What have you wintersowed so far????

Robin, I think Seandor means trying to convince people in his neighbourhood. That is what I tried to do.

That would be so fun to have a neighborhood WS/gardening group. But alas, all of my friends just want to reap the fresh goodies I hand out. Dirty hands for them are out of the question and my closest gardening buddy is 30 minutes away. Sigh.....

Seandor, wished I lived closer, I'd come over to water for you this summer. :-)

I hand out "teasers" -- one tomato for sandwiches, a couple of little tomatoes for a salad. Then I say, "If you love this one, let me know, and I'll slide you an extra seedling for your garden next year so you can pick your own." Sometimes that works... there are a couple more veggie gardens on my block now, LOL, although my best "apprentice" and her mom moved to CA.

Great idea Jill - if they like it, teach them.

Great Idea!!
Happy New Year Everyone!!
Robin

Well, I have made a very lovely mini poster that I will handout to each house in our neighbourhood (60 homes) and to several friends. Each poster will have a seed package attached with a photo of the plant (which of course can be winter sowed). I am supplying all the seeds, and I will buy the potting soil. Participants will contribute a buck or two to cover the cost of the potting soil and will bring their own milk jugs.

Afterwards, we will have tea or coffee and something scrumptious to celebrate out newly sown seeds ^_^

I presume maybe five or six will rsvp.

Seandor: What a lovely gesture on your part. Is this an effort to enable other gardeners in the neighborhood or just to beautify? Or simply generosity on your part. It's a terrific idea.

Seandor, I think it's a great idea. It doesn't work in my small village (40 houses), because people here do not really like gardening. But maybe I will give it a try in the surrounding villages.

It's because I am lazy. I want to winter sow sooooooo many plants - but then there are all the seedlings to attend to. I can't bear tossing perfectly good plants. Currently, I have about 20 peach leaf campanula, and a similar amount of clustered bellflowers, and perennial blue lobelia, etc. plus lots of other stuff I wintersowed last year all planted in any scrap of garden I could find. (Oh, yeah, and about thirty Veronica Sunny Border Blue) Anyway, I figure if I could convince a few others to join in, we could all try to wintersow something different and share the plants. That way we all get some plants, and I don't have to feel guilty about being a bad plant mom by not providing a good garden home.

I know it sounds daft, but I really love germinating things and I feel really lousy when I can't give them a good home. . . . . go figure . . .

I t hink it's a lovely idea and I h ope you'll keep us posted as to how it unfolds!

And I totally sympathize with your brand of daftness. I also find it real hard to dispose of plants that are doing well..... love to start them! And so I do not start them unless I pretty much know what to do with them....... usually that is. I have no idea how the coming season will go as to that, whether I will find spaces for things, as I am starting out in a totally new situation. We'll see.

I hope you have more than 4 or 5! but even that many would be a healthy start/.

Kyla

Well, the basement will only hold so many people. We will be in the laundry room where I will set up two folding tables so we can "play in the dirt" in comfort. I expect Jan. 18th will be a chilly day here in Massachusetts. ^_^

In my town we have a farmer's market on Saturday mornings in the late spring/summer and what I'm contemplating is potting up the excess and taking it there for sale at $2 a pot. It'll be a bargain, compared to the prices that I've seen there in the past and it'll generate a little extra money for more plants!



This message was edited Jan 2, 2009 4:43 PM

Hey! What a great idea - I never thought of that ^_^

Talk about your addictions! This plan only indicates to what lengths I will go to support my habit, because it involves getting up early on Sat. mornings (which I hate) and setting up. Oh, well, if it works out, it will only be for a few weeks until the plants are gone.

Heck - I would give the plants away to a good home if anyone wanted them! Amazing how you can offer plants to people and they don't want them, but offer them for sale, and people will buy!

Seandor, my first thought, on reading your post about the problem of too many starts, was, start a little nursery operation. Didn't post it cause I figured it was obvious and had been rejected for one of several excellent reasons I can think of not to do that, but the Farmer's Market idea sound wonderful, I may do that myself.

The market here is an afternoon event, so I don't think I would have to get up at crack of dawn...... dunno tho what their parameters are.

Well, next year that might be an option. This year, DD is expecting her first child (and our first grandchild) so I will be away for six weeks during the summer . . .

But - next year!

Seandor, you gave me a great idea. We have only once a month a market, but most of the plants they sell there are not hardy. Just have to inform what it costs to have a market place.

Jonna, I'm impressed -- to say the least! Wowser! That's a lot of seeds! I don't know if I'd have room for all those. Well, if they do all germinate you could always give away the excess or sell some. I always do some selling here to get more money for more plants and gardening supplies (mulch, woodchips, etc.). Looking at your list make me tired!

I've been thinking of doing winter sowing this year for the first time. Haven't started yet, but I'm planning on planting in pots and putting them in clear storage containers with holes in the bottom for drainage and on top for air circulation. I was thinking of putting them alongside the back of the house, which faces east. It would get late morning sun and afternoon shade. Would that work for me?

Robin, I noticed you have some planted in opaque margerine containers. Don't they have to be transparent containers so that they will get enough light?

Anyone have trouble with mold killing the plants when winter sowing, and if so, how do you combat it through organic means?

Is it time to start winter sowing here in zone 6? I don't want to start too early and not have anything grow or kill stuff once it gets growing. Later I will list what I will be winter sowing. Right now I have some clematis seeds and lots of daylily seeds.

Sorry about all the questions, but I'm a winter sowing virgin and I need all the help I can get.

To anyone here who thinks Arizona is perpetually hot, well, it depends on what part of AZ you're in. I lived in Phoenix area for 4 years, and it's pretty darn hot there. Gets chilly in the winter, but usually not freezing. But there are many areas in AZ that are mountainous and have very cold winters with lots of snow. AZ is a big state with I don't know how many different zones. I loved the Phoenix area climate. Didn't do any gardening while there, as I didn't have a place where I could do any gardening. I don't know what zone it is, buy maybe a zone 8. It's over 100 degrees all summer, and doesn't get much below the 80's at night. Winter is when the desert gets really cold at night. Might be 60's or 70's during the day and 30's and 40's at night, about 30 degrees difference.

Hey, Kyla, I've been to Weed before! Pretty area. I lived in Sacramento for 1 1/2 years before moving to AZ and after having lived in northern Nevada for 17 years.

Seandor, that really is a great idea to have a winter sowing party. Sounds like it'll be fun. I hope you get lots more interest than you are expecting.

The local garden club I belong to here has a plant sale in May to raise money for our different projects, and I can donate extra plants to the sale. Seandor, maybe a local garden club in your area would love to take some of your plants off your hands. I would if I lived closer. You're about 2 hours away from me. Maybe we could do some trading and meet in the middle somewhere.

Karen

Hey, Karen! Been to Weed, have ya? LOL, that alone is a rare quality. Yes, it is pretty here, but sort of harsh too in a way.......

Listen, you might want to check out this thread: http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/934008/ where us first-timers have been comparing notes. Lots of your questions are addressed there too I think I recall........

Yes, you can plant in opaque containers as long as the top is transparent and has holes in for moisture and ventilation. Your setup you described sounds good. My mistake with the opaque containers (I used yogurt tubs) was not leaving enough"headroom" on some of those so I had to go back and figure out a way to fix it -- after the soil froze so that made it harder!

One thing I have heard is to WS two months before you plan to sow outside. But I have heard lots of other things too and I suspect it is gonna be a trial and error process no matter what til you get (me too!) the moves figured out.

Fun stuff though, for us gardeners who cain't quite quit when the weather says "stop!" ;-)

Kyla

The farmers market is a GREAT idea! I have contemplated that idea but didn't know how well flowers would go over. I know that veggies are the main staple but flowers? Would not hurt to check it out. How fun!

At our local farmer's market there are several vendors of flowers, and I've certainly bought my share! Now I'll get back some of my own maybe. Anyhow, it's a thought about any excess I have (and I hope I have lots of excess plants).

chele... the ones i've been to in Wisc... many of them have flowers... of all types, Annual and Perennials.
some I find a lil more expensive then others... where some give deals for the more you buy, the more you save.

I got some great New guinea impatiens one year.

Some farmers' markets even have vendors who sell cut flowers! Though the ones I've seen who do sell other things as well, still...... flowers definitely fit right in, and if no one else is selling them, all the better for you!

I've been selling potted ornamentals at farmers market for years. It helps support my habit....plant and seed habit that is. And even have money left over to add to household income.

Karen, thanks for the compliment. I did also try to sell some plants, but living in such a small village didn't bring me many clients. But I was able to sell about 100 strawberry plants and 50 perennials. So the idea of the market seems good to me.
I'm also wintersowing for the first time. Lots of seedlings can't stand afternoon sun, so I think the east side is a good idea.
I started winter sowing late December, but now it's freezing every day and night (-10°), I hope I was not too early and the seeds are in shock. I sowed about 70% what I had planned. The rest I will sow this month when temperaturs are a bit higher.

I think that is the point of wintersowing Jonna! :) Having never done it before it is all theory to me, but from what I understand some of the seeds if started indoors would need special help, scarification, cold stratification, etc. Putting them outside lets nature do the work by freezing and thawing so that the seed coats are primed for growing. Then, once it warms up, you have given them a good safe place to grow with good soil and the constant moisture of the little greenhouse effect.

I think as far as planting them out, I am just afraid that I will do it wrong! I want it to look nice. I think I also want my beds to be so full of plants that there is no room for weeds. HA

LissaD- you can't do it wrong. No matter what you do it will be beautiful as long as something is blooming. It may not come out as you planned but nobody else will know that. You are right about some seeds needing the freeze thaw cycle. I sow all my wildflower, and poppy seeds in the fall -winter I start spring annuals in side just to get a little jump start. I remember being hesitant but as long as something is blooming you can't go wrong.

Kyla, thanks for your input. I think this winter sowing venture will be a lot of fun. We have a farmer's market near me on Sundays, so I think I will do that for anything excess I have to sell, and we'll see how it goes. I will have to find out the hours. I would be happy if I made enough to pay for all my plants and gardening supplies. Any excess would be nice but not necessary.

I think I will wait for Feb. to get my seeds sown. I don't want to push it and begin too early. I just filled out an order for Pinetree Garden Seeds in Maine and will send off shortly. I haven't added it up yet, but I'm ordering a lot of stuff.

Here are some seeds I will WS in Feb.:

California Poppy
Papaver rhoeas - 'Shirley Double Mixed'
Papaver nudicaule - 'Meadow Pastels'
Achillia - 'Summer Pastels'
Digitalis ferruginea (a yellow foxglove)
Digitalis - 'Dwarf Red'
Digitalis - 'Elsie Kelsey'
Digitalis - 'Monstruosa'
Delphinium - 'Pacific Giants Mix'
Lupine - 'Lulu'
Lupine - 'Tutti Frutti'
Penstemon - 'Esprit'
Poppy - 'Coral Reef'
Rudbeckia - 'Indian Summer'
Rudbeckia - 'Irish Eyes'
Rubdbeckia - 'Cherokee Sunset'
Rudbeckia - 'Prairie Sun'
Wild Lupine
Aquilegia - 'Winky Mixture'
Aquilegia - 'Clemantine Mix'

In March I will WS the following:

Broccoli - 'White Gold Romanesco'
Cauliflower - 'Graffiti'
Cauliflower - 'Cheddar'
Chard - 'Bright Lights'
Kale - 'Redbor'

Please let me know, anyone, if those veggies can be winter sowed or if it would be better t sow in a greenhouse.

I'm sure I will be adding more plants to my WS list before Feb. gets here.

Karen

Winter-sowing didn't go so well for me last year, but this time I have a much better potting mix. I also microwaved the containers before sowing them to kill any mold that might be in the mix to start with. Don't know if that will really help, but I figured it was worth a shot. Anyway, here's what I've put out so far:

Asclepias incarnata - Swamp milkweed
Campanula americana - Tall bellflower
Carex hystericina - Bottlebrush sedge
Carex lupulina - Hop sedge
Chamaecrista fasciculata - Partridge pea (with inoculum - we'll see if this works)
Gaylussacia baccata - Black huckleberry
Lespedeza capitata - Roundheaded bush clover
Liatris pycnostachya - Prairie blazing-star
Penstemon digitalis - Foxglove beardtongue
Solidago nemoralis - Old field goldenrod
Vaccinium angustifolium - Lowbush blueberry

Most of these I also direct sowed, so it will be interesting to compare results.

Hi Jsorens...... I'm curious as to what did not work for you.... and interested that you are trying again, too! My hunch is the potting mix makes a big difference in this as it does in other versions of starting, I have had bad potting mix just kill stuff because it got too solidified somehow, not enough "tilth" -- it sure was cheap tho. ;-)

Like Kylaluaz, I find it really difficult to throw away WS seedlings that are doing so well, yet I always have far too many for my own garden and I'm too lazy to set up a booth at the local Farmer's Market. I keep an ear and eye out for news about local organizations that are having their annual Spring bake sale/garden sale fundraisers. Our local library, garden club, and elementary school all have these events, and they are glad to have my donated extra potted-up seedlings to sell.
To pot them up, I use clear or translucent 12-16 oz plastic glasses (with drainage holes punched in) from the dollar store or supermarket. I just label each one with name and planting info, and cart them off to the sale.

I didn't WS so much this winter just cannas, daylillies,hostas and red yucca in my aquarium. BEV

Another great option for excess is your local freecycle.org branch. I love freecycle and you can post what you have left over and people will gladly come and pick it up. This is for anything. I prefer to offer stuff from my home for free to people when I am done with it. I have been the recipient of many offerings as well. Some people even offer seeds through our freecycle. My very first batch of Hollyhock seeds was from Freecycle.

As for plants though, I live on the same street as our farmers market. We have a perfect location for stuff like "garage sales" and probably plant sales. It might be fun to try on a Saturday if I have some leftovers.

Recently I WS'ed Maltese Cross - and it is sprouting in the plastic gallon milkcarton! It is about 1/3 inch high. About a dozen of them!

Being encouraged, I WS'ed foxgloves today. Again, in a plastic milkcarton with a trapdoor I cut in the top for putting the soil and seeds in.

The problem was...the potting soil was frozen in big clumps...it was in the lower 20's the last couple of nights...

This message was edited Jan 3, 2009 5:39 PM

Today I WS'd the following, making a total of 22 jugs of WS'd seeds so far:

Bronze fennel
Hollyhock `The Watchman'
Oriental poppy `Coral Reef'
Oriental poppy `Brilliant'
Flax
Dame's Rocket

I plan two more weekends of WSing and then I'll consider myself finished for my first year trying this method. I'm so anxious for spring to see what germinates and takes off! I only have one little seedling sprouted so far: lavender augustifolia, and it looks so lonesome in that jug.

I can also say that the green paint pen I bought to use while waiting shipment of some black ones has worked out best for me. It's more easily readable, especially on the bottom of the soda jugs when filled with dirt!

Bright Star... Lucky you... i tried Maltese Cross last year, and ZIP nadda nothing.
I'll try again this year... i think i have more seeds.

Hemophobic; where did you get your paint pens? Thanks for 'green' tip; I need to get some. Have you WS poppies before? I found some old seeds and wonder if it's worth trying.

Cedar: This is my first year WSing and my commercial poppy seeds are from 2005, but I also received some in a seed swap this fall, so I've sown both. We'll see what happens.

The paint pen came from Michael's and I bought it simply because they were out of black and green was the only non-yucky color they had left, but I like it very much. It's almost a mint green, but it sure shows up on those clear plastic jugs.

Edited 1/4/09 to say that Hobby Lobby also has these pens.

This message was edited Jan 4, 2009 1:47 PM

Well, I added more plants to my list of ones I want to WS in March:

Marigold - 'Mr. Majestic'
Marigold - 'Golden Gem'
Marigold - 'Lemon Star'
Zinnia augustifolia - 'Crystal White'
Zinnia - 'Cherry And Ivory Swizzle'
Zinnia - 'Enchantress'
Zinnia - 'Coral Beauty'
Zinnia augustifolia - 'Classic'
Tinthonia - 'Fiesta Del Sol'
Agastache - 'Apache Sunset'
Silver Sage
Amaranth - 'Splendens Perfecta'
Amaranth - 'Illumination'
and the following tomatoes: 'Beefmaster', 'Better Boy', 'Tigerella', red and yellow 'Tumbling Tom, and red and yellow Currant tomatoes.

I will probably be adding more as I look through more catalogs. Boy, this is going to be a big year for me.

Karen