I WILL BE A WINTER SOWER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I just had to post this thread....I know I've already told some of you I want to winter sow this coming winter.....but now I want to try it more then ever! Out of the seeds I planted this spring I had a number of no shows so far, Larkspur, Annual Phlox, Nigella and there may be others I'm forgetting...oh yeah, I got 1 Gomphrena so far.
I was just on the wintersowing website and there was pics of all those plants(don't remember seeing the Gomphrena though) and they looked like they had all great germination. So I will WS this winter!!!!!!!

Steve

YEAH! Glad to hear you going to WS again this Winter, however, DON'T give up so easily on the ones that you've already WSed. Germination is sporadic sometimes, some will even have "no shows", but I think it's too early to toss them out. Hold onto them for a couple more months and see if any more seeds sprouts. I hope you will be surprised and pleased that you were patient a little bit longer!

I sowed some of my seeds directly in the garden in march...is that WS or Spring Sow? Thanks Shirly, maybe they'll still pop up or maybe in the fall they'll show up. I'll wait and see.

Steve

Steve,
You know how much I love wintersowing already and I believe my friend you have been bitten by the same bug. I never grew from seed previous to wintersowing. Now I cannot believe all the special plants I have in my gardens. Especially when you start trading with fellow gardeners. I am so glad you are going to try it this winter. It certainly will pass the winter very quickly and sometimes too quickly when you have lots of seeds you want to try. Welcome to the club!

Michelle

Thank, Michelle! WS seems like such a great way to start perennials from seed....something I rarely do. And since they'll be seedlings, it'll be alot easier to tuck them in around the garden. I know I will love WSing once I try it. ...I'm already loving it and I haven't even done it yet! I
t's strange... but I'm looking forward to winter!

Steve

Welcome to the Wintersowing Forum, Steve.

When you plant a seed in your garden, it is called "direct sowing". Yes, I do that with certain veggie seeds, such as cucumbers, zucchini's & beans because they grow SO quickly. However, with direct sowing vs. WSing, you run the risk of less germination because of environmental factors & animals eating your seeds as an appetizer. WSing allows you to germination the seeds in vented containers that give the seeds more protection & moisture is better controlled. Glad you're looking forward to WSing your seeds next year! Don't be a stranger on this forum!

Steve,
Only another wsowing addict can understand looking forward to winter. Don't forget that you can wintersow lots of annuals as well as perennials and I know lots that also winter sow shrubs, trees, and veggies. It certainly opens up a whole new world!

Michelle

I've got lots of annual seeds left to try and I'm still hunting for more seeds.
I should also try it with lettuce. Have you ever tried it with pansies?
I always find pansies rather hard to start from seed...

Steve

Steve,
I tried Icicle pansies 2 years ago and had sporadic germination. I haven't tried them since but maybe this winter.

Michelle

Ok, will try pansies then. If I get good results......think of all the planters I could fill! Heh heh. I just keep thinking of all these things I want to try! Now I'm thinking about trying Primroses.......

Steve

Both Pansies and Primroses work great with WSing!

Here is a picture of the Primrose foliage. Sorry, no blooms yet.

Wow, they look very healthy Shirly!!! With WS, could they acualy flower their first year from seed???

Steve

I have no idea if they will flower the first year from seed. Stay tuned....I'll let you know when they flower. First, I have to get them out of the milk container and into my garden!

I'm soo looking forward to having that many plants/primroses from winter sowing! I really do need more repetition around the garden.
I'll be staying tuned!

Steve

I really learned alot from all you guys and my winter sowing was even more successful this year! I just adapt and start seeds in Oct-Nov where I can beat the spring heat. Here's mine going to seed...I had to rip the poppies out--they just looked really bad.
What's left are stocks and snaps....and some potted tomatoes for the birds. LOL
Debbie

These stocks look a bit ratty but clearly going to seed...so will be able to share with ya'll soon!
Debbie

Really like your stocks Debbie. I've never grown them before.........going on my list.

Steve

Debbie,
Love the color of your stocks. Can't wait to trade with you especially for your Rudbeckia "Hot Chocolate".

That is another good thing about wintersowing no guilt. Growing plants via wintersowing is so much cheaper than buying nursery stock. If you don't like how a plant looks after it blooms or it doesn't perform to what you thought or the color is wrong then you can rip it out and know that it only cost you pennies to grow.

Michelle

We could change our plantings with the seasons for next to nill cost.
Whoever thought of WS should win an award for it!

Steve

SW, sounds like you're off to a great start.

Winter planting or sowing has been around as long as gardening has. It's the information that's changed: now we have extensive lists of plants suitable for winter sowing, computers and the internet with which to share these and, most importantly, people willing to document what worked for them and what didn't.

We also have plastic, which has helped a good deal, though it's not strictly necessary.

I had to post on this thread just because the name of it cracked me up. I felt the same way when the first little green sprouts came up out on the deck this winter. I was awestruck. And I'm heading out to plant some of them right now because I can't figure out why they aren't growing bigger. I've decided they must be rootbound and better get in the ground. Here's hoping for light spring rains and no more frost.

YAY! It's May 1st. a few months ago I thought it would never be May!

Zeppy - Thanks for the bit of info/history on winter sowing. What would we do without plastic? :D

Alyrics - Nice to see you joined the thread. What seeds did you WS this year? Any suggestions?

Steve

Here is a WS pic of Johnny Jump-ups. I seeded them to plant a strawberry pot full of them for the shade by the water faucet. I hope they reseed everywhere as I'm quite fond of them

And here are some hellebore babies that WS'd themselves http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d25/alyrics/May206Helleborebabies.jpg

Dahlia Stargazer WS on March 11 http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d25/alyrics/8dc9afa4.jpg

I did learn a few things this winter - one is that new soil-less mix compacts quite a bit. If you look at that photo of Johny Jump Ups above it looks like there is about an inch and a half of soil in there - it started out full to the top. Next time I will use deeper containers. I sowed cilantro and Shasta Silver Princess in green 2 liter pop bottles. It makes them take longer to germinate and I ended up tossing the top because it filtered the light too much. the cilantro was spindly growing in there.

Clear plastic bags work great as coverings and are easier to pull up and close than some of the other hard plastic containers I used. Next time I think I will sow more in clear deli containers and instead of punching the lids, put them in a clear plastic bag. Then there is plenty of room to grow.
I found that the perforated bags that grapes come in are ideal. Plenty of holes and you can ziplock them shut.

I posted somewhere else about using dilute H2O2 as an oxygen uptake enhancer. Some of my plants really responded to that and others didn't. If I could generalize the annuals didn't like it and those plants with thicker roots did like it. I actually killed some of my red poppies and Shasta Alaska with the solution - they turned brown and died. Others like the dahlia seedlings about popped out of the ground they were so happy.

I had a great time with WS - it really gave me something GREEN to do during the winter months.

All your seedlings look very healthy and strong Alyrics.
I noticed a few of our Johnny-Jump-Ups seeded themselves from last year. I want to save seed from them to WS. I'll make sure I don't use coloured plastic and I like the the idea of using ziplock bags over top of the containers.
I know I said it before but I'm SO excited about wintersowing this year!!!

Steve

Great looking Dahlia sprouts!

Nearly a month later but I'm seconding Steve's proclamation - I WILL BE A WINTER SOWER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I have boxes and envelopes full of seeds, but I never ever plant them - I don't know what my hang-up is, I guess I've been beaten down by failure. A couple of years ago my DH got a 'start your own impatiens' kit from HD, and he had flats of tiny anon. color impatiens seedlings, all over the kitchen/dining room table, so there was no place to eat. Then he forgot to water them for a few days and bang, no more seedlings to worry about! I used to plant, or I guess I mean direct sow, sweet peas and nastursiums, but my nastursiums were all puny compared to others I'd seen. WS sounds like my biggest worry is taken care of - nothing cluttering up the house all winter, which is a claustrophobic time of year anyway. This year I did direct sow some annuals in containers - then we had 40 days of rain in New England, so I'm not holding out much hope. I'll keep y'all posted.
xxxxxxxxx,
Carrie

I know how you feel Carrie, this year half my balsam got toasted by frost and last year I fertilized too early and lots of my seedlings keeled over. I've given up on sowing indoors....I find it to be a pain and you just end up with lanky plants. Where as if their sowed outside, they might be smaller but they're strong and healthy, with no hardening off. Thats what appeals to me about WSing, plus that fact that some plants just seem to take off when their WS'd. And please keep us posted, I hope your containers sprout!

Steve

I've just discovered Winter Sowing. Story of my life -- I discover it in South Carolina when today's temp was 93.

I'm very excited about this coming year.

Any suggestions for zone 7B / 8a? Our winters are mild. Lost cause?

Donna

Steve,
Don't spend this whole spring-summer-fall hoping for winter so you can be Mister Winter-Sower 2007! Enjoy the spring, I insist.
xx, Carrie

Don't worry :) I won't. I was just planting up some containers earlier today. Part plants I SS'd and I also added some from the garden center. I mixed home and nursery grow together(first time) and I think I rather like it. It gives you colour while you wait for your plants to grow, but at the same time the home grown still get a star spot and don't end up religated to some out of the way spot making way for the pre-grown.

Steve