Starting seeds:GH or Winter Sowing?

I had a gh for the first time last year. I learned alot. I have the overwintering plants down. But.... I just cant figure out the best time to plant stuff. So...I have tons of seeds. Should I plant them in the gh with lights or winter sow them? Should I plant perennials and herbs now? I know to wait to plant veggies. Last year I didnt. Not one plant came out healthy. I also plan to have cuttings. It is still very hot here (90's). So I am sure it will be awhile before I can use my gh. Any help would be so great. I have read way too much and now I am just confused.
Thanks,
Brandy

I will be watching this thread...I don't have much to offer. I am putting a small gh together now. I have it about 2/3rds finished. Hope to finish it today.

I will be overwintering plants and also want to start seeds. I wanted to get seeds started to have decent size plants to sell in our MG plant sale in the spring. It would be good to know when to plant them.

Brenda~

You might try asking about this in either the propagation or wintersowing forums too, they would have more expertise on when to plant stuff.

Annuals: I'd wait till February.
Perennials: You can certainly start now, but remember you'll lose space by having larger plants. I usually start around December.
Cuttings of hardwoods, get a copy of Dirr's 'The Reference Manual for Woody Plant Propagation. December is also a good time for woodies despite what his book may say and is a pretty good guage.

If your greenhouse temps can't be controlled (below 80F) - don't take any cuttings yet unless you have an indoor set up. Currently I'm taking cuttings of Rhododendron and conifers, but that' the only cuttings I ever grow:) Right now is the time for Rhodies....... Conifers, now up till February/Early March and with a heel of hardwood. And only some conifers are rootable while the rest have to be grafted.

Grafting starts for me (weather depending) about Mid December and runs to March first if I were grafting a lot.

Pepper, stuff that germinates very quick and gives you a plant quick, you could easily wait until May (at least in my zone 5).

But even already here, I've sowed conifer seeds already (just two days ago) -but I could have waited until December. I don't think it really matters however.

Dax

Ps your topic (winter sow versus greenhouse)

Winter sowing is for people who don't have a heated greenhouse! By starting them in winter, you at least have something come Springish, while the others who winter sow, are just starting out -:)

Dax

Thanks Dax!! You answered some questions I hadnt even asked yet. I know veggies better than any thing. I cant belive you have to wait till May to plant peppers. I already have mine outside by march!!!!! Is it cool in IL already? It has been high 90's here. I cant even USE my gh yet. Grrrrrr
Thanks again!
Brandy

It's been nice but the evenings have dropped into the low fourties and the trees have turned. Beautiful fall weather!

Take care Brandy, nice chattin'

Later,

Dax

I have my first crop of hybrid Echeveria seeds. My GH's are in N. San Diego County. I am looking for a propagator or propagation mat that I can employ within the next 2-3 weeks to use to germinate these seeds.

Does anybody have any ideas about a quality propagation mat or propagator I could purchase and get set up in operation withn that time frame.

I have well over 50,000 de-chaffed seeds that I want to sew.

I Googled propagation mat and came up with a bunch, this one looked best. Does anybody know about this company?

http://www.greenfire.net/hot/R431.html

bob
:>)

Hi Bob - this link is temporarily down but I bought Hydrofarm grow mats from these guys for I'm pretty sure cheaper prices.

It's Farmtek - (A division of Growers Supply) or something like that.

About finding someone to do the work. Heck a high school kid could water your seedlings as needed. Ya know?

Dax

http://www.farmtekcatalog.com/0340.asp

Listen to zone 7 picking on the colder zones and teasing about maters. :) Same here. Can't put them out until May! Phooey!

Brandy, do you have the link to the germination database? Knowing how long things take to germinate at which temperatures along with how long they take to bloom, is very helpful. The database is not all inclusive but it does cover quite a span of seeds.

Nice to see you Dax! Thanks for the heat mat link too. It seems a lot of garden related sites are down right now for maintenance. Guess it's time to inventory and get ready for next year. I totally lost THIS year! LOL

I got mine on eBay: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=200023788976

Working great.

LOL Badseed!
I will trade you some hot dry weather for some snow.K? I dont think I have ever even seen 'real' snow!
I don't have the link for germination. I would love to use it if you have it.
Thanks,
Brandy

Thanks lor the links!

Don't you even say the dirty four letter S word! LOL (snow! You guys get your minds out of the gutter!)

Hey, if you want some snow, come on up! We really only get the good stuff in Jan and February. You really wanna see some snow, go to Iowa or Minnesota! I woke up to no front door once in Iowa because so much snow came overnight. It was awesome! I was like 10 and didn't have to go anywhere either. hahahaha

Here is the link to the seed germination database: http://backyardgardener.com/tm.html If you save it as a word document, resize the font and set it up landscape, you can print it out to keep in your seed box or greenhouse. ;)

I usually go through my seeds, pick out (or order) what I want to grow the most, then make a list in a notebook so I know which need special treatment or take longer to germ or bloom. I used to keep it all in a spreadsheet that I could manipulate but that was 6 kids ago. LOL

Thanks for the link SB!

Ditto re: your seed link, BS! Saved to favorites...

Badseed,
Thanks so much for the link. Its awsome!
Brandy

As I normally start 200-400 types of different seeds per year, it has become a useful tool and it is always helpful to have it all in one place. LOL

Has anyone made one of the light boxes for starting seeds or used a heating cable?

Winter sowing is nice from the standpoint that you can toss some seeds in a 2 litre bottle outside and forget about it until spring. Of course you need to remember to pot them seperately when they come up or you end up with plants in a bottle that look captured. LOL