First Time Wintersowing #7: The sproutlet watch.

I hope they're not drowning - or too waterlogged and turned to mush. Guess I'll know soon.

What type of pots are you guys using for winter sowing? I was planning on getting started earlier but I have been so busy! I tried a few last year but I thought the milk jugs dried out quickly. Anyone using window boxes?

Hi, dl friends :)

Teresa in KY

Hi Teresa,

I would think that it would need to be something with a lid? A few of my milk jugs seem to be a little dry. I think they are the ones where I cut them too low to put enough soil in. The ones that have a good amount of soil seem to be staying moist. I also used the miracle grow with moisture control for some of them. I think that helped keep the moisture in there. Not sure exactly what the difference is, as this is my first year. I also used a lot of Juice containers. Those are pretty solid and seem to be fairing pretty well.

Teresa,

here is my thoughts on your situation... .

you are a warmer zone - at least warmer than me. So i'd think many of your snow days are over... though with this goofy weather we are all getting... one never knows....

anyhooo -- my neighbor does what you are suggesting, though she may do it in May ... but again, you are warmer than we are.

My thoughts on "the lid" -- protects the seeds/seedlings from the torrential rains that could wash them away.
I have some nursery pots - that were in a big clear tub, and i've taken them out and they are just out there sitting with the rest of my containers.... if it's gonna rain i;ll 'put them away' so they dont get drenched.

all i can say is... give it a try.

Terese

Teresa, I have mine in just regular pots that plants would come in when you buy them from a nursery. I wash them out real well and then I sow the seeds in them and place them in clear plastic storage bins with holes in the bottom and in the lid. They are doing quite well.

Karen

I have lots of sproutlets....maltese cross, shasta daisy,allyssum, balloon flowers, butterfly weed,etc, but finally, I can see the variegated pokeweek germinating( beautiful little red stems). I was worried about them...lol. Now, if the variegated lavatera, would just give me a sign.Does anyone know if they are late sprouters?I have been a gardener for years,but this is my first time winter sowing, and I'm loving it!
DeeS

perenniallyme, what have you sown so far? I've still got over 50 containers with no sprouts (56 have sprouted), and I think that's normal for what I've got sown. I've read posts from some other members in the northeast that haven't got sprouts yet, so I'm betting you just haven't had enough days of warmth in a row yet.

Thanks everyone for your help. I have off tomorrow so maybe I can get a few planted.

Isn't it amazing how fast time goes... i still can not believe it's April.

I know there are more seeds i need to sow... i've really been dragging my feet though.

What is your favorite source for flower seeds?

Mine -- the good folks here on Daves. Swaps and trades.
I did get in on the SummerHill seed co-op... but i rarely buy seeds anymore.

Neal, I can't find my list right now but this is what I remember - 5 varieties of digitalis, a couple of kinds of gentian, helenium autumnale, a few kinds of gaillardia (these didn't germinate for me indoors), a few echinacea that also didn't germinate for me indoors, candy lily, blackberry lily, 2 cultivars of delphinium grandiflorum, a few kinds of poppy, 2 kinds of tricyrtis, pulsatilla, butterfly weed, crocosmia, lewisia, columbine and a few more.

DeeS,
I've never grown variegated lavatera before. I WSed 9 seeds on 9 January and got 1 seedling on 20 March. Maybe more will come, but I can't use a whole bunch of these anyway!

My first WS tomato sprouted today!!! I haven't even seeded the indoor tomato plants yet!!!

Way to go on the tomato! Woohoo. I still need to plant those seeds. You have inspirded me to do it today.

No fair, Jim...I haven't started on veggies yet! but can i ask why are you doing indoor ones if you ws'ed them?

it was nice enough wednesday that I got sunburn on my neck when i was making another 15 or so jugs, then today the temps started dropping again. Colder weather is due monday and tuesday and i'm going, 'yesssssss' thats exactly what i need for my WSing'. =)
any other year, and I'd be praying for summer. =D

Of course you can ask, Phyl! An old teacher of mine told me that the only stupid question was the one you didn't ask.

When I was a kid, my Father worked in a feed mill, and the farmers he knew gave him tomato, onion and pepper plants which he grew in our garden. I continued to use plants until we moved abroad, about 25 years ago. Then, whenever I gardened, I usually had to rely on seeds because I either couldn't speak the local language enough to ask for plants or they just were not available. These days, I don't/won't buy plants because they are either too expensive or not the varieties I want.

25 years of indoor sowing is a tough habit to break.

I usually grow 6-12 varieties each year (at least 24 plants) and, since we moved here, have become the local source of "interesting varieties" of tomato plants for a half-dozen other gardeners. Consequently, I need a reliable supply of healthy, vigorous plants that will yield a decent crop of tomatoes in our season. Indoor sowing does this. I know that and know the techniques and can rely on it. But, . . . this year, I decided to experiment with WS for tomatoes by WSing 3 of the tomatoes I will grow. I wanted to see, first of all, if I would even get plants. Then, I wanted to see WHEN I got plants; and, finally, I will plant those side-by-side with indoor grown plants to evaluate performance.

I'd LOVE (and Ms Marta would love it even more!!) to stop growing plants indoors! But. . . . I also have nearly 120 cells (that will eventually become pots) sown indoors of the 50 or so peppers and chiles I want to grow this year, as well as another 20 pots of eggplant! I always sow twice as many cells/pots as I will actually use so that I can plant the best and give the others away!

Well, having gone long-winded as usual, I'm going to take a break and go out and sit with a beer in our unusual (this year, anyway) sunny, almost 60s day!

Cheers,
Jim

Perenniallyme, we've WS several of the same things! Poppies and then Digitalis are the ones I'd expect first- those have germinated for me, the Foxglove just in the last couple of weeks and I think 2 of 4 varieties sown are up. I have a couple of single Echinacea sprouts in a couple of different containers, and 1 columbine variety sprouting out of 6 varieties sown. One of the 2 varieties of Helenium I've sown is up too. Last year candy lily and blackberry lilies were later to sprout for me, after warm temps were here to stay, and this year's haven't sprouted yet. My butterfly weed, Gentian and Delphinium haven't sprouted yet either. The others I haven't tried, but I think you'll be seeing sprouts soon. The only one that would give me concern is the Poppies- do you have more seeds? You may want to try direct sowing a few if you still have seed.

Discovering w'sing has been the best thing since slice bread for me! I don't have the room to grow the quantity I currently sow and if I purchased the same quantity of what I sow, I'd be looking for a bail out package for myself!

Here is my germination list so far:
Agastache foeniculum 'Golden Jubilee'
Alcea ficifolia [Double Apricot]
Alcea ficifolia Nigra
Antirrhinum majus 'Choice O.P. Mix'
Antirrhinum majus 'Magic Carpet'
Aquilegia formosa
Bellis perennis 'Habanera Mix'
Borago Officinalis
Calendula officinalis
Consolida ambigua mix
Consolida regalis 'Blue Cloud'
Convolvulus tricolor Dwarf Rainbow Flash
Dahlia variabilis Bishops Children
Dahlia variabilis Collarette Dandy
Dahlia-Unwin'S Dwarf Mixed Colors
Delphinium chinensis 'Blue Butterfly'
Digitalis grandiflora Pink Champagne
Digitalis purpurea 'Alba'
Digitalis purpurea Candy Mountain
Digitalis purpurea 'Glittering Prizes'
Eschscholzia californica Appleblossom
Eschscholzia californica Carmine King
Eschscholzia californica Mission Bells
Helianthus annuus Italian White
Helianthus annuus 'Moonwalker'
Helianthus annuus Pastiche
Malva sylvestris subsp. Mauritiana
Malva sylvestris 'Zebrina'
Nicotiana x sanderae
Nicotiana x sanderae Sensation Mix
Papaver orientale
Papaver orientale Brilliant
Papaver somniferum
Phacelia dubia Lavender Lass
Phacelia viscida Tropical Surf


I did notice alittle leaf burn on a couple of the dahlia seedlings, but other than that all are looking good. The california poppy are getting real big and just about ready for transplant into the garden. I also noticed there are volunteers in the garden as well - but then I've gotten them since my first planting in 2006

Gee Neal, you have excellent taste in perennials! Thanks for the info. The poppies won't bother me too much if I don't get them - I have very little sun space available, and really only room to squeeze in a few (and hoping a few of my icelandics will return). I have some of all foxglove varieties that I started indoors - and my indoor candy lilies and blackberry lilies are getting huge. Have some delphinium sprouts indoors, but most of the grandiflorum "summer blues" that are my favorites and I hunted for all over the place, didn't make it. There were only 20 seeds in the pack. but the grandiflorum "delphix blue" from Jonna is doing a lot better. Also butterfly weed is doing well indoors and lewisia too. My main disappointments were tricyrtis latifolia and the gentians. Sure hope I get some in the wintersowing - and the pulsatilla turc-something that Jonna found for me.

YESSSS!!!! Today I have two teeeeeny strawflower sprouts, and one each of foxglove and datura -- those two are literally the size of the END of a pin, not even the head. Maybe I'm not hopelessly brown-thumbed after all.

Congrats on the sproutlets!

Excellent!

Congrats on your sprouts, Crabgrass!

I still have not had any of my digitalis but one sprout yet, and none of my columbines have sprouted. I do have 2 or 3 delphiniums up, and still waiting on others. All my lupins have sprouted, and within a week, too! I'm hoping I will see more digitalis and columbine up soon.

Karen

Karen -- last year for me.. my Columbines took MONTHS to germinate.

Jim, i completely understand.

do we have any other herb/veggie wintersowers in this group and do you have any other suggestions for us newbies.

as far as perennials.......i am amazed at how easy its been. i'm just afraid to give up my most cherished pepper/tomato seeds .

nanniepb, I am also a first timer but have successfully germinated spinach, kale, chard, radish, thyme, salvia officinalis, chamomile, parsley, and dill, all wintersown. 'Tis doable. ;-)

decided not to try wintersowing my tomatoes or peppers tho as I discovered my sunny windowsills seem fine and it is still a bit too nervewracking with stuff outside in the freezing nights. But if you have enough space, seeds, and time, do both and see what works? I chickened out at the last minute and also because I saw some things work in the windows I did not expect to succeed, so.

The wintersown ones above mentioned that have germinated here -- forgot to include onions -- are now getting covered when it dips below 30 degrees cause I figure it's easy enough to throw the cloths over them every night, why risk anything now that they are up and doing so well?

;-)

Nights are supposed to be in the low to mid 20's the first of the week. Can I just cover the sprouts or should I bring them in? Weatherman is saying bad things like hard freeze and light snow.

Kathy, I am in the same situation with nighttime temps and I am covering everything that has sprouted every night. So far that has been sufficient. I only brought in some things that had been planted out in containers that I had no good way to cover.

I did a new sowing of 8 jugs the other day, though, and I am purposely leaving them uncovered. They can germinate after this mess is over. ;-)

Sorry guys this thread has gotten pretty long.....

Here is a new one!


http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/971421/

Come on over!

Thanks Kyla. These sudden cold blasts are worrisome. I will go out and cover them this evening and hope for the best. I hate to bring them in or something and then have to harden them off later because they got accustomed to warm inside temps.

Well finally I see a few teeny sprouts of digitalis laevigata and digitalis trojana! They're not even green yet, but I can see the little white root. The tops still have the seed casing on them, but at least something's doing something!!!

Hi perenniallyme, we got us a new thread as this one was getting long, and it is here:
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/971421/