Any winter sow going on?

I shouldn't complain about our winter. No big snow dumps (yet) and I don't think we got below zero (real temp) this year. Not quite as gentle as last year but not bad. I was out catching rain water the other day by putting a bucket under the open spigot of my rain barrel. 'Course it was frozen by morning. Experimenting with not using my fluoridated city water on a few indoor plants.
Indoor seed-starting today! Yippee!

"City water" sounds like a dirty term to me.

Ha! With no access to a well here, it's city water for us. I do let the chlorine dissipate for a couple of days before using and most plants don't care too much. I did read a piece on fluoride in the water a couple of weeks ago and the effect on plants although I had wondered about all the fluoride that I apply to myself - toothpaste, mouthwash, drinking water - from time to time. Gosh knows what other stuff is in my city water (which comes from Lake Michigan).

That term"" city water"" I have heard that as long as i can remember , every time someone starts wondering "well maybe it's something in the water" .. I still do myself abut wondering what is in the water....
One of my romanesco plants fell over and wilted , oh well The others all still look good , Still 'well poop' when then happens !

You know Cindy' I was reading back through this and you have a long list of flowers and plants planned !!!! How is all or any that working out?

Hey Water from Lake Michigan!!! Fish Emulsified Salmon Water!!!!! Good organic fertilizer for plants.. Good thing it is filtered and processed when it comes to the old taste buds having a drink !!!!!Like drinking Aquarium water !!! lol

"Aquarium water" - you could be right!
I got some indoor sowing done today - finally! This is the first group -
Snapdragons - 3 types
Columbine - 4 types (stratifying in the fridge)
Blackberry lily (stratifying in the fridge)
Browallia speciosa
Campanula - 3 types
Carex 'Bowle's Golden' - seed getting kinda old so not sure if it will sprout and may not come true
Foxglove
Platycodon 'Fairy Snow' (balloon flower)
Thyme - 2 types
Savory

Also did some cuttings from Plectranthus 'Mona Lavender' and a variegated Fuschia (don't have the name handy).
In a couple of weeks, I'll start a few more herbs. The big push will be towards the end of March when I start the veggies and annuals.

Here is a not so god pic of a puffer fish Daylily cross, and more centurea..

Yea! More green stuff! Were those winter sown?

Started that way , brought them in under lights.. The weather doing what it does right now , for the next few weeks kills a lot of plants , new and old.

I haven't peeked at mine for about a week so don't know if anything has sprouted yet but I tend to doubt it. I know the milk jugs are getting enough moisture but not a lot of sun at this point as I've been keeping them out of the wind and away from curious raccoons (who I wish would at least hibernate through the winter).

Any of mine in grow bags of various aren't showing sprouts either . Except the runner starts of Uvaria, But they seem to be an evergreen ,
The few root starts of that as far as flowers , and the Hyacinths (the ones that always do) seems to be about it ,The strawberry Foxglove ,have stayed green all winter also .
All is is kind of dead looking around the greenery , I guess I know why so many homes have cedars, pines, and spruces.
There are or were, a few evergreen daylily seedlings in a couple of start bags , the last time I looked. Only a few plant seedlings, around like that aren't much in the way of green to look at .

Besides it will likely be covered by snow again tonight , Well I have my indoor seedlings to look at , I tend to want to over care for those lol Finally a couple things are right ,even if some things are still wrong
Reminds of saying ( well you have to take or have, the bad with the good) Thank you grand and parents ,,lol.

My foxglove in the garden didn't stay green as well as they did last year. Wondering how I'm going to trim away all of the yucky stuff and still retain enough plant. Might be my imagination but with all of the sleet/rain/snow, the lawn seems just a shade greener than the normal brownish color.

Some of the grasses do have some green shades here , today waiting for the snowstorm tonight and tomorrow , hearing and seeing some of you are going to have some snow also.
Haven't had the foxglove long enough to know that, about the plant.



Today's seedlings , you have seen them before , they are growing , !!!^_^

Yep - getting snow here. So far about 4" and has been coming down steady since this morning. It's not the big fat flakes that I expected but a little finer. DH will have to haul out the snow blower later. Bruised some muscles or I'd be out shoveling. Instead, rearranging the little GH to make room for the "growing on" of my first seedlings. I'm a hoarding recycler and had plastic food containers and water jugs everywhere, thinking I'd use them but my supply out-strips the demand so lots of plastic into the recycling container. Much more space now to get those plants I wintered over indoors back into growing condition. Had to move the 5 irises I saved from vole damage out into the sunny space as they were getting a little pale in the garage. Still hoping I'll get a few more survivors showing some green.

I did check on my winter sowing jugs yesterday but nothing green yet in there. I'm thinking it'll be another month before anything's brave enough to sprout.

Snowing the same here, flakes are getting bigger as night has fallen,
Plant and garden ?well maybe this weekend..
I sent some heirloom iris to a DG 'ER the other day , interesting you would bring those up ,Someone traded me some last fall and a little ""Amaryllis"" IRIS they said had not well for them is looking real good for me , one tiny little fan , has become three growing fans , and it has not even become growing season (neat one there)lol
Bought some plants today ,(M.O.) and will be looking forward to those if they are still processing their spring orders.
The plants inside in the cage are doing about the same , the tomato plants are still growing although one of them is needing more light ,
Lots of sprouts need attending too , A lot of Borage sprouts , only the good thing is I hear those like the cool weather , a might be for the early garden..
I am longing for a few nice days to do some arranging and constructing.. (moan or sigh?) ???

I haven't placed any mail orders yet this spring. Was contemplating it yesterday, trying to get everything from one place to save on shipping but will have to do some more research. Will try to get a few more seeds sown today indoors. Next week, it'll be time to pull the stratified seeds (mostly columbine) out of the fridge and get them going and then a bunch of stuff, including tomatoes, the following week. I generally sprout in the house under lights and then move out to the GH. Also need to do another batch of cuttings today, mostly coleus. I was happy to see 3 1/2 year old Browallia seeds sprouted. I generally collect those myself but last year's awful weather didn't produce a lot of blooms so had to rely on my old seeds.

Yippee! I checked my winter sowing milk jugs and found a few surprises. Two types of Nicotiana, columbine 'Woodside', poppy 'Pizzicato' and larkspur. I think there's a hellebore foetidus but not quite sure. Granted - there are only 1 of each so far but with the sun the past couple of days and the (hopefully) warming temps, there will be more this week.
I did sow some basil indoors on Monday and it's already sprouted under the lights so it's almost time to dispose of the declining basil cuttings that I've overwintered. The stems are starting to get woody so leaf production and retention is failing. Was nice to have over the winter though. Some of the snapdragons I sowed on 2/20 are ready to be planted up into individual plastic cups from their small 9-packs. The roots are developing fast.
Also starting to move some of the perennials destined for DD's new garden up to her in MI. A lot of them still dormant since they were stored outdoors over the winter but she's a zone warmer than I am.
Actually got a chance to work outside today, initial cleanup of my warmest, sunniest bed since the spring bulbs are starting to pop.

I don't have much going on in the way plants but at this hour . A baby (full grown) fledgling perregrin Falcon is sitting in my garden . thought you might like to see , The good camera is at the mall with my neice , wouldn't you just know it My winter sow efforts aren't there rather except one or two all failed . I just thought you might like that(the pic) though thinking about the trained birds and JB'S (BEETLES)
What do think will baby bird stay to help with the vole , mole and field mice thing? cooool huh? Maybe I should try growing falcons .?

This message was edited Mar 23, 2013 6:32 PM

Pretty neat pic! Are peregrines common in your neck of the woods? I have red tail hawks year round here. They occasionally go after the birds at the feeder but mostly just like to show off and look for other 4-legged creatures. Stray cats are a problem here - found a pile of feathers from a mourning dove along the side of the house. Would be cool if we could draw the birds' attentions to pesky bugs. Hmmm - maybe there's a training program out there?
Are you getting any snow down your way? It's been sunny and nice all afternoon and the sky is still clear here.

Beautiful sunny 50 degree day here , and we get a few hawks all summer they circle and look , and watch only they are not all tumblers or eastern this little one here I am pretty sure is (tumbler). It set up on one of the big garden pots as I got the better camera only it flew away hunting as it saw some little birds about 50 yds away , yep woke up and said it's dinner time .. !! I have seen Sparrow hawks and Spotted Dove Hawks also , you have to watch when your not though , to see them,,,
Winter storm warning tonight through Monday expecting 9 inches of snow to begin with , more in flurries following ...
Winter is getting to be a real pooper . I lost a few flowers that popped up out of the ground , and others aren't there or it wil be months before I see them .
On a good note purple prince tulips (below,)more than twice as many as last year , coming up and growing strong .one Jackmanii Clematis cutting is rooting ,and a half dozen more look good , Lost the first half dozen , so that is good to me!
I can't get poppes or larkspurs to grow for me here at all , so a good sincere congratulations to you for being able , both are a wonderful flower ... basil inside with me is ""not a chance""

Gorgeous tulips! I kinda gave up on tulips though because I get frustrated that they don't come back like perennials after a year or two in the ground. I generally stick with my ever-increasing daffodil group (no real knock-outs but reliable) and some of the smaller spring bulbs.
I think the only snow we're supposed to get is maybe 1" of lake effect snow on Monday. It's grey here today and cooler so I'm glad I got to spend some time outdoors yesterday.
I heard recently that red tail hawks like to swoop into places just to announce their presence to other predator birds. Have seen my local guy sit in a tree for a couple of hours, keeping other birds away from the feeder. But I've also seen him chase a bird right through a large holly bush which surprised me.

This group of Tulips is extremely hardy and well ,really the only group I have ever been able to keep well , my yellow tall emperor and red flame tulips half did not return last year and there is no sign they will return this year ..
3or 4 inches of snow this morning , so we got some of the storm here , might be more later , it is not snowing now and I hope it is done ,
I have a little clump of daffs and another of large blue Hyacinths that do okay , This time of year most of the Tulps and a few plants rot out , redundant .. every year ,
I have seen a large Hawk that most call the old chicken hawk , (the ones that circle high in summer) ,grab a squirrel from a garbage can , happened real fast and real silent ,in a blink , zoom!
Some of those are Falcons , some are Spotted hawks , three or four look similar at that distance , Only there is no mistaking when a tumbling falcon falls from the sky in dive , they look like they have been shot or have died as the fall , rolling , drifting in the air as they dive , then they grab something in their claw and are back up high in the air in no time ..
Earlier about your wintersow jugs even one or two is a start!! . When you get plants that way they uually look great !
A big strong plant or variety of flower are worth their weight in gold.. I never take my efforts to serious about this , and enjoy the plants I get ..It is nice when all or most gets along and proceeds well though..

I forgot to say thank you about the tulips , ! rain and sleet to snowing now to begin round two tonight
Daylily seedling today The saved from the not so good pot pic above

Do you do a lot of daylily cultivation or breeding? That seedling looks pretty robust to me. I don't have a lot of daylilies because I don't have room in the garden beds to accommodate all of their foliage.
We got about 1 1/2 inches of snow last night, starting around 8 pm. Hopefully it's done. It's right around freezing this morning.
I've never noticed the larger birds soaring around up there because I've always lived with large trees and focused more on the smaller birds. There's supposed to be some nesting bald eagles near the lake in town which surprised me. I am enjoying watching the goldfinches starting to moult their winter feathers and turning yellow again. We do feed them all winter, hoping they'll stay to help with the mosquito population in the summer.
Hoping to get some seedling transplanting done this week as well as getting some more seeds going. Just about time for the tomatoes.

Not a lot with the Daylily only everal are here that about the garden. Most of my attempts are that attempts , some outside rotted ,so I am glad I had these in here . I only wanted a few with names that were newer , some get pretty pricey , beyond me for now , but if I wanted them I would find a way, plant freak is me !lol Those are easy if your careful ..
Brings to mind warmer weather , looking at 55 to 60 coming for next week ,, ahh how sweet it will be!!!

About 7 inches of snow so far at it is still falling pretty good , 10 ,12, or so with wind drifts , yes, the snowstorm got here.

snow pic .
tomato seedlings, the new batch I took these this morning ,, I love my stump snow guage ,don't I, cool huh ? okay ,well. you know. I'm me lol

I heard that you got slammed with snow further south. That's almost a typical late winter snow storm scenario that we would see here. Had one about 12 years ago at the end of March that left us without power for almost a week.
Hoping to start those tomato seeds this week. First have to get chores out of the way (drudge).

Woo hoo! Tomatoes are up after 4 days and sweet peppers just starting to come up after 8 days. A few indoor columbine are up as well. Trying to get ahead with all the sprouts as another round of seed sowing to do in 2 weeks. All of the previously sprouted annuals and perennials have already been potted up and all indoor perennial and herb residents are outdoors for the time being (as long as it doesn't get below freezing). Hoping to get some rain here during the next week as it's pretty dry. I'll kick myself for saying that as I haven't started spring cleanup yet.

I just walked in and set down , I am dig cleaning a BES flower clump(s) This is a borrowed computer!! ,mine crashed at the end of last week ,
Hey Cindy ,that is great with the Tomato and Pepper starts !! swish !! I love those quick starts !!lol I was thinking of hardening my plants for another day , before leaving them outside ,.

OMG !! I got a bag full of Liatris from my winter sow bag ,, Look out now !!! THE weather might turn back to normal !!!LOL
My plants are sitting on the driveway for this afternoon , nice , Tomato plants Borage , a few flowers . more to come .. I started some Black purple pepper seeds a day ago . Back later , odds and ends to do....

Sat out on the porch with DH this afternoon - nice! We're supposed to get down to about 33 tonight so those pots outdoors got covered up for the night. Lugged two big potted hydrangeas out there as well with DH's help, trying to slow them down a bit as they love growing indoors. One belonging to DD already has a couple of flower buds on it. Won't be able to get it up to her place in MI until later this month.
Borage has such a pretty flower but I don't have the space for it. I have some Liatris in my garden but I don't think it likes me much. Maybe because I can't give it a prairie setting?

Some of my Liatris have grown well bloomed well and then did not return , I do not understand that little bulb maker either? Maybe because it is a bulb root ? and only a few of my bulbs do well.
Had you tried growing them like a Tulip or such? Something there maybe only I do not know for sure.

Really only delighted a bag of something in the winter sown had sprouted and grew .! Milkshake Coneflower has sprouted up . Some red Hyacinths I had forgotten returned , they weren't there last year , didn't come up and I thought they were gone ..No sign of my wild Lupines either so far ,, that's not good as this is their weather.
I had sown some lettuce outside in the garden and after the coming rain i am hoping it will grow . Had a marigold sprout today ,(saved seed ,last year) .
I am not sure yet , but two years after the fact a Penstemon (sunburst ruby) seems to have sprouted . I hope it is ..
Poppies did not return either , waiting a while to be sure ..
Tomorrow I might work on my concrete poles for the Tomato plants later .Fresh air and sunshine was real nice today wasn't it ..^_^

I wonder if Liatris is one of those plants that is picky? Mine are in a bed with other perennials, roses, etc and I do water that bed in the summer if it's dry. Maybe it doesn't like that. I know (from reading) that some bulbs don't like supplemental watering. What kind of poppies did you sow/plant? Nice, though, to have some surprises sprout. Cayenne pepper showed up this morning with indoor sowing. I'm always surprised when peppers take longer to sprout than tomatoes. Your lupines might show up yet. Definitely seems like spring is a little later here than usual - the forsythia haven't bloomed yet and none of the spring flowering trees are near ready to bloom.
Trundled plants outdoors this morning - some of the smaller things that might get too chilly at night yet. And I don't necessarily want them rained on yet because the stems are still young so I'll have to keep them protected next week if/when we get rain.

Giant red and a smaller perennial white poppy is what I had started ,I might try some annuals . The plants setting in the drive are getting wind blown today ,
Little cherry and Huckleberry plants was all I left outside last night , More the little trees and natives that nearly grow all year
I will get around to my sprouts and other garden vegies as I get comfortable with all the little detail work . Wind is a little chilly this morning only should warm up nicely later this afternoon .Pole and set work n the garden to do as comfortable then.
Some plants do well ,others not so well always that way . Making special sets for plants requires a lot of detail sometimes , really have to want or like a plant for that..
Still as to flowers last years fall plants all look pretty good so far ,so I am a happy camper there , It is just that Goldie the ground hog keeps coming by and having Daylily potato salad with a milkweed juice and I am not so happy that. Been here so often that name came from everyone who decided it is a pet now ..grrr

Sorry your "pet" is making your life miserable.
Looking forward to tomorrow's weather - almost 20 degrees warmer here. I am hoping it rains or I'll have to water my milk jugs sitting outdoors for winter sowing.

All things being for ""The Love of Nature""" Good thing sometimes , When I get a computer I will try some new pics , I got a couple of ""good ones"" with sisters new camera , but I have no system to load them .
Potting up two to three week old Tomato plants and the Romanesco is nearly three feet tall , only that is more the other thread .
Possibly a couple of Cardinal flowers and Pentsemons are up ,they are to small to tell for sure , and some of the tutti fruitti Lupines have returned or sprouted these were all seeds last fall .

Glad to hear your lupines are showing up. My tomato seedlings are still putting out their first set of true leaves so I won't be potting them up until next week. Today's horticultural chore is potting up some coleus cuttings I took weeks ago. They're crammed into 4-cell packs and need more root space.

Well I am beginning to and hardening off my tomato plants , Only 50 or low 50's the next few nights so my plants will remain outside.
Broke one of the first seven I started months ago (drat) the others look good , The ones I started about three weeks ago kept right on growing and were not disturbed with the process at all (good thing!)
As it is ,lost one maybe of 25 or 26 plants( I am still too ,too clumsy with my plants
The Centeurea Cornflowers look just right as does a Robinson's red mum..
Huckleberries look a little sun burned but seem allright .
I threw a bunch of old seeds in front of the Zebra grass last fall and have tons of little flower sprouts , without any idea of what they are !? Will see if any of them make it to maturity ..
Yes indeed outside to back inside for the next two months with the plants ,Finding out now if any of the Bean seeds are good or not ,also a pot of zinnia got planted today! Concrete pole towers for plants to grow on are well under way , lots and lots to do !!!

Tomato plants can be tricky to transplant or move when they're bigger. I learned a few years ago when I started them indoors with not enough light and had to stake them before they even made it into the ground. Talk about challenging.
We did get a few sprinkles on and off last night but not the steady rain we really needed. Would love to be spending more time outdoors this weekend but we're installing a new shower door - a real pain. Did get all of my coleus potted up so I did accomplish something. Need to get dahlia, kale and 4 o'clocks started this week. Had read another thread about using 4 o'clocks to discourage JBs. Thought I'd give that a try instead of trying to hand pick every one like last year. Might also try a trap this year if I can figure out where to put it in my limited space.

This all became another thread but so be it , Well it is what I get for trying to be ,, well you know ... lol It is interesting that the skinny little Romanesco turned out to be the larger plant ,
The Farmsteads that I only had two seeds of ,one is the larger I may have lost the other looks well and is a foot tall .Usual thing is, I would say it is what happens for being extreme without a greenhouse or indoor green space to grow early .
Sometimes when I get the plants right though I get lots more to munch on and so forth and that is the worth doing part .early fresh vegies .. all my own!!!he he .
Planted some more Huckleberry and pepper seeds . I will try the onions , some already in the garden , more shortly though .
Good luck with the shower doors , those things are a fright sometimes . I have installed a few ..