winter sowing lessons for next year #7

Number #6 was getting way to long so here is a new one.

A link back to six in case you want to go back

http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/805624/#new

It works.

Thanks Zen.

I've really got to get back at it today.

I started some seeds on a heat mat, and already have some sprouts, within 36hrs.

still nothing in the WS containers .... and i know last year i had sprouts in Feb ... could just be this cold lousy weather we've been having.

Itcs, me too. I was so surprised that my poppies germinated within 3 days.

I suppose for my zone any container I set out now will be considered spring sowing?

Spring is actually tomorrow ... think we are expecting "show showers' this weekend.

I need to go to the store today though... get some med. sized peat pots. I bought those coconut husk ones, and really dont care for those. I use them to transplant some seedlings into before i get them into the ground. This is more for my seeds sown indoors [i dont do many at all] but I've also WS'ed in them. Had good results last year.

Hurray! Spring is here NOW!

Welcome Spring.

p.s. Waiting for the flowers.

This message was edited Mar 20, 2008 6:52 AM

Hi, Zen. I've been missing you around here. Glad to hear your ankle is healing. I love that photo but I'm ready for the snow to disappear. and I really want a glider LOL

I'm anxious to see if my new containers will work ok. I have (last I looked, which was 3 or 4 days ago) feverfew germinated, but that's all, out of 196 baggies. My earliest last year was 3/21, so I guess I'm right on schedule.

I bought that glider last summer at a wonderful place near me. It is one of those places that is open once a month for 4 days and they sell, antiques and old stuff. I paid $56 for it, a total bargain. Everything is at great prices so I always buy more than I should.

Well I should say you did get a bargain, more like a steal of a bargain. No one could make one for such a price. That will be a nice heirloom piece too.

We are feeling almost freezing temps tonight. I guess I'll wait until April to plant out some of my winter sown seedlings. Don't want the too cool of temps to stress them even though the ground temp is 55 2" below the surface.

Zen, oh, wow, lucky you! you have to know how/where to shop, I guess.

Dawg, 22* here this a.m. it's ridiculous. I feel like I'm stuck in one of those cartoon specials and that big frosty guy is singing 'I'm Mr. White Christmas, I'm Mr. Snow'. Of course, I don't live in GA. I'm sure you're not used to waiting until April.

Wow it is warmer here 39º. I can't get to excited it is supposed to snow starting Wed evening and go through Friday. Not much will stay since it will be in the upper 30º's. I can't go out walking around in my yard until the snow and ice are gone. I might slip on my crutch. At least it is now crutch singular.

we are 39° and high winds. It woke me up at 2AM and i was thinking about whether or not my containers were all blowing around the yard... thinking that some of the lighter/smaller ones may have been blown out of these boxes. When i finally got up at 7 .. they were all nicely tucked in. [but at 2 am with winds howling... you always worry about your containers.]

we are supposed to be 51° and rain -- today and tomorrow i think.

OH Zen -- i forgot to add.... glad to hear you are on the mend. 1 crutch is better than 2.

This message was edited Mar 25, 2008 7:23 AM

Thank you.

Zen, you absolutely better be careful when you finally get out in the yard. We would like you to be all in one piece, please :0)

So far my Rubbermaid container/ baggie experiment is going well. Even with all the freezing weather we have been having (we had a couple of inches of snow again last night), I have had germination in 19 baggies already. Could be more. I last checked 2 days ago.

I went out and walked on the sidewalk for a few feet west and then a few more East. There are little green sprouts peeking through here and there. I was careful and only walked where the side walk was clear.

Zen good your out and walking, you'll be sprinting before to long : )

I have so many seedlings coming up. Its working , WS is working. I'm a believer. This is the way to go. I did cover everything with a heavy plactic when temps drop in the lower thirties, just to be on the safe side. But boy is it fun to see all those ugly jugs filled with beautiful plants.

I am still worried about wind whipping them up , but now if they get tumbled the seedlings will be easy to spot and can be placed back in order.

My thoughts of building a wooden frame to hold all the containers w/ a hinged top. Good for really bad weather, and keeping the containers safe from winds. Plus a great place to store when not in use. The shape of a cold frame but really big, I have 172 containers so might have to make it a double lid. And then expand as my WS containers get added, which I'm sure they will : ) Happy WS/Spring Gardening

another thing i just noticed when i went out to check for babies....

when you keep them [the containers] in cardboard boxes.. the soil stays damper than if it were just sitting on the patio.

we got an inch or so of snow yesterday, it's all gone already... but all the containers that are in boxes are still moist, where the others were quite dry. and the damp ones went out around March 7th ...the dry ones went out about 2 weeks later and were already dryer than a bone.

the columbine in the 2#lb containers were quite wet... so i took their lids off - in hopes the sun will aid in drying them out a bit.

I also have 1 seedling of borage Officenalis.

here's what they look like currently. as i mentioned - this morning they were covered in a layer of snow.

Granpapa, I think I am going to look for those rubbermaid containers. I have only a very few things germinated so far.

tcs1366, I should do the cardboard boxes. I notice to that my milk jug containers and 2 liter bottles are drying out faster then the red coffee cans (plastic) and the black plant pots. They are all in the same location.

WS is all about what works best : ) I love the challenge.

Like everything else in gardening it is what works best for you.

I just got back in from checking my containers and I have 13 more germinated. I'm wondering if the way they are packed in keeps them warmer. It's been so cold here. They are on my patio, though, and the concrete warms from the sun and holds the heat, too. It's supposed to go down to 17* tonight, so I stacked them all together right up to the house, which is also warm. I think they'll be ok.

Jan - how are you liking the bags you bought?

Anita, so far, so good. Even with sub-freezing temps, I already have germination in 32 of the bags (out of 144). So I expect with a few warm days there should be a lot more. I'm also using the bags inside. They are a perfect size for a 4" cowpot (I bought a case from the co-op...they've extended the offer for another month in case anyone is interested). I put the cowpot in the bag, fill it with germinating mix (one of the compressed soil wafers exactly fills it when rehydrated), plant the seeds, spray the top with water mixed with H2O2, then staple the top of bag shut. It make a perfect little greenhouse.

then when the seedlings emerge, I just cut off the top of the bag, leaving the rest to keep the cowpot intact. cut some holes in the bottom of the bag for bottom watering.

good deal. Then you can plant the whole thing...excellent.

grampapa thats a great idea, I looked around for some little baggies like that , thought I had some but no can find, dang it. Your plant looks so pretty and healthy.

Jan, what a wonderful idea! Especially for seedlings that are difficult to transplant and don't like their roots to be messed with.

Shirley ... that is why i like to use a few peat pots... but gotta get the cow pots for next year.
and baggies!!

Well, i thought about posting this in the First time sowers thread... but this is more of a lesson for me... so i tracked down the old Lessons Learned threads....

One thing that many of us do, or have intentions of doing... and some do it better than others... is -- tracking the seeds.

meaning, day of sowing, date of germination, the number on the container, what's in the container... etc.

I put everything into a spread sheet... i started it in 2007, my first year of WS'ing, and i'm adding a page [or 2] for every year. 1 page contains all the seeds, with some basic information, and the other page contains all the WS information/data.

I try to keep good notes, but it doesnt always pan out that way.
One thing i do is.... print the spread sheet, with only the info i need ... usually the container # along with date sown, and what's in the container... with a bunch of blank lines/cells to add info as the seeds begin to germinate.
number of seedlings, if they germinated or not, and any other general info/comments that may come in handy one day.

I try to keep it on a clip board, so i can always find it... which doesn't always happen.
but then, once i have the hand written copy, i can transfer that data to my spread sheet.

anyways.... that's another lesson i'm trying to learn.. keep better notes.

I did that for 2006 and 2007. By 2008, I didn't. I got lazy I guess. I try to stick to the axiom that if I don't want to do it, it's not fun. Gardening is my hobby and should be fun, so therefore.... the spreadsheet didn't happen last year.

I just make a list as I sow: container number, seed name, date sown. They're the most important things I might want to know. And if I get an itch to make a spread sheet, (NOT!) I'll have the info.

Karen

Karen,

i actually did a lot better at 'note taking' last year ... but then had an issue with the computer and lots most of it.

I'm a visual kind of person ... i need to see data to help me recall things. But one day...i will have enough plants, and know what they are just by looking at them ... and i wont have to WS so many seeds.

Terese

Here is my problem - I just like growing things; I like to start new plants . . . . but I have no room to put them!

I'm seriously getting there.

I may be moving on to .... adding plants to areas around the subdivision
there are a few places at our RV park in Wisc that could use some color

and I'm considering talking to the HOA about our 'dry' wet lands for native plants / wild flowers.

In the spring, i plan to widen a few of my beds...

I find it very helpful to keep records. I've kept a spreadsheet every year and every year I check to see what I did the previous year as guidance. When did I sow the seeds versus when and if they germinated. Then again - w/s'ing combines two of my favorite past times...gardening and computers!

I start out with a list and then get to busy in the garden and never follow up on it. Besides our weather varies so much there is very little consistency.

Thank you for all of your infomation. I am working on a spreadsheet similar to what Terese does. However I am such a visual person! I want a picture embedded in the information so I can look at it! I haven't figured a way in Excel to have an actual picture embedded in a cell that will stay with the infomation when you sort.

I do have the link to Dave's in there so I can go to a page with pictures. Do you just do all data for your information? I was tempted to print out a page with Dave's info and a picture and then just write notes by hand, but yeah, that's not going to happen. ;)

Since I am just starting out I think it will really help the learning process if I can take a few notes as I go.

Lissa -- I think you can "Insert" an image into the cell.
I too was thinking of doing that, especially for my hostas ... but havent gotten that organized yet.
that is one reason i put the link to PF in there.

Lissa - I'll check into that. When you add a picture it is not connected to any "cell"....it is basically floating on top of the sheet data. So yes, we can add pictures to Excel, but I'm not sure if we can link it to rows of data. Will let you know what I find.