Germination % of Wintersown containers

Deborah, we are getting closer. I think, as I said in my post to Karen, that we are meaning the same things but using different words. I am getting lots of seedlings too, so tomorrow I will have to check each individual jug and other containers that I have and take inventory, and also update my Excel spreadsheet.

I am always saying this is a big experiment for me, I am having fun with it, my DH is participating, so what can I loose? And I am sure that I will get some transplantable seedlings.

Godd luck to you - and to Karen, I am sure we'll meet again sometime (actually I drove through Cordele last November and thought of you).

C.

I will do that, Karen. I never doubted that I have to provide more air flow. I think I neede clarification about the "tops", now I have it, thanks to both of you. Isn't this fun?

This winter sowing experience is loads of fun! Best of luck to you, Clementine. I sit in my sunroom and can just see the tops of cars passing on Interstate 75( there's a cow/horse pasture between my house and the hwy fence). I'm in a subdivision between the first two exits in north Crisp Co. Wave next time! Better yet, stop by, my address is in the exchange.

This message was edited Mar 8, 2007 10:01 PM

I just did a search on wintersown.org to try to find a definitive answer to this question. No luck.
For the milk and juice containers I throw the covers away when I wash them. For the containers I cover with plastic I put several holes in them. I wait to uncover them when the seedlings seem to be ready to make it without the cover. I tend to use my intuition, which is fairly good. Now that is a non answer answer.

Well, I have some that have the first leaves, but not the second set, yet...and they are in the Strawberry containers, they are almost touching the lid, so I may have to cut the lids off and raise them some if I can't leave them open completely, I will have to check on the web site and see if there is a more definitive answer for us...lol

I have a question regarding "percentages of germination"

is that percentage of containers, or percentage of seeds in each container?

so at 58%, does that mean 58% of your containers are sprouting, or 58% of the seeds in the containers?

TIA,

Terese

This is only my second year WSing, but let me chime in here on the "when to open" question. I have had my milk jugs open for almost two weeks on some of my seedlings. And now that the majority of mine have germinated and many have at least one set of true leaves, I have almost all my containers' tops off. I do have some zip up greenhouses on the back porch that I can use in a pinch to shelter jugs that I have opened up on a night that dips a little low for my seedlings.

I planted out some cool season veggies today -- cabbage, broccoli, broccoli raab, two varieties of pea, and arugala. I learned my lesson last year by waiting too late to plant out on some of them and didn't get good harvests because of the heat. but its a gamble because there could be a crazy freeze lurking out there somewhere in the future... LOL... I am waiting on my lettuces to get a little more mature before setting them out... probably next week. I will likely wait a few more weeks to start planting out flowers, unless there is something going on in my containers that warrants moving them out earlier. I anticipate that by this time next week, I will have all my containers open both day and night with a close eye on the nighttime temps in case I need to zip them into shelter. Like someone else said earlier, I am mostly following my intuition and limited experience in this progression and timing. I had really good success last year with WSing on a small scale...

I keep the top halves on mine from planting and don't take them off until they are ready to be planted in the garden ( but water in the spring as needed)
I DO NOT keep the screw tops on, I just throw those away.
I DO keep mine in the shade until planting (very dry and sunny here) and I don't want them to shrivel up and die.

So far have had a 87% germination rate and lost very few to heat.

When I say germination rate I mean that 87% of my containers germinated (not the seed in each container as I don't count the seeds I plant).

I need to make it as easy as possible, so I don't do any extra steps - if it wasn't easy I wouldn't do it!

Thanks Mobi.

Teresa that percentage is the % of containers to total containers. . I didn't count my seeds per container before sowing.. I've had more to germinate since I first posted buut I haven't counted them yet. I did take pictures but can't figure out how to diwn load from camera. I'll get it done soon.

gotcha. Many of my containers are small, so I can count the seeds.... though i'm getting lazier and just sprinkling them.
Today DH was watching me count Dianthus seeds.... he was laughing.

Does your camera have a "card" in it, like smart media or compact flash?
or do you have to hook it straight to your PC via a cable?

both are easy, when you find the proper equipment to do it. When you open the folder, just copy or cut, then paste,
or select all and drag and drop into a new folder... or heck -- just grab, drag and drop the folder.

terese

I planted 80 containers last year and had one that didn't have any germination. There were some I had given up on and put aside to clean up later and when I went to clean them up there were the seedlings. I was glad I was so slow to get back to them. That is 98.75%.

I actually counted the ones big enough to count this year so now to keep track of the number that germinate. Last year I started out doing that and never carried through. When planting time came I was so overwhelmed with plants I didn't count them.

Either I guessed well on what would work or the conditions were very favorable. We had a great spring last year. Normally we go from winter to summer with a day or two of spring in between.

If I figured out my camera, this should be one of the photos of some water and soda containers on 3-9 that have germinated

Here's a photo of the orange juice containers in a plastic blanket box. Many of you have mentioned that some containers that didn't germinate as quickly as others were forgot about but later germinated. That notation helps me to remember to just set aside and wait them out.
Also, I noticed someone started a thread on what has germinated. I'll have to take inventory and post on that thread.

Oh my, what nice sprouts, can hardly wait for mine to.

Nice pics :o)

Connie

Connie, I'm glad to hear I'm not the only one with no sprouts :)

Steven

Hey Deb,
So much for our last frost date March 31st!!
I think were in summer already here in the deep south!!!
I'm doing most of yard work after 4 pm until way pass dark 10 or so!
Do have a few sprouts if they don't burn up before I can get to them!

Donna

Holy Moly, it is HOT here today!!! I don't think we had Spring, just went straight to the HEAT of Summer...oh, my, it could be ugly this year....we need rain!!

Donna & Janet: Open up your containers or better yet, take their tops off! New sprouts are tender and will burn, so keep their soil moist and if possible, move them to an area that gets only moring sun.

That's excellent advice, Shirley! Donna and Janet, hope you heed the warning to take'em off.
I went ahead to took mine off on March 8, thanks to the reminder from kqcrna. That's about the time the 70 degree weather became the daily average. We did get a few more nights that dropped into the 30's but it didn't effect them with their tops off in the least. I am watering them now too. When will I ever find the time to plant all of the little fellows? I'm still waiting on a few containers to germinate. Seeds like daylily, lilies, cannas etc. that need warmer soil to germinate.

I did take the tops off several weeks ago...thanks for thinking of me...lots of sprout and doing really well, will be moving a lot of them into the garden in the next week....

I moved a lot of mine into the garden this weekend. So far so good.

I'm getting nervouse about my WS containers. We are having freakishly warm weather for March, or even April. Yesterday and Today in the 70's! The rest of the week will be in the 60's and then the temps should get back to the normal 40's for daytime high. Should I move my containers to the coldest shadiest site that I have? I certainly do not want to encourge any germination right now as we are bound to get more cold and snow.

Yeah JanetS & Riverland. You're doing great with planting out your seedlings! Only 9,999 more to go! :~0 My gosh, I've got a bizillion sprouts to plant out too!! My motto is, "plant out while the temps are still cool because Summer is right around the corner". In fact, I stopped planting out in June when the thermometer soared & the humidity was like gardening in a sauna. I resumed planting out in the garden when the temps & humidity decreased in the Fall.

marie: We're all having feakish warm weather in March. Tomorrow it's suppose to be in the mid 70's in my neck of the woods. Yes, the temps will probably fluctuate some more and may even produce more cold & snow in your area. Those fluctuations will help to break open the seed coats and let germination begin. I would just open open the tops of containers that have germinated. You can keep them open with clothespins or plastic utensils OR take their tops off. The cold & snow won't hurt your sprouts, it will make them stronger & more hardy.

talk about strange weather I have a gladiola from last year beginning to open it's blooms. Never have I had then bloom in March.

right now... i'm at about 40% of my containers germinated.

Since it's been so warm, i decided to direct sow a bunch of marigolds today -- we'll see how they turn out.
Expecting rain daily 4 out of the next 5 days.

We may never get rain and had a record high of 87 degrees already this past weekend! In the 80's today and tomorrow too....it is just weird!

None of mine have shown any signs of germination yet. I was afraid that they would with this warmer weather and then die when we went below freezing again. I'm not so worried now.

Does anyone know how long Clematis usually takes to sprout? I haven't gotten any sprouts os those as of yet...

Same here Clematis are my last little guys to come up and so far no shows....

Most clematis takes a LONG time, depending on the kind. Some as little as 30 days others take years, but I've never WS sowed it. Here's a table at the end of the document
http://www.bcollingwood.com/Germination.htm#GERMINATION%20DATA

for some reason the above link no longer works. I'll try and find a different one. But I'll leave it up in case it works again.

This message was edited Mar 29, 2007 10:41 AM

This message was edited Mar 29, 2007 10:42 AM

GOOD GRIEF.....YEARS! I looked at the germination tables and I sure hope you've Winter Sown those that only need a month. I am quite sure that I will resist any temptation to start my own clematis from seed.

I think this is why most don't try and grow clematis from seed. But ws might help.

well one looks like 90 days and one 400 and some... guess I might have to set them to the side for a while... maybe in a year or more..

I would not have planted them I dont think if I would have known that.... guess it is a good thing I did not know!

JanetS.....please let us know how long it takes.

Edited to include Mitch.....Sorry.....I was in a big hurry. Please let us know when you see a result.

This message was edited Mar 27, 2007 8:54 PM

Will do - got to keep them in the shady part of the garden for a while I guess.. .. ...

Hi,
When do we start to take the tops off or give more air? I have several that are coming up and two I believe that turned green kind of on top... I will have to put on for sure here as we are in the 80 now but by weekend back in to the 30's at night..
thanks for any help.
Susan

I took mine off on any that had sprouts the very first week it turned 70 degrees. Heat is worst than cold. I'm giving mine water weekly.

Yep, having to water mine as well....I am going to try sowing some trays without the plastic, now that our weather is so warm...just see what comes in...lol nothing ventured nothing gained...however, IF they sprout I will have to just bring them to the RU..I am running out of room to plant things!

I'm trying to plant those seedlings that I sowed inside since their cups dry out the fastest. Although I did plant out two or three ws containers this week. The rest will have to wait on me to catch my breath.