Lessons learned for next year #2

It is probably overkill, but last year I wrote on the mini blind markers with paint marker on one side and pencil on the other. I then used them in the garden. So far the markings on both sides are still there. I wonder what spring will bring.

Dave you are soooooo organized! Can you come and help me?

merryma great idea witht he cardboard boxes!

I wanted to start winter sowing last year but didn't.....toooooo chicken...lol! This year I'm am going to do it but since I live in the deepfreeze I'm going to wait closer to February. I already have a friend helping me save the 4 litre milk jugs. They go thru 4 jugs a week. That's alot of milk.

:) Donna

Dave is very well organized, but you will notice that all of his containers are still empty LOL (have to tease him a little)

merryma, glad to hear that about the cardboard boxes, because this is my first year, and that's what I'm doing with mine. thanks for the input :0)

Hey Gram, Give me a break! That is 2 whole pictures I posted this weekend.

Yes, Dave. and very nice pictures they are. where did you get them?

They were Al's ;^)

I sowed 6 containers on Saturday. Yipee!!!

Botanical Name
Rudbeckia, Prairie Sun
Rudbeckia hirta Rustic Dwarfs Mixed
Lavatera trimestris Silver Cup
Antirrhinum majus Chimes Bronze
Phacelia dubia Lavender Lass
Eschscholzia californica Rose Chiffon

Anita, way to go!

Anita, Have you WSd the hybrid Califonia poppies before?
I regular sowed some last year and ended up with only 2...some others spouted but they died.

Steven

I sowed 20 containers today. Need more tape though.

Dave, have you considered a twist-tie instead of tape? I know I'm pushing the twist-tie closure but golly-pete it works and costs alot less than tape. I'm using Christmas ornament hooks for twist-ties.

Well, my milk jugs are already taped but most of my containers are 2 liter soda bottles. I'm not sure the twist ties idea would work on them. What do you think?
I would also be concerned that up North your method would leave too much ventilation.

I had that same thought about the twist-ties. Even though my jugs are on the east side of a building, and out of the west wind, we do get some brutal north and east winds during the winter. Here again, I think, may be another difference in winter sowing in the north and winter sowing in the south. Arctic winds. Brrrrrrrrrrrr........

This works great on 2 liters. It requires nothing to hold the bottle closed:
http://forums2.gardenweb.com/forums/load/wtrsow/msg1219382531858.html

Karen

Karen, that's great. This is actually what I do with squeeze tubes of lotion, when they get down to the bottom. I cut them in half and then I can get the last bit of lotion out of them, then put the one end over the other. I don't even need to do the flap for those, but I love this idea for the 2-liters!

That "V" cut works really well. You can push it all the way down when sowing, then, in spring, just pull up on the top to increase ventillation.

Karen

Steve - I had great success with the California Poppies last year. I plan on doing quite a bit more this year! I had flowers all summer through late fall!!!

I use gallon water jugs [with the handles, could pass as milk containers] and don't tie them together. They are also slightly protected from the wind.

I'll try that cut on my next batch of water bottles. Thanks for the tip and to the person who started this thread!

Thanks Anita, when you say do tie it together do you mean dont tape it shut? Or am I missing something? Oh, and did you just plant them as on big hunk or did you seperate them into little hunks?

Happy WSing,
Steven

I just got 11 containers planted today. I use the same method with the 2 litre and it works great. I ended up stapling the the slit back together, one side ver the other so the top slipped back into the bottom more easily.

I would have done more but the rest of my containers are still outside with 3 feet of snow. While some of you are having a warmer winter we are having a cold winter this year. Usually the snow is all melted within 3 days and it's been 4 weeks! I think I may lose my zone 6 plants this year, we shall see.

Mobi - maybe the snow cover will provide the insulation they need to stay warm (ish)

Steve - I haven't had the need to tie the handles together to keep them from flying away. I do, on the other hand, use a piece of duct tape on the three cut sides. I learned my lesson to not go crazy with the tape as it can be difficult to get off come spring.

Anita: I had the same experience last year: I couldn't get the tape off in spring. I was lucky I didn't sever off any fingers when I finally sliced them open with a box cutter. This year, I'm using less tape!

Karen

I agree with the less tape part. I don't tie my milk containers together either, but they are sheltered from the wind by a semi circular wall around my patio.

The photo is from last year, I haven't gotten started yet. DH has to do the cutting for me and he has been to busy.

HI Zen
How are you keeping weeds and moss down between your pavers? I am having a problem with a unilock brick walkway that was not laid on limestone grit - instead they put it on sand and now I'm getting all kinds of growth thru the cracks. If you pull it, the sand comes out and then the bricks shift. Can't go back - was installed by previous owners.
Thanks!

I pour boiling water on any that make it through. It kills the weeds and doesn't hurt the enviroment. I have also used white vinegar. It is amazing how well both work and I don't have to do it very often.

Thanks again Anita. I don't really know if it makes any difference but I've been using clear packing tape on my jugs/bottles.

Does it stick well? I have never gotten any clear packing tape that would take a winter outside. What brand do you use?

We got it at Staples, it's their brand. It seems to stick well so far. It even stuck well onto a wet jug.

alyrics and zenpotter: Getting back to the weeds-between-pavers problem: my DH told me to tell you that if you put down a folded piece of cloth and then pour on the boiling water, it will do an even better job of killing the weed.

He found this interesting site: http://www.ghorganics.com/HotWeedKiller.htm
Also click on the link to "Weed control strategies" close to the top of the page, which talks about other methods too, although all of these are much larger than a few weeds between pavers.

I'll see if I can find a "weed control" forum.

Wonder why the folded cloth makes a difference?

You just made me remember something...... oooops. I left some pottery planters outside and they would be quite frozen right now. They are filled with freesia - don't bother with trying that in zone 5 - and red poppies. we'll see how the poppies make it thru the winter. Grew them WS last year and had bunches of them. they did very well as WS seeds.

I like that site, Thank you.

alyrics you were writing when I was. You might luck out and they didn't break. I have several pieces outside and they are fine. It depends on how they were fired.

This message was edited Jan 23, 2007 2:29 PM

This message was edited Jan 23, 2007 2:30 PM

Glad to hear poppies do well. I'm getting ready to sow five more jugs today and I have some Shirley poppy seeds.

While doing a simple dinner yesterday, I said, oooooooh, this would probably work. I hope. The "homemade" store bought soup came in a container that I could envision containing seeds. So while the soup simmered, I got the bag of soil and some seeds :>) Will this work?
My other half has determined that I am now certifiable. All he hears now is "I can use that. Don't throw it out!! LOL

Looks pretty good, but it might depend on size. How big is it?

Karen

It's about 6 inches with ~3 1/2 inches of dirt. The rest is head room. I have it on the back deck which is protected from wind but gets no direct sun at this time of year. I don't know if that's a bad thing or good.

LOL...Venu209 - my DH hears the same thing. He's even shopping with containers in mind. We bought the big Organic Spring Salad Mix at the farmer's market Sunday because the container is a GREAT WS container.

I just have to get them out of the kitchen and to the workroom - he's pretty good about it now, even saving plastic bags that come on bread and veggies and stuff to make my greenhouse-tent thingies in place of baggies.

Re-use, recycle and get expensive plants for mere pennies - how can they not love our obsession?

¢¾☺¢¾

~Sunny

Karen, I had put slits in my 2-liter soda bottles. Your method looks like an improvement because I'm always wrestling to get mine back together. I will try it next year.

Aluminum tape is much less messy than duct tape.
Dave

The V cuts work MUCH better than the slits!!! I did mine yesterday and they are wonderful donr that way!

Yes, I like the "V" type, too. Then when the weather warms up I just pull up on the top and have an instant side vent.

Karen