First Time Winter Sowing #6 : There's still time!

I need to check my stack of seeds..... I THINK I have some fennel - if not, I would love to have some too if you have anymore. I think I remember seeing a packet from the piggy swap but I will need to double check !

Genna

Genna.... i'll see how much i have left. do post back if you need some.

and HEy ... where were you guys during the piggy swap?? i have tons of these seeds. LOL.

Whew...I don't feel so bad about not having all mine sowed either. Based on my first 4 winters back here in TN, I still have time.
I was almost done with the perennials...till I read about annuals here.

I still haven't touched the poppies yet...and I got a wad of herbs/peppers/tomatoes seeds today!!!! now I'm feeling the pressure.

I need an assistant. lol

Kq/Karen...is that nasturtiums in the foreground? very pretty.

Thanks, nanniepb.

I was happy to see my first sprouts today- 2 kinds of rudbeckia. Especially happy to see the Rudbeckia Cherry Brandy popping. It motivated me to finally sow a few more jugs, but my grand total is only 20 now. Will be starting some of the more tender things in a couple of weeks.

Karen

Thanks Jim. I pretty much guessed at the cross-pollination. Except for hybrid varieties, I just didn't know if the seed I collected would do anything.

Thanks - was busy doing some planting yesterday evening and forgot to look - but i am pretty sure I have a pack from the piggy swap that hasn't been sewn yet. I think I have finally collected enough jugs to finish my seed sowing - now if I could just find a few more hrs in every day !! ^_^

I am like Nanniepb..... I need an assistant (or maybe a maid! ... oh what the heck - I need BOTH!!)

Genna

Hey! What's a piggy swap??

Valerian is sprouting! There was nothing there this morning and now bunches of sprouts. Gonna get cold again this week. Poor babies musta got their hopes up when the sun came out today.

OH MY - Terese would you like to explain ..... I don't even know where to begin!!! IT is a crazy wild seed swap that was organized on the seed trading forum (I believe) and everyone listed what they had to share and others requested what they wanted from them.... and one wonderful person ORGANIZED it all and took care of sorting the packages and forwarding them on to their rightful owner. I was blessed to be able to participate and thanks to the many generous folks on the piggy swap..... I was able to get seeds for probably 65+ types of plants! How is that for adding to your garden???

I am gonna have to watch that forum a whole lot more closely!

The piggy swap was amazing to watch even from the sidelines. I joined DG right around the time that started and I had NO seeds at the time, so I really couldn't join in the fun, but I read all of the threads because I was learning so much about different plants. People would post something they had and I would go look it up. It was cool. I plan to save every seed I can possibly find, and hopefully be able to share next year.

Yes, I am also new to seed collecting. DG has put the bug in me. But right now I am learning winter sowing. It is not seed time yet in the Ozarks LOL. I am careful with the seed that I have gotten thru trades and keeping track of labels. I bought little baggies to split piles. I have never had so much fun with gardening during winter months before. I love DG!

I had participated in the seed coop and had purchased some seeds - very few in comparison to what most people had - but they were generous and let me join in. In fact, there was also a newbie seed swap for new people just getting started to get some seeds...... you might check and see if they still have any packets left over. I also got some from there! I have what seemed like hundreds of packets of seeds - most of plants that I am totally unfamiliar with .... LOL .... but I am trying to learn. Some things seem to have germinated really well that I have WS but somethings haven't done anything yet.............. :-( Hopefully, they just aren't ready yet......

Genna

Genna: I have some seeds that haven't sprouted yet as well, so I'm hoping once warm weather settles in for good they'll start to pop.

I know what you mean .... it has been in the upper 70's to low 80's here - now it is in the 40's today and it is supposed to be cooler the rest of the week. I have irises in full bloom and daffodils and then all my little sprouts......... not sure they will like this cold snap! And I doubt it is the last..... ^_^

Genna

I have a lot that haven't germinated. The ones that worry me are the jugs where I have 1 spout and nothing else. I have a pretty heavy hand with seeding and so expect a little carpet of seedlings in most of my containers. I have a few jugs though with 1 sprout, and I am hoping they are just the early birds and the rest will come along.

I'm expecting at least one more cold snap after this one, possibly two, but I hope nothing like in 2007 when we had a severe, long-lasting freeze over Easter weekend. Killed almost everything, it was so brutal. We lost a coral bark maple tree and my JM is just now beginning to recover and look good again, so no more of that, please and thank you.

Angie

Lissa: I have a couple like that, too, so we'll keep our fingers crossed together!

I've been so envious of you folks with a few sprouts... and lo and behold there are tiny things growing today!! Here!! in CT!! Flax and dianthus are leading the way.

I was also fortunate to have someone steer me in the direction of seeds for newbees. It's a really nice way to start trying new things and starting a small collection of seeds. Also did a seed swap that added some really interesting seeds--I had so little to swap but everyone was kind and generous and let me join.

Congratulations, and may you have many more.

Karen

Don't lose hope yet for those containers that aren't sprouting. Some perennials may be very sporadic and/or slow. I was tossing dud containers in July last year and found one full of Columbine seedlings! I had a container of hardy Cyclamen seeds take a year to germinate. Some seeds require constant warmth to germinate and will wait till they're ready, some of mine waited till April and May to germinate.

I've got over 100 containers out there so far, and only about 5 with sprouts. I have no intention of "giving up". Of course, it was snowing again yesterday and below freezing temps are predicted for the rest of the week, so I'm not too concerned. In fact, I am still planting!

It's way too soon to even think about giving up. I never get sprouts until March., I didn't even look at mine until a couple of days ago! We've only had a few warm days here.

Many annuals I haven't even thought about sowing yet.

Karen

Karen,

It IS March!!

I know. It's hard to believe this year!

Let me know when you start your annuals. I've been holding mine back, even though all their packets say I should be starting them indoors NOW!

jim

just mentioning the "Piggy Swap" real quick.... for the BIG seed swaps... check the Seed Trading Forum.
they usually get rolling in the Fall and some go into Winter. But you will usually find one or two going on once seeds are ready to be picked/harvested.

it's a great way to get some new variety of seeds.

This is so much better than sprouting them in the house with heat and lights. When you use that method, you have tons of plants that all need to go into the ground at the same time. They are forced artificially to all sprout and grow at once. Sometimes it can be overwhelming, especially when the weather does not co-operate and you get a sudden cold snap or it rains for two weeks. I have lost so many seedlings in the spring because of time constraints. Letting seeds sprout when it is their time seems like the smart way to go. I am watching my containers and they are not all up at once. I admit I am torn between worrying that some are not going to sprout, while wishing some had not sprouted because it will be cold all week this week. LOL. It is great to hear that many sprouts just waited in their containers for you. I am looking forward to next year when I will be more prepared with containers and seed and am very happy about what I have sown so far this year.

Yes, it's March, but my sprouts START in March, continue for several months. I have sown perennials and hardy annuals. The annuals are things like nigella, petunia, and California poppies which will tolerate some cold temps.

For tender annuals, I follow the weather forecast. Around the last week of March or early April, if the outlook looks pretty good, I start sowing tenders like zinnias.

Karen

I held off on my zinnia seeds on the advice of someone on here as well..... how many weeks will it take for them to germinate? We will probably have at least a light frost around mid April.....

Genna

Ack!!! I know this has been spoken about before, but didn't see it.. We have a small freeze, possibly snow coming.. for the jugs already sprouting, do I need to cover them?? I know I don't for the ones that haven't, but want to be sure I won't kill off the sproutlets if I don't cover the others.

And on a side note..what about spring bulbs? Do they need covered? Most have been coming up like crazy and my pink hyacinth is all but blooming. It's supposed to be 25 degrees tonight and a high of 30 tomorrow. Should I cover the bed??

thanks :)
Chris

The worst I've ever had on spring bulbs is yellowing foliage from freeze damage. Don't know how cold it has to get to do more than that.

In their jugs, many wintersown plant sprouts will be fine with frost. It's a matter of degree and time I guess, but I've never lost a hardy annual or a hardy perennial from freeze. Tender annuals are another story. If you tell us what has sprouted, maybe someone could offer advice.

I have 6 jugs sprouted, temps to be 27 tonight. My babies are snuggled in their jugs, no other cover. But they are all ruds, petunias, poppies, gaillardia- things that I know have stood up well to the cold for me in the past. If I had sprouted zinnias, marigolds, coleus, or tomatoes, I'd be more concerned and give them more protection.

Karen

no sprouts here... thank heavens, as it is supposed to dip to 12°

eep!

yea... tell me about it. at about 9pm last night, it was 60° before the cold front rolled into town.

but, we are only supposed to be really cold for 2 days.... Friday should be back to the 40's.

as long as covers are on the containers and you didn't just come from real warm weather into freezing and you have tenders sprouting, you should be fine.

I have sprouts in my jug of Blue Flax today!

Anita: That's not always true. Some people told me that in my first year and I believed. I lost some tenders that way- zinnias and annual lupines I remember, but there were others, too. Now if really cold weather is predicted, I give protection to tender sprouts overnight and have never regretted it.

Karen

Jim: Congrats on the blue flax. They are such beautiful flowers.

Chris: Are your babies OK today? Did they survive the cold?

Karen

gen2026 wrote:

Thanks! You are more organized than me.... we have been working on multiple school projects all week, had a revival at church, and I am in charge of getting all the signs up for baseball season that I have sold thru the booster club....haven't had a chance to GLANCE at seeds!! Can you tell I need something to occupy my time like gardening?????? ^_^

Genna

Somebody want to start a new thread...