What Have You Winter Sown So Far? (Page 3)

Hello all! The other thread was getting a bit leggy, so here's a new page. We came from here:
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1245290/#new

I haven't done any news ones yet, but i have a small collection of 2Ltr containers and a list of seeds i really need to get done.
maybe today....

Pity . . . I have begun putting unused milk jugs in my recycle bin...

We do not go thru that much milk... so i'll save mine for the next year. that's if i get to them before they go out in the recycling.

Terese good luck. I have been collecting donations from everyone in my neighborhood. :)

I tried to use last year's milk jugs and some of the plastic was so brittle it shattered. O well....

I might be about done sowing. Or just exhausted.

Have a great day.
A.

I am definitely done Winter sowing, been done for a while now. Now it's on to "regular" sowing! =)

Thank you tcs, for directing page 2 over to here. I thought I was forgetting something! < =/

So you all ever use your jugs for starting cuttings?

Nope Anita - what happens here is that the tops get cut off the jugs and I let the seedlings get air and light and grow at least the 2nd set of leaves before transplanting them into bigger containers.

I keep the milk jug tops to use after I transplant stuff into the ground. When it gets hot in the sun some of the new seedlings need some of that diffuse light and protection so the jug lids come out.


The bottoms don't stay around too long after the seedlings come out!

I prefer the 2 ltr pop bottles for ws'ing. I ran out of them and had to start saving them again as I was still sowing. I have some milk jugs for back up, but didn't use them. I think last count I had about 84 out there. A bunch of them have put on the 2nd set of leaves, so I removed their tops for a while yesterday then put them back on. Today it was 90* (no April fool!!!) so I took them off and left them. Have them ready if I need to put back on. I am afraid I am going to have to start potting them up because I don't like to plant before May 1st. I did set out some seed today, which I can always redo if needed. They won't germinate for a couple of weeks, and April 15th'ish is our last freeze date.

Patti - I've started transplanting things into the garden and seriously doubt we will be getting that last frost before April 15. :P

A.

DH was telling me they werwe talking about the weather yesterday. We had the warmest March on record this year. There were 2 other years almost as warm (like less than a degree) and they had a frost and freeze respectively in April. Then a milder than normal summer. THAT would be a blessing after last summer! UGH Hate to think about it. It was 90* here today.

How big are the plants you are transplanting? I don't want them to die off in the jug, but don't want to kill them in the garden either. Hmmmmmmmmmmm

OK -- today i am finding DG V E R Y slow.

Ya know...I thought it was either the connection or my computer that has been running slow for the last few weeks, but now I'm thinking it might just be the DG site that's causing problems. I view countless other sites that seem to run fine.

Al

Happy Birthday, AmandaEsq, hope you had an amazing day;~)

This message was edited Apr 6, 2012 11:58 PM

Amanda -- Happy Birthday to you -- Hope you have a grand day!!

yesterday I did 3 more containers.... all the empties are finally off the kitchen counter.... 2 Zinnias, Purity and Profusion and some Agastache Golden Jubilee

This message was edited Apr 7, 2012 7:21 AM

Still waiting for the first batches to germinate. We have had snow for the last two days. Very light but it will stay on the ground we have reclaimed from the winter's snow until the sun comes out. Hopefully today. 35.6F this morning

Brrrrrrrrrrrrrr.

greets all and thanks for the bday wishes. cmputr kybrd broken and using it "on-screen." Ha!

LOTS of seedlings but some cool nights slowing me down a bit. weds. night = last cold one for a while (42 deg) then back up to mid-50s....

i saw sprouts tonite in the neighbor's raised bed I planted last week!

A.

Most of my WS seeds are at least sprouted, except the Orlaya grandiflora, which has never germinated for me. *sigh* I also started some inside...none there, either.

My garage is full of all sorts of plants from really big dahlias and gladiolas to newly sprouted Rose of Sharon and planted today two types of marigolds, and squash, and hollyhock. the deck is WS and has two itsy bitsy germinations. Nicotiana and

I have tons of seedlings in my ws'ing! I'm so excited to get them planted, just going to wait a little while yet. I have one that is about 4" tall that I could go ahead and plant. I'm confused though. Seed said Columbine, but it doesn't have the shamrock shaped leaves like my others. Do different varieties have different leaves?

I was pleasantly surprized when I was walking around my big bed in the front yard. I have not cleared the leaves out of it yet, waiting until after May 1st so nothing gets a late frost/freeze. I have a lot of things coming up through the leaves, when I saw a beautiful purple and white Columbine blooming. I planted last year but thought it was dead. I have several things coming up that I thought the heat had killed. Looks like they just went dormant to save themselves. YIPPEE!!!

I have a question about Siberian Iris. Do they spread like regular iris do, or are they just a single?

Our 80 & 90 degree temps have been gone for a while. We've been in the high 60's to mid 70's. Nights have been high 40's and 50's, so everything is good for now. Knock on wood. Some of my ws'ing is going in the new bed we are making out front of the house. Just need to get it finished up.

Aha. Something I know ab out. Siberian Iris get to be bigger and bigger clumps. You dig them up (don't wait too long or they get really tough to dig and break apart) and split into a gazillion plants and spread around the yard. They multiply pretty fast around here.

YIPPEEEE from me too, Crit, on your Columbine Surprise! < =) Don't ya just LOVE when that happens!?

I'm not having any luck at all with my butterfly bush seeds, only ONE germination/sprout in all the 12 jugs that I winter sowed... but then I was out 'cleaning up' some plants at work yesterday and it hit me. The main grouping of plants that I needed to clean up were butterfly bushes that had been frost damaged. If it's been too cold for full-on plants to like, then maybe it's been too cold for the seeds to germinate? I'm gonna be patient for another month or so and see if they come around. Your thoughts please?

Speedie, when did you ws your bb? I think I have germination so I bet you will soon. I have had to cover my seedlings for the past couple of days. We have had low temps. When is your last frost date?

Someone on one of the threads said they set the jugs that didn't sprout aside somewhere and after the next winter, they sprouted that spring. Just didn't get enough cold stratification the first time I guess.

Yes, I read that one too. They were glad they hadn't thrown them out. I have heard however if you water the seeds then they dry out that they can die. I am getting worried about mine. Although I did have a Bachelor button germinate today. I moved them out where they could get snowed or rained on.

We have had 2 1/2" of rain in the last 24 hours. Don't think I will have to water my jugs! ^_^ I do think I will set the ones that don't germinate in a place where I can keep them watered through the summer then let them set through next winter. Heck, may be we just didn't have a cold enough winter to do them good. Some of them are coneflowers. They may sprout yet. I keep seeing hints of green leaves in some of the containers that hadn't done anything yet, so I could be rushing them. The salvia and snapdragon seeds I planted in my garden are beginning to sprout. Took them a little longer than the package said, but we have had ample rain so did not have to water them.

Thanks for the infor on the Siberian Iris Mary. That helps a lot!

I got sprouts from a couple of jugs I took out of the fridge last week.

During the warm spell in March a lot came up but some . . nothing still.

Yesterday in the lizard's room I found a sprout of Abelmoschus manihot/Sunset hibiscus which I had all but given up on, but I have been watering dutifully since February!

In other words, don't give up hope. :)

A.

The only plant I wintersowed, starting in Octobe 2011 was my crosses of iris seeds. They are sprouting. I use plastic shoeboxes from Walmart to sow seeds in then leave the container covered all winter. They won't sprout without 12 weeks of flunctuating temperature.

Photos of sprouted irises April 1, 2012.
Second photo shows how they are stored over winter on the north side of my house.

Diamond, my last official frost date was April 15th, so I'm not panicking.... yet. =/ I think I may have been lax in the watering department and let them dry out at some point though, so I'm not gonna hold my breath either. I noticed yesterday while watering that I've got a few new sprouts that I didn't have on Friday, (not the BB, however), so I dunno... I guess I'll just set them aside and give 'em time. Yesterday's temps went up around 80, and today is supposed to hit around 90 (good thing I soaked everything good yesterday!), so who knows, maybe they just need more warmth?? I can be patient. =) Oh, and I remember reading that too, about someone whose BB seeds didn't germinate the first year, but they came up the following year. I will not give up! Oh, and I think it was mid-January when I sowed them. Don't remember off the top of my flat head and my journal is downstairs and I'm lazy and don't feel like going down there to get it. LOL!

Crit, WHEEEEEEE!!! Yay for your rain!! =)

Patti - I will be connecting another 55 gal. drum to a downspout tomorrow!

I told DH I wanted one (OR MORE!) of the drums to catch water. Anniversary is April 23 and birthday in May. Sure hope I get one. I have a spot in my gutter that has a small leak, and I keep a big bucket under it to catch rain water.

Blomma, what do you havwe your seeds plantd in? Do your shoe boxes have holes for air or drainage?

Well, finally for sure. Shirley poppies, Angel's Choir and Red Shirley's. The other poppies from OSPS weren't doing well in what I planted them in, not the soil but the container, so I brought them in to see if I could salvage at least some of the plants. Oh, also some dwarf marigolds oddly enough germinated after about 12 days. Weird that they should germinate so quickly. It is only 46F today and that is about right for the morning late. It is clouded over so we won't get much warmth from the sun. I took the lids off the germinated ones, sprayed them for moisture and put them back out side.

Anita, the seed are planted in plastic shoe boxes from Walmart. Some call them sweater boxes but are the size of shoeboxes. Yes, I made drainage holes with a red hot nail.

Each shoebox is placed in a larger plastic bin for safety. This is their 2nd year of use. Much easier than milk jugs and last longer.

I use a drill to make drainage holes in things.

Me too. Tried the hot nail thing and decided the cordless drill with a small bit was just the thing. but I do like shoe box idea. the reusable part of it. And the ease of planting and viewing

Blomma, are you all sowing in vermiculite or potting mix? Do you drill holes in the lid? Are you enclosing the shoe box in another container with the lid on it? Are you sowing perennials or annuals? I like the idea if reusing the containers.



This message was edited Apr 18, 2012 3:41 PM

I reuse the 2 ltr Pepsi bottles and also save up more in case I need them. I prefer them to the milk jugs because you can see better. I take the wrap around label off. I put potting mix in the bottom and about an inch of seed starter on the top. They seem to do real well this way. I drill 2 or 3 holes in the bottom of the bottle and put them in old plastic tubs that were used for filing papers, until they started to crack or break. That makes them just perfect for me as they will drain out as well. I've also heard of people putting string around several bottles to give them strength against wind. Makes them more sturdy than just one jug.

I have several that I am going to pot up today from my bottles. I LOVE seeing all the new plants I have now!

Crit, then do you cut off the tops when they germinate? or do you do that to begin with and cover with a baggie to hold in moisture. Still looking for the easiest container. I have used all sorts of things including flats