Lessons learned for next year #2

what's the price difference between the two Dave?

I wish I knew a source of 2 liter bottles -- I like that approach. But I don't drink soda except, to the extent I do, in smaller cans/bottles. I should check after a school party!

Happy, do have a pick up day when people put their recyclables out to the curb? But you'd have to promise to post the video of explaining to the police why you were stealing your neighbor's trash LOL

Be careful on taking the recyclables at least here it is against the law because the city sells them.

Lol..I just emailed my bookclub to just drive by and throw their gallon jugs, soda liters and plastic salad/poultry containers on my lawn....

I did the same with people at church. I have tons of milk jugs!

I do have a million milk jugs -- but I think those soda bottles would be awfully nice too. I'm going to keep on the lookout. . . .

biggs grocery in Cincinnati has 3 liter pop bottles. It's their own store brand. These puppies are huge! My husband asked how I like the pop. I told him I will learn to love it.

You might check out your own grocery's store brands. Maybe other companies make these too, though I've never seen them.

Karen

Anita, I think aluminum or foil tape costs twice as much as duct tape. I noticed new transparent duct tape this year. The price was between the price of the other 2. I'm trying it and will let yoy know how it works (I'm hoping more sun and less mess than regular duct tape.)
Dave

Thanks Dave

Karen, you are too funny! The things we do for our gardens:LOL:

alyrics, sorry I am late commenting on your question re the folded cloth when you pour hot vinegar on weeds. My DH (who told us about this) says it holds the heat in longer, that is the purpose, works better, I guess.

I have been going a little crazy with this wintersowing thing. I am making myself an Excel spreadsheet, with the seeds that I have and I am adding the info from TOMCLOTHIER.hort.net into it. I will compare what you all have sown when with what he says - and try to understand.

I am swinging from enthusiasm to despair. For instance, he says for sweet peas "sow @ 70ºF, first nick, sow in the dark , 10-20d" (I changed to word order for sorting purposes) but I know that some of you have already sown them. On the other hand, Malope triloba (white mallow) says: 'sow @ 39ºF, after 21 days, move to 65 to 75ºF , 14-30d', and I have already sown it and it has been freezing!. I know that TC's information is supposed to be a guideline on when to sow (I recently had a question about caryopteris and was advised to check TC)), but - frankly - I don't know how to apply it.

Or am I making a mountain out of a mole hill? Someone recently said (I am sorry I don't remember who it was): We usually do our perennials first then hardy annuals, tender perennials and tender annuals last (closer to your last frost date). I guess the time for hardy perennials is here right now, for hardy annual it is right around the corner (a couple of weeks?), tender perennials perhaps in early March, and tender annuals perhaps end of March? Of course, I have already mixed mine up royally, amaranth done Jan 8, delphinium hybrida not yet, echinacea done this week.

So, how do you decide when to sow what? Surely you can't sow EVERYTHING right after the solstice (or in January)?

I am sorry if I am going round and round on this topic, but I am really uncertain about this.

Thanks to all for any soothing ideas.

Seriously? I just sow 'n go. I sow them all and they will come up when it's the right time for THEM.

Clementine, while you are waiting for someone who knows more than I do, I'll venture to answer. The complicated sets of directions are for traditional seed starting. One of the benefits of wintersowing is that you can skip chilling & nicking seeds because you are putting them outside in winter where nature takes care of those things.
Dave

Dave hit the nail on the head. About the only things that might pertain to WS:

1. light vs dark- bury the seed as opposed to surface sow.
2. Warm germination temp might indicate sowing a little later, cold a litter earlier in the season
3. plant out in sun vs shade.
4. ultimate height and spread tell you where to plant out

I pretty much just sow them, too. I'm shooting for perennials and HAs now, more tender stuff a little later. That's about it.

Karen

I figure mother nature just drops the seeds and they germinate at the right time, so I sow them all at the same time and let mother nature take her course.
Now that I say that it is time for me to stop thinking about it and get to work. My big seed order came yesterday so I got all of the tags ready and now it is time to sow.

Pauline

Wow, I feel a lot better now. I am going right now to do two more jugs. Now I also understand about the caryopteris question I had. kbaumle, Dave, Karen and Pauline - thank you so much for setting my head straight. Now - once more - do you think I should re-sow annuals I sowed in early January (when it was much warmer and my fingers were itching to sow) if they are not hardy or half hardy, just because they would have been in the soil when it was colder than TC would indicate? Let me guess first: the answer will be "NO leave them".

Anyway, it IS fun, and I am learning something in this whole process. Pauline, you will be really busy today, how much did you get? I am expecting two smaller shipment very soon.

Thanks again to all of you

Clementine, No need to resow the annuals you have already sown unless you want double the amount of plants! They'll be fine and you'll have more than you know what to do with.

One thing I do when I gets seeds I am unfamiliar with is to look them up on the T&M website. www.thompson-morgaon.com If they say "greenhouse" or "GH" I sow them inside, otherwise out they go. You're looking for the terms "Hardy annual" or "Hardy perennial" to sow right now if you can swing it. I write the category right on my seed envelope so I know what kind of plant it is so I don't have to look it up a second time.

Suzy

Clementine: They will probably be fine, especially in your climate. Exactly what annuals are you talking about?

Karen

Clementine:

I believe another wintersower made the comment, "analysis by paralysis". It was a very cute statement.....but true. All that information you are gathering applies to seeds sown indoors, not to wintersown ones. Wintersowing provides all your seeds with temperature fluctuation, nicking and providing the moisture. All you need to do is provide the containers, soil and seeds. Leave the rest to Mother Nature and enjoy.

I noticed last year that the germination dates ranged from 20 days to over 100 days and I varied my sowing date http://www.lakehousecreations.com/Seed_Sown_2006.htm . I would tend to guess that the ones that took longer to germinate, needed warmer conditions as opposed to the others. In other words, they sprouted when they were ready.

Yes, that's me: analyzing everything to death. Shirley, you have figured me out (somewhat).

I also look a lot at the T&M site (esp. for seeds from Valueseeds!), and - get this Shirley - I copy out the information into my spreadsheet. You see, I have never grown perennials or shrubs, I only had a small vegetable garden, so a lot of what I am doing now is new to me.

The annuals I worried about (a little) are Amaranthus caudatus, but T&M says it is a hardy annual, and Malope triloba, which is half hardy - so I think I will be ok.

Anita, I really like your website!!

Thank you all, you are so generous with advice and encouragement.

Clementine

Very sweet photo, Clementine. Is that a Phormium? (Not the cat - I do like the cat, too!)

I appearently posted in a different thread that I used the new (to me, anyway) transparent duct tape. It was very flexible and lets light through. Cheaper than aluminum tape (which doesn't leave as much of a mess in the Spring as duct tape when you remove it). Looks promising.

Shrubs, perennials and hardy annuals can be sown & will all do fine. If you decide to ws the half hardy annuals now, they'll just wait until the time is right to germinate. Veggies are excellent candidates for wintersowing, plus you get the added enjoyment of getting to eat them.

Beautiful kitty posing with the Dracena (?) and Impatients

This message was edited Jan 31, 2007 1:52 PM

Clementine,

Your cat looks a lot like mine! Our grandaughter named her "Sassy." She has very green eyes...

I think I see ****** with that kitty. I love that kitty! But I love most all kitties. :-)

Editing to remove my mistaken identity...yep, it does look like impatiens. Okay, so they're related, but still... LOL

This message was edited Jan 30, 2007 9:58 PM

sweet pic!! :)

Hey all: yes, those are impatiens; the grass is a grass is a grass - I got that before I knew ANYTHING (except impatiens).

My kitty cat is the sweetest thing and I am glad you like her. She has hazel eyes, we got her as a baby and then she had blue eyes. I could hold her front paw between thumb and index finger, so tiny.

Sowed another jug today, but my potting soil is frozen, so I brought another jug with soil into the house to sow tomorrow morning.

Here's a good way to stabilize two liter bottles when you drill drainage holes in the bottom:

Use a cordless drill with a screwdriver bit to screw the cap from a bottle to a workbench or a scrap of lumber, anything you want to use as a work surface.
Threaded side up, so it's like a little cup... make it good and snug.

Then thread the bottle into the cap on the bench. It will be secure, and you'll have a free hand to hold the bottle while you drill your drain holes, or melt holes with a soldering iron, or even stab with an awl repeatedly.

Obviously, this means drilling your drain holes before you cut the bottle in two, but it's a LOT easier this way.
It might work with gallon jugs too, if they have a threaded cap.

This message was edited Feb 7, 2007 9:28 PM

Good idea!

I've been heating a skewer over a gas flame and making a few holes at a time through a stack of heavy duty plastic cups.

I like your idea for the bottles!

Please do be careful, the fumes from burning plastic are very very toxic. Only burn it if you are outside and the fumes are not coming your way.

I cut the bottle in half, then drill down through the inside of the bottle into scrap wood.

I was doing that, but this is a lot easier. The torque of the drill bit makes the bottle more secure in the cap. And the bottle won't try to spin away from you.
Try it, it takes ten seconds to screw the cap down. The drill bit lasts longer, too, not running into wood a thousand times.

I just use an ice pick in the bottom of my milk jugs. Takes no time at all.

.......Me too, kb. I hold the jug against my thigh and start stabbing with the ice pick....I just hope I can walk to the phone when I need to call 9-1-1! I was just thinking last weekend that I may have to rethink my hole punching strategy!

Suzy

kb - I think the caffeine might not allow me to do it your way!

It reminds me of a dear friend who was closing the dog's crate when it snapped shut locking her fingers between the sides so she had to dial 911 with her tongue!

I mostly use an ice pick. I stand the jug on a small piece of scrap wood, (works like a little cutting board) and stab quickly to swiss-cheese it. I usually add one larger one on the bottom side by inserting a knife and twisting a little.

Karen

I have used a really sharp shrimp veining knife, it's big. Then, I cut triangles instead of slits.