First Time wintersowing?

Karen, Yes, T&M does have a French site, but they don't offer the Gentian Larkspur (others sell at E2.45 + E3.45 shipping! For a total of about $7.50 for a packet! The UK site has them at L1.89 (about $2.80(, but won't ship to France. Too bad Valueseeds won't, either!

Well, we are going to a "Glogg och Pepparkakor - Swedish cocktail party" this coming Sunday, so I guess you're right, there always is an excuse for a party!

I'll take that as a compliment, Hemo! I wish I could visit North Carolina someday! My mother's ancestors lived in Guilford and Rowan counties abiut the time of the American Revolution.

By the way, has anyone here ever grown Blue Flax? It has a colour similar to these larkspur.

I wonder if T&M has a cheap outlet component in Europe, similar to valueseeds here? It's such a huge company I wouldn't be surprized. Might be worth a phone call to the French branch to ask, Jim. Valueseeds is a good cheap seed source here and I've bought a lot from them over the last few years.

I do have blue flax in my yard, too. It is beautiful, and a very tough plant. Here's a shot of mine in early spring last year. It didn't grow as tall last year or bloom as much because it was essentially buried in all those tall larkspur, not getting the sun it needs.

Karen

And don't forget Chinese forget-me-nots (cynoglossum). I guess I'm just a sucker for blue flowers.

Very pretty, Karen!!!

Jim: I truly meant it as a compliment. My DH's family is from Rowan County, but they arrived there from PA after the Revolution. They're originally from Germany.

Karen: I love blue as well and use lots of it in my gardens, planning to use even more!

Angie

I know this is off-topic, but do you "Blues" lovers ever grow gentians? They are great for WS and I could swap some Swiss Alpine Gentian seeds for larkspur (especially if they were 'Gentian Blues'!).

>>has anyone here ever grown Blue Flax?

I LOVE Blue Flax. It originally came in a Wild Flower Mix i put down a year or two ago... but this was the first year i collected seeds ... all of which have been gobbled up in the swap. [Tuinker is getting some seeds from me, so she will have seeds next year. ]

It's a nice 'ferny' plant with delicate lil blue flowers... it was the first to bloom in the Spring ... that is how i took notice of them ... they do spread, as i have volunteers popping up - which is fine, because i really like this plant.

Then, late summer, i noticed in a different bed, a gorgeous lil red bloom ... not sure what it was - i was going to inquire about it... then in a thread i was in... they all started talking about Red Flax [Linum grandiflorum var. rubrum] http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/228/ though this one is only an annual.

Jim: I do not have larkspur to swap, but Gentians are on my want list, as I have been reading about them in a great book I bought called "Perfect Plants." Don't remember the author and don't have it handy, but it's been an excellent reference tool for me. On second thought, I do have some seeds I've purchased. Let me look at them and see what I have.

Wow, Therese, that Red Flax is also lovely; such a vibrant red! I have never seen this one before. I first saw Blue flax in a neighbour's garden here and immediately fell in love with its fresh, clear baby blue! That Red Flax would be a wonderful foil for my 'Pluie de Feu' heuchera!

Hemophobic, you have DMail!

Jim -- there is a Yellow Flax too... though i have not seen seeds for in.

I really LOVE the Flax's -- must have in cottage gardens, and so glad they some in WildFlower Mixes.
I just got some from a gal ... so i do have a few more seeds - i just do not know which is Red and which is Blue.

Terese

Yellow, too!
Gosh, too much! I have NEVER seen that.
But it does nit seem, from what I can find on the Internet, that the yellow flax has very interesting flowers.
Too bad! As it would be a great combo to have the 3 together!

that may be a lil project of mine - over the winter... to track down some seeds for the yellow.

Prairie Moon Nursery has yellow flax seed http://www.prairiemoon.com
Also, Hazzards has several varieties (Linum sp.) http://www.hazzardsgreenhouse.com including a compact yellow variety and two blue varieties.
Hazzards sells its seeds wholesale but anyone can purchase from them--you have to buy in wholesale lots so it is more expensive but you get a LOTTTTT of seeds. I've several packets from them that I intend to use for my first year WS! :) What you don't use, you can trade. I bought several colors/var of Achillea this year and had plenty to trade.

PlantRN... yes, i was on their site. I got busy .... but i'll get back to browsing when i get more free time.

thanks for that additional site though...

I just found this thread. Above someone asked about container prep. I made this based on how I do it. I hope it helps. http://www.lakehousecreations.com/wintersowing_directions.htm

Thanks for that, Anita! Those pictures are worth a million words! Very well done and extremely helpful!

Ditto, Anita. That is the best explanation of how to WS in milk jugs that I have ever seen.
I use a modified version of this with large 1-2 liter plastic bottles, Jim: Cut the same drainage holes in the bottom, but instead cut the bottles completely in half around the "equator." If you then make about four slits up from the center cut in the top half, you can then push this down like a little "hat" on the bottom half and it stays on. . . . . oh rats, this is really hard to explain!! Anita, you're a genius with those photos!

Anita - Thank you! I have a small stack of washed, sanitized and "split-open" milk jugs, but was having a hard time trying to figure out where the drainage holes go. For a visual learner, picking up tips in a forum can be tricky, but your pictures were perfect.

ps - I took a look at the rest of your site - very well done! I love your pictures of flowers and butterflies.

-GB

Yes -- Anita's site is awesome.

I do mine similar... though i should do the bigger holes in the bottom...last year i had a lot of mold... i'm assuming my holes were not big enough.

I think I remember someone saying somewhere that they used a hot glue gun to "melt" holes into the bottoms of the milk jugs. I guess you'd need to do alot of holes, but it still might be faster that having to cut. Have any of y'all tried this?

Tonya

Thanks, CCG. Actually, my bottles are ribbed, so I cut the top off, then cut 2 'V's in opposite sides of the top, and when I press it down inside the bottom, the "ribs" in each half mesh and keep it together perfectly.
Sorry GB! Like you, I am a visual learner, so I know I need to get some photos to explain this!

For holes, I find my electric drill with different sized bits (I use a 10mm on the big bottles and about an 8mm on the 1.5 litre bottles) is fast, efficient and spares me cutting holes in my hands instead of the bottles!

Hmmm, I'm thinking about that drilling thing. Perhaps I could get DH to do all the drilling which would leave even more time for me to do the fun planting part!

Why not? Some guys just love making noise and wielding tools! (And most also like to feel indispensable!)

Jim, you are right about that. I just tell my DH that "I need" him and he loves to help. Of course I could drill those holes myself and cut the bottles - like nbgard said - leaves me more time for other things. :-)

Yep on the DH stuff. I also have him "dumpster divin" for containers! Of course, as I have him doing all of that, he doesn't have as much time to build the GH that we already have the "slab" for!

regarding using something HOT to burn holes in the containers...

i do recall something about toxic fumes.

so -- if you are 'burning' the bottom of plastic containers -- do it outside or in a well vented area.

That makes sense, thanks Terese.

Anita: That was a most helpful link.

Everyone: just remember to drill the holes for drainage in what will be the low spots in the container (or the high spots if you're looking at the container from the bottom)

Now I have a question, my problem here is not so much moisture as lack thereof. We can go for months sometimes without any measureable moisture. I have to water my lawn from time to time even in the dead of winter to keep everything from dying. Do I need to water regularly? sparsely? never? Is the soil supposed to be kept moist?

Since us, up in the tundra, as Karen calls it.... are colder, our containers are usually frozen til Feb/march or til things start to thaw .... i do not water mine until it's either warm in April, or i can tell they are very dry ... especially if there are seedlings.

so -- hopefully someone more 'southern' will chime in.

but -- with the holes in the bottom... bottom watering is an easy way to water them.... i've used an other kiddy pool where i'll put some water, then put all the containers inside to bottom water them.

REgarding when to know that it's time to water: if the soil inside your WS containers looks dark and moist like a brownie, it's still OK. If the soil is starting to pull away from the sides of the containers and looks light brown, it's probably be time to gently water inside the top, or from the bottom.

Should it be necessary to water, I plan to use overhead watering from a watering can with a rose, so it'll be just like rainfall reaching the soil through the top openings. If this doesn't work, I'll undoubtedly switch to bottom watering as I have done all these years with my under-light pots.

Jim --one issue i had with watering from the top was... the force of the water hitting the soil, would/could move the seeds - say to the edge of the container. Sometimes i would water thru the 'split' in the milk jug, that way it went to the bottom anyways... and i would just be careful not to 'disturb' the soil and 'wash' the seeds to the edges.

As time goes on, you will get to know when to water simply by lifting the container and feeling the weight. If it's heavy it doesn't need water.If It gets very light, it needs water. They need moisture but don't need to be dripping wet. In spring, containers in sun will dry out much faster, those in shade or part sun need less attention.

I keep mine on my NW facing patio where they only get a little morning sun.

Karen

I am so glad my directions were helpful. It really is easy if you get a system down. I usually cut two containers, fill with soil and saturate. While that is draining, I prep another two containers. Then I seed the first two containers, close and put them outside. I come back in prep the next two containers, seed the ones that are draining, put them out....etc

Hello to all,

I will start winter sowing for the first time. I (think) I read all threads about it. Living in Europe means I can't become a lot of your containers, but I tried to solve it. I will post pictures of it when I'm done.
Because I have a lot of seeds that are not listed in the database of winter sowing, I decided to winter sow seeds of plants that can resist at least 15°C frost. If I only have a very few seeds from a special plant, I will winter sow 50% and the other half I will sow in a traditional way.
Regarding making holes. I use a soldering bolt, it works very well, you can very quick make small and bigger holes. You only have to do it outside because it stinks and probabely it's no good for your health.

I also have a question. I read about wintersowing tomatoes in zone 6. Can someone tell me how it works? When do you sow these seeds, in December or later? And won't they freeze after germination if frost comes again?

Jonna

If seeds aren't listed in the database, that doesn't mean they can't be wintersown. The database is simply reports of people who have sown it. If it isn't listed, it might mean that no one has tried it yet, or that someone has grown it but not reported, etc. Unlisted seeds might do well for you.

Tomatoes (or any tender annual) can sprout early and freeze out in later frost. For this reason some of us wait to sow them until closer to spring and our last frost date. However, volunteer tomatoes pop up in my tomato bed every year and survive. You could sow them in winter and have them survive, it's just a little more risky than waiting until spring.

I think I sowed mine around late March last year.

Karen

Here is my list. I have been sowing based on previous year successes. I hope it is helpful. http://www.lakehousecreations.com/wintersown_2008.htm