Let's talk containers...post yours here

---that's what i'm thinking too

I just have to find something to put those nursery pots + clean bags into ... like that nice big tub Jan used.

I was very happy with my results with the bags/clear tubs combo. I had a very good germination ratio, I think. kept very poor records this year, but in one tub of 24 bags all but one germinated. they weren't all that good, but that may have been the seed. I'll be using it again. I still have plants that I haven't planted (I know, don't get me started on that...). They bloomed and grew really great right in those bags. The bags do tend to get brittle after a while, but by then you have a cube of soil filled with roots and the bag doesn't have a purpose any more.

I have planted directly into the bags before and it woked fine. Just put some soil in the bag, half full or less and then sow seeds into the bag. You still need something like a tub to put them in. When you are ready to plant just cut the bag away.

Well I already started my wsing... hope its not too early. I did start about this time last year and I feel I had great success considering it was my first attempt. Started with baggies and about 10-15 plastic containers - anywhere from milk cartons to salad containers.The one thing I did this time was really label everything and made a record of it in my computer and will be updating my dave's journal. I did read that the soil should be a soil less type but I have to tell you last year I was using anything I could find and had really good success with a product I found at Menards and it was labeled Annual/Perennial Soil (or something like that). It was in a white bag. I do have seed starting mixture also. My favorite are plastic soda 2 liter bottles.

I think in winter sowing you do not have to use a soil less mix. In winter sowing you don't have damping off like with sowing indoors. Somewhere there is a thread about that... LOL No idea where tho...

Potting soil works best - it doesn't compact like garden soil

I always use miracle grow potting soil with winter sowing. The only time I used a soiless mix was to grow seedlings indoors. I may be sorry but I think I will use potting soil indoors also. I'll just take my chances. I think if I water with H2O2/ water it should be fine.

That's good to hear since that's what I used.

I like the plastic 2 liters also!

I've used Miracle Grow, Schultz and ProMix with wonderful results. I've ordered from this company before http://homeharvest.com/pottingmixes.htm in case you can't get soil from the stores near you or just can't get out of the house.

Yardqueen: Are you sure the MG you use isn't potting mix, not potting soil? The regular yellow bag of stuff is potting mix. Read the label and descriptionin this link.
http://lawn-and-garden.hardwarestore.com/77-500-potting-soil/miracle-gro-potting-soil-100699.aspx

They also make something labeled "garden soil". If you blow up the size of the label, you can find the contents in the lower right corner.
http://www.hardwarestore.com/media/pdf-misc/101787.pdf

Which are you using?

Karen

Since we are talking 'soil' -- is there an issue with the built in fertilizer in the Miracle Grow? Some one was telling me, and i can't recall who at the moment, that the added fertilizer can make the seedlings 'leggy'.

Has anyone found that to be true? I have not been at this long enough to note the difference.

gotcha CCG -- thanks.

For many gardeners, at least organic gardeners, the issue is a little bigger then leggy seedlings.
Not taking a stand either way, there's this
http://davesgarden.com/guides/terms/go/2307/

Karen

very interesting Karen... thanks for posting that link,

Guess i need to look for a new "soil".

You got a point there, Karen. I forgot that I now disapprove of MG, since I went organic and learned more ;-)

(edited to add a smile)

This message was edited Nov 20, 2008 10:20 AM

The thing is, most folks report good results with it. At question seems to be what long term effects it has on soil and water. It has been reading these things that has pushed me toward more organic practices, and I try to avoid chemical ferts and pesticies. Reading about the ocean dead zones is pretty convining to me.

If you have any interest in these things, there's a lot of good information on organics and composting out there if you look for it. There's both an organic forum and a compost forum here at Daves.

But really, seedlings have all the food they need stored in the cotyledons. They need no food until they get true leaves, and even then they need only a very little dilute amount. Baby food.

Karen

Karen,

"Are you sure the MG you use isn't potting mix, not potting soil?"

Yes that is it, but in the description it refers to it as potting soil:

"Blend of composted bark fines, Canadian sphagnum peat moss, horticultural-grade perlite and a wetting agent. Contains Miracle-Gro Advantage. Enriched with Miracle-Gro plant food for improved plant growth. Excellent for tropical, foliage and flowering housplants, potted vegetables and herbs. This Miracle Gro Potting Soil is one of many top quality items in our Potting Soil department."

Yes, the common lingo is "potting soil". But in reality it contains NO SOIL.

I was trying to clarify, mostly for newcomers, that there is a difference between what's used to plant in pots and what's found it our back yards.

Karen

Just dropping in to mention that my first year DH accidentally bought me "potting soil" and everything went swimmingly. The second year he got me "seed-starting mix" (which is what I thought I wanted originally) and when it came time to plant out, the hunks wouldn't clump together. And a reminder that around here, at least, you can't get either in winter; all the display space us used up with blow-up Santas and stuff.

you can always order soil online. I put the link above

Ouch, the shipping! Cheaper to buy while I'm at HD for something else and remember to pick some up, although I agree, that looks like great stuff, Anita.

I agree with the shipping... but some folks live where it's easier to have stuff shipped.

Sources for WS "flats":

milk jugs
large yogurt, cottage cheese, sour cream , CoolWhip containers
large margarine containers ( my fave - - Land-o-Lakes )
5 lb. bulk salad containers (think Costco and Sam's Club)
4 & 5 lb. fruit containers ( grapes, strawberries, kiwis . . . again warehouse grocers)

don't throw away those "disposable" roasting pans !!! - some even sold with lids!

2 & 3 liter soda bottles, if clear . . . roadsides loaded with them, unfortunately

one-gallon jugs of filtered, spring, mineral water . . . also distilled water jugs
large plastic vinegar and pickle containers - - rinsed like crazy, of course

. . . . just MT¢W.   YMMV.       ;--)

Even colored soda bottles have worked for me - I have trouble with the whorls in the bottom. Can't wait!

I got a soil blocker last year and absolutely love it. Make your blocks- plant your seeds- then straight into the garden.

Happy New Year to all my fellow ws'ers. I'm thinking of starting wsing sometime next week.

Happy New Year! I am going to start then also... I will be getting some more Starbucks cups like last year for part of it. I know 14 cents a container is more expensive than free containers ( I will be using those also) but what I like about them is they are "sterile" enough to use for my indoor seed starting, because I will be doing that also. I buy a box of 500 cups and a box of 500 dome lids. I used them all last year p;us 2 liter bottles and some 4 inch black pots...

Here is a question from a person completely ignorant of winter sowing. Please bear with me. What happens when the seedlings get big enough to put out but it's too soon to put them out? How long do they grow in the containers?

I've put them in the ground as early as April if the sprouts were big enough. You can also leave them in their containers until you are ready to plant them.

Cajun,

and i've done the opposite... I had some that stayed in containers until Sept, as either i didnt get time to plant them, or they were very late to germinate - so they did not get planted until almost Fall.

they grew, but probably did not get as big as they would have if they were in the ground.... but if they get water, they shouldnt die on you... none of mine did.

Do you keep them all in the house?

Cajun... no, nothing comes into the house.

I actually had only one plant that never made it into the ground this year.
Germination was quite late, then i thought it may have been a weed, but i just left it in the container [a cup] that it was sown in... come Oct, it bloomed. it was one of those Strawberry Fields [the scientific name starts with a "G", but i dont have the name handy. It's an annual, so there was really nothing i could do with it by that time. come winter, it was still in the cup, and i just stuck it in my unheated sun room with some other pots... was out there a few days ago, and i believe there are actually viable seeds. SO i will get another chance at them.

Terese

Thanks for the info. Didn't mean to hijack the thread. I'll go back to lurking.

You can take the lids off if it is too early to plant out, unless you are having a frost. Then you would have to cover them with something...

You can start to plant out in spring as soon as your garden beds are workable. This goes for hardy perennials and hardy annuals. Things like poppies and bachelor buttons and larkspur will laugh off a deep freeze and not miss a beat. Like Anita, I start in April if these things are ready (i.e. have a set or 2 of true leaves). The sooner they're in the ground the better they seem to do. Later transplant seems to me to really set things back more. If transplanted when very small, they don't seem to notice much.

I only wait to plant out tender annuals (like zinnias, impatiens, coleus). For those I wait until about mid May in my zone 6 yard.

Karen

Time for a new thread for the new year. Please go here.

http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/939313/

This message was edited Jan 3, 2009 9:30 AM

I believe that plant is called Globe Amaranth, I grew some last year, and they make wonderful dry flowers....I grew Strawberry Fields.

Deann