if you don't put too many seeds in one. You can divide a lot of things, but I got way too many poppy seeds in each container and you can't mess with them! I planted the whole clump of them. They grew like crazy and made a big poppy bush...LOL but they didn't bloom a lot. I may have gotten them in the beds late though. Also I had the same problem with poppy and other tiny seeds in 2 liters so... I think this time I am going to try mixing those tiny seeds in with some sand or something before sowing.

Burpee makes a thing to measure out your seeds with, I mean so you don't sow too many one spot if they're really tiny. It works best with big seeds, of course, but then so do fingers! We had an unfortunate incident with a salt shaker and play sand and lobelia seed and my daughter came home after being away for a while and -- my mother got me this thing from Burpee!

I am getting anxious to start! I am going to pick out my seeds tonight becasue I am so in the mood, and that may satisfy me. When I get the fever again I am going to get my containers all ready and then I am going to make my labels ahead of time and put all the planting info on the back. I tried to get all that on my tags last year, but got in a hurry and had to just put names and maybe FS or PS

O MY! Did she sand and pepper her food?

Hey, cool it, yardqueen. Now you're really making me feel like a slouch. I usually make up an excel list of seeds I've sown, what sprouted, etc. I haven't done last year's yet, and you're on next year already! :-)

I did order the new red rudbeckia from T&M, though. Just have to make room in the yard for it. Is anyone else trying it?

Karen

Karen,

Who is T & M ? I probably should know but...

Oops, sorry. Thompson and Morgan. Have you seen the red rudbackia they're introducing?

http://www.tmseeds.com/product/5318.html

Karen

Very pretty! Thanks for the link! So is it a perennial? It says half hardy annual, but I thought rudbeckia were perennials???

It's apparently a hybrid rudbeckia hirta. I read somewhere that they produced it with controlled pollination of different gloriosa daisies.

Most of the rud hirtas I've tried here in Ohio have been short-lived perennials, lasting about 2 years. They're much bigger, better, spectacular in their second year. How do they behave for you?

Snapdragons are supposed to be hardy annuals, too, but often overwinter and survive a second year for me.

Karen

I'm anxious to see if they REALLY look like the picture.

Karen

Snapdragons return for me also, but as far as the Rudbeckia, I don't know yet as the ones I have now are the first I have had. They are 'Chim Chiminee' and I hope they come back. I am wondering if it depends on your zone as far as the half hardy annual but is concerned. Plant files says:

Annuals
Biennials
Perennials

And then lists the zones...

This message was edited Oct 13, 2008 8:25 PM

If anyone is interested:

Those plastic bags with gusseted sides are used a LOT in the floral industry and come in many sizes.

I used to do sales for a wholesaler and these are the bags they put their corsages and rose petals into if they don't use cardboard / plastic boxes.

I am certain you can get them locally from your neighborhood florist in a variety of sizes. I believe most of the boxes are packed with 100 bags per box, save the larger bags. Maybe you can work a deal with providing them some fresh cut flowers and get them at cost!

I am glad this thread has re-surfaced! I am simmering ideas!!!

yardqueen: I'm in a colder zone than you, but I mulch all my beds with fall leaves. Maybe that helps with winter hardiness for some plants. It's part of my wacko organic gardening stuff which I just began about 4 or 5 years ago. It's worked well for me, improving my clay soil immensely. Of course, I also started WSing around the same time and expanding my horizon concerning plant varieties that I grow.

Karen

OOh! Yes, she put salt and lobelia seed on her steak...

Does anyone use old "nursery"pots?

since i've been browsing gardening supplies [supports and trellises, etc] it led me to Ebay... so then i started looking at pots, which led me to pots for WS'ing.

I was thinking they would fit nicely in a huge rubbermaid, like Gram used, or even those clear gusseted baggies [which i happened to buy in a CoOp] - also that Gram uses.

I found ones that are 4.75" deep, square - that just could do the trick. [4" square x 4.75 deep, with 3" at the bottom]

it's $8 for 100, though s/h was sorta steep .... but - i could use them yearly, and not have to keep saving containers all winter long, which drives DH nuts.

or 6" deep [that are 5.25 square] 50 of them for $6

any thoughts?

I get used 6-packs from my local nursery for free and use them a lot inside of plastic bags, just as you are thinking of doing. I also use them inside of clear sterilite boxes.

This winter, I scored a bunch of 2 gallon ziplock bags from the 99 cents only store, and I liked them a lot. They are really sturdy, so I'll be able to reuse them multiple times. This year, I also used aluminum loaf pans inside the bags. I scored those at the 99 cents only store also; 3 for a dollar. (They actually came with clear domed lids, but I found that I preferred using them inside of bags.) This method works great for me, and I really like the fact that the containers and bags are easy to store and I don't have to scrounge for containers every year.

after i had posted... i started thinking about all the snow [or rain] ,, and with nothing really to support the top of the bag ... if i had them in the clear boxes, that would not be an issue, but only a ziploc - it may be.

thanks for your input Susan.

Yep, that might be a problem. I keep mine on racks on the deck, just outside the back door. They are sheltered by an overhang, so they don't get hard rain. (and of course, there's no snow here!)

well ,back to my question about those pots.... the past few days i've been working like a nut to get the yard cleaned up etc... and found piles of these all over. I dont have 100 or them or even 50 .... but what I have should do.

I guess, who needs ebay when all ya have to go is rummage thru your own 'stuff'. ;-)

I've been considering the nursery pots too. I guess I'll see how far I get with the water containers. I don't have as many as last year as I went green and use filtered water instead. I must admit, that nursery containers store alot easier than water containers.