Haven't a clue what I'm doing.....

so, I went ahead and put out about a dozen containers. My question, when should I start to see seedlings? Once the weather starts to warm, is that when they start to germinate? Anyone in zone 4 have seedlings yet?

Germination will occur sporadically. It depends on the type of seeds that you have sown. Yes, more seeds will germinate when the temps start to rise and stay consistantly warmer at night too.

yes - look at the seed packs too - that will give you an indication of who will sprout sooner - depends on germination time as well

Welcome to winter sowing.....I think you'll be hooked once you get your seedlings. You've got drainage holes and air holes (on the top), right? If you've done that, all you have to do is make sure the soil doesn't dry out and once it warms up, you should get sprouts. What kind of seeds did you plant?

I'm in the same boat......"Haven't a clue what I'm doing". This is my first time winter sowing, but it sure seems like a good idea. And.....it's freeing up some space inside my house.

Questions: Do the winter sown seeds eventually catch up to the seeds sown indoors, or will the plants be a bit farther behind? Are we getting healthier plants by winter sowing?

I'm thinking that it is going to be awhile before mine sprout.

I know "it depends" is the world's most frustrating answer, but it's still the right one. Different seeds have different needs, germination times & temps, so there's no "one size fits all." But winter planting/sowing is the most gentle way to find these things out, IMO. Will winter sown seeds catch up? They will if they're a bit cold hardy, and they'll already be accustomed to the elements and therefore more tough and strong. If you look over the list of things folks have winter sown, it's everything from the warmth-loving moonvine to cold-hardy kales and stocks. Wish this were more helpful! Next year you can start a bit earlier and see how your results differ; I plan to.

A helpful site for me is the Thompson and Morgan website. They give germination information for each type. Much of that doesn't apply to wintersowing, (e.g. "start indoors under lights 6 wks before last frost") but some of the stuff can give you a guide (e.g. "needs cold stratification", "needs light to germinate"), that kind of thing.

Karen

New and seasoned WSers: Please use www.wintersown.org as an excellent reference guide whenever you have questions about wintersowing. It has lots of information, step-by-step illustrations, what your sprouts look like once they germinate and lots of other very good material. The majority of your questions will be answered on this website.

That is where I got most of my information, and it was excellent. However, not having done this before does fill one with some uneasiness. If this works well for me tho, both my mom and sister are going to give it a try next year. It would be so nice if I was successful since they both think I'm a little nuts. LOL

Marie

Merryma - I planted Columbine, Blue Star and Wm Guinness; Blue Flax; Rudbeckia, Irish Eyes; Poppy, Pink Peony; Achillea, The Pearl; Larkspur, Early Grey; Coreopsis, Mahogany Midget; Zulu Prince Daisy; Chinese Forget-Me-Nots and Larkspur, The Seven Dwarfs.

I know I should know better, but I can't help but pick them up every morning to see if anything has happened.

Shirley, I've read that material 3 or 4 times, but until I actually go through the entire process (successfully), I'll probably continue to question whether I did it "right" or not.

Thanks for all the feedback.

LOL, Nuts??? My neighbors have been asking me about all the little domed baking pans sitting out in the middle of my yard and then last night, I was sprinkling grated Irish Spring soap (bright green mind you) all over my garden beds after I discovered a munched lily. My neighbor just shakes his head and says "why did I even ask?"

Beaker, everything except your columbine should come up right on schedule, especially since you're in a nice cold Zone 4. But columbine seems to take its time sprouting. Don't give up on any containers, though. I've had things sprout in June that I figured were rotted or duds.

This is my fourth year winter sowing. I know it's hard to beleive, but this does work. :) I got a late start myself.....I just put out some seeds two weeks ago. And a couple of them have sprouted already. Don't worry, once you get some consistently warmer weather, they'll start to pop. Your achillea and flax will probably be some of the first. Larkspur I can't telll you much about......I've never had a lot of luck starting it. I'm giving it one more try. If it doesn't sprout after that, I'm going to figure I wasn't meant to have it.

Another couple of seeds I don't see on your list, but would be quick sprouters are Hollyhocks and Bachelor Buttons. If you feel like doing a couple more containers, those are good for instant gratification.

Marie: You'll receive LOTS of positive reinforcement on this forum, learn through everyone's successes and failures (yes, I already have 2 that died), great tips, photos to show you how germinated seeds will look and best of all will be the blooming plants themselves. A picture is always worth a 1,000 words! Just keep asking questions, it's the best way to learn!!

beaker_ch: Yes, it definitely is a lot more meaningful to go through the entire wsing process than to just read it on a website. WSing is TOTALLY addicting! Keep watching those seeds.....SPROUT! And don't feel bad about sprinkling grated shavingings of Irish Spring soap, I think it's a GREAT idea! My neighbors know that I'm totally nuts about gardening, but they are always very greatful when I share my flowers & veggies with them!

BTW, my Columbine have all germinated, maybe because I'm in zone 7. Do others have germination on this genus in colder zones? Just wondering....

The Zulu Prince Daisy has started showing, so I opened up the holes a bit. Now what? They are just itty, bitty things. Do I wait til they are bigger to transplant to peat pots? These never come indoors, right?

Right, you definitely don't want to bring them inside. Just keep the containers from drying out, but not soggy. As the weather warms up, open your vents a little more. When you're reasonably safe from frost, you can plant them right out in your garden. You can do this when they're still very small.....I plant out when they have their second set of true leaves. One thing I like about winter sowing is not having to do that middle step of repotting the seedlings. Since they've been outdoors the whole time, they're hardened off already.

After this coming week of sun - I should be able to plant out quite a few.

Just to qualify what merryma said, they are hardened off already *if* the vents have been opened enough to give them a taste of real wind and weather. I take the top off entirely before the second set of true leaves appear: then I prep their bed and plant when the second set is fully open.

One zinnia up. Had to water tonight. If they look dry, did they get too dry?

I did the same Zeppy - most of my lids are off and the milk containers folded back. I think the sprouts are doing better out that way. I even have temps in the 30's and they seem fine.

I saw a few more Zinnia tonight and some Chinese Forget-Me-Nots and Anchillea The Pearl. That's 4 out of 14 containers. Sure is nerve wracking. Not sure when I should take the lid off. I put some massive slits in the tops last night to get water in.

I have dispensed with most lids; only a few remain. Those guys are pretty much on their own now.

The weather is really getting warm now. It's amazing how hot it gets in those containers as soon as the sun hits them. I was afraid they'd fry so I just pitched the lids.

Karen

A Message for Maryma in Auburn, Maine:

I grew up in Auburn and went to Edward Little High School -- graduated in '66 -- how about you? I now live in New York City during the week and garden in the Hudson Valley on weekends ...

Sharron

crockny: I live in Cincinnati

Karen

Crockny,
Actually, I'm in Auburn, Mass.....but I work for BJs Wholesale and they have a club in Auburn, Me......that must count for something, right? :)

Beaker, sounds like you're right on target with your lids. Just reember, though....as you open up your "vents", your containers will dry out that much faster. It's sort of like a catch 22. Just keep doing what you're doing. Once it's not cold at night, you should be okay to plant out.

Back to "haven't a clue". I potted up some seedlings tonight and what a mess. Someone please tell me that that these little buggers are tougher than they look. Some of them, by the time I got to putting them in their little pot, didn't even have any dirt left on the root. The ones that look the best are the zinnia that I planted one seed in each little peat pot. Of course I only got 5 plants out of a dozen. The Zulu Prince went wild and they potted up OK. The Achillea only had 3 plants and potted OK. The there was the midget Mahogoney Coreopsis. They all must of sprouted. The columbine are still coming along and there's not much in the other containers. Either nothing or one or two teeny seedlings. To tell the truth, if I do this again next winter, I think I'll use the peat pots like I did with the zinnia and maybe put 3 or 4 seeds in each pot and pull the weakest. If they're going to die on me, how quick will it happen? I'm going back to the Lily Forum now, where I feel safe...

Oh dear.......I haven't gotten around to potting anything up yet. I tried to space out my seeds in their milk cartons......and while some have sprouted, others are still just sitting there. Perhaps I have some duds. Looking forward to advice from the pros before I try to repot.

Is there a reason for repotting? Can you plant directly to your garden beds? I know there are lots of wintersowers that do repot but in the 3 years I have been doing this I haven't repotted any of my seedlings. For the containers with a gazillion sprouts(Sweet William, Godetia, Alyssum, Poppies, Agastache, Dianthus) I do hunk-of-seedling planting. For others that are their own distinct sprout I use a plastic spoon or fork to gently remove from the soil and plant in the space I want them to grow. I have planted out very tiny seedlings and worried that they will never grow into larger plants but they do.

Michelle

I've done the same Michelle. Of course, this is my first year sowing out as well, but I feel confident that they will do well. The ones I planted out in April are doing fine.

beaker_ch: Don't give up now! You're in the home stretch! Yes, those little sprouts are hardy. They survived your winter in MN! They have to be strong & determined!! :~) Just put them in the ground and they will continue to grow. DON'T use peat pots because they dry out to fast and they also get mold growing on the outside of the pot during the rainy season. After you've visit the Lily Forum, please come back here! Stick to WSing....you won't go wrong!!

Hum...well nothing died today, unless they died and stayed green. Went over to the lily forum and someone had a virus in their lilies. Scary stuff, so back here for now.

The reason I potted the seedlings is because I don't have room for all these plants. I figure if I can keep them alive for another month, I can bring them to a local plant swap in June.

Shirley, the zinnias in the peat pots look great. I'm going to plant those out this week, peat pot and all. I planted them in the peat pots because I read they don't like their roots disturbed. Looks like there will be a bumper crop of Early Grey Larkspur.

Does anyone know if there is a difinitive list of what can be WSd in the various zones?

if you have excel - I have a list on my website that you can download... http://lakehousecreations.com/winter_sowing.htm

Anita, great information. Thank you.

Anita,
What a great list!

Michelle

sure thing! I've been working on my own list based on what I grew so I know what worked and what didn't. Then I'll have a better handle on things for next year.

I was under the impression that Tomatoes could be wintersowed. Is this true for zone 4?

There's also a list of good plants for winter sowing( with pictures :) on WinterSown.Org.

Steve

Wintersown.org is a great website -- I got lots of free seeds (for postage) including several different kinds of tomatoes that I hadn't tried before ... I WS'd black cherry tomatoes and they are coming up! Box Car Willie I planted indoors and they're doing great ... plus I wintersowed about 15 different flowers outside ... about half are coming up now (so tiny!) ...

Maybe I don't understand. If it can be WSd, is it hardy for EVERY zone? I don't really see zone info for tomatoes on the .org site.

beaker,
By no means am I an expert when it comes to wintersowing tomatoes but from my understanding after reading other posts about this it really depend on the varieties. You also need to find out how long it takes for them to reach maturity(days). From there I believe you would count the days from the time you transplant to decide if the plant would have enough time to reach their matured size.

I know Donn has some experience with tomatoes you could always send him a dmail.

HTH
Michelle

You mean would the seeds sprout in all the zones...or just the warmer ones? Right? I would just try it and see if they come up or not. Then you'll know for sure.

Steve