*** Winter Sowing Show and Tell ***

So here it is............................The First Annual ***Winter Sowing Show and Tell***


To get us started we have our newest green alert.......Clarkia!

Here's a link to Ginnylynn's thread on winter sowing, so we can go back and see what everybodys got going - http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/681812/

Shirley Poppy

This message was edited Mar 20, 2007 12:14 PM

coool...but I can't see any green!!!!!! you sure there's clarkia in there??

This message was edited Mar 20, 2007 12:15 PM

They're right in the middle, they're more yellowish looking...

Steven

blink, blink, lol...went cross-eyed, but maybe I see em....like little clovers??

yeah, thats them. It's the best shot I could get.....my camera lens wouldn't fit down the neck on the jug...

oooohhhhhhhhh aren't they cute! I'm getting envious Steve. I'm in desperate need of some WS action at my place soon :-) But since I just removed their snow blanket on Saturday I guess I'll have to wait a little bit longer.

Ginny, what do you mean by a snow blanket? Do you cover yours?

Sandy

(chuckle) I should have said "blanket of snow" :-) I couldn't stand it any longer. My DH piled about 2' of the nasty white stuff on top of them with the snow blower this year, and I just knew it was going to be weeks yet before it would melt on its own - so I removed it manually myself.

Although you know.....nah.....I was going to say that covering them might insulate and protect even better than just snow cover, but a cover would also keep out the moisture from the melting snow.

--Ginny

Oh good! That's what I thought, that the melting snow would help the moisture content. Phew! Almost thought I was missing out on some revolutionary new gadget.

Sandy

Hehehe, thanks Ginny :) I'm sure you'll have sprouts any day and you'll have way more to report then me as I only sowed around 30 containers and a plug sheet of pansies and stocks.
I hear you about the snow plie, I once bought some snowdrops and thought I'd plant them near the backdoor where I could see them, but thats where the snow bank ended up....so it kind of defeated the purpose and made me feel like a dope :)

Steven

This message was edited Mar 20, 2007 3:53 PM

I was prompted to go check my containers after reading this thread. Hilariously, a number of lupine seeds which for some reason are sitting on top of the soil in their milk jug have sprouted little white tails. Silly things. Winter ain't over for us yet. I'm wondering if I shouldn't sprinkle a bit of soil into that jug...


Joanne

You know Sandy - I wonder if one could cover the WS containers with weed barrier to provide extra insulation? Isn't it supposed to let air and water through while keeping weeds out? As long as it was removed promptly when the snow on top of it melted so the sun could get to the containers it might work. Hmmmmmm. Maybe I'll try that as an experiment next year with a handful of my containers just to see if it has any effect at all - good or bad.

LOL about your snowdrop story Steven :-) I have the same problem with some very early blooming plants in my front garden. That's right in the path of the prevailing winter winds, so the snow piles up there deeper than anywhere else. By the time it's gone, the poor plants have given up trying to bloom much. I really MUST move them this year :-)

Wow! That's fantastic Joanne, that you're seeing sprouts. Eager little beavers aren't they? I think I would be tempted to just let them be, but then again, I'm 2 1/2 zones warmer than you too, so what do I know :-)

--Ginny

Congrats Joanne! I would sprinkle a bit of soil on top just to be safe. They'll probably keep sprouting anyway though.....and if they do, I'm sure they'll be fine. Either way, keep us posted!

Ginny, I feel bad for those poor poor plants, how horrible.......I think you should give them to me for safe keeping :)

Steven

Where ya gonna plant them Steven - on the other side of the doorway? :-)

--Ginny

durtcom (Susan)
Where are you? When did your stuff start coming up? My lupines have awoken! Are awakening! This can't be good. it's too soon.

We had a freak snow storm this morning, several cms of snow. I'm trying to remember why I still live here?
LOL

Joanne

Are they tender annuals, Joan? Is that what you mean by 'not sure if they need protection'? I haven't tried winter sowing the tender ones yet, but I'm sure someone else here has.

I put all mine on the ground, well actually they are on wood chips on the pathway, and I haven't had a problem so far. You asked if you should anchor them on the ground. Hmm, I can't see why they would need to be anchored if you put them on the ground. Even if they are up off the ground they shouldn't tip over because they have moist soil in them. Although, if it was a real windy spot on a table I could see having to secure them some way in case of stormy, windy weather. I can't think right now of a reason why you NEED to get them up off the ground, but maybe someone else can chime in with a reason. When the tops come off and the seedlings are exposed, I suspect some people would have a problem with animals and slugs and I could definitely see putting them up off the ground in that situation.

Sandy

Ginny, I have no idea where I'd put them. I'm still wondering where the 10,000 WS seedlings are going to go. There's probably 100 seeds in each container :)

Steven

eeeeeeks

Aren't we a crazy bunch! I can see I'll be giving most of mine away. Well, we could have worse habits I suppose.

We've had quite a melting spell here the last day or so and after I posted to Joan, above, about my winter sowing containers being on the GROUND, then I looked out the window and I chuckled to see this...

sanannie, I guess you can tell I'm new at this. :)

I have poppy seeds that I would like to get started by the winter sowing method.

What is the procedure should they start in a warm spell and then it turns cold again.

Hey Joan, I wouldn't worry about your poppy seeds, they should be quite fine, whether annual or perennial. The killer cold weather is over for the year.

Sandy

I have poppy seeds in milk jugs (along w/about 45 other things). They've been thawing and re-freezing for weeks now; that's the way our late winter weather is in Calgary. We've had two snow storms and freezing rain earlier this week; today it was sunny and +13C. I just leave the containers alone and check them once in a while just for fun. I was going to move them into a move shady spot, because mine get morning sun, but changed my mind. There's no way I'm lugging 40+ milk jugs all over the yard; they'll make it or they won't. (Tough love). LOL.


Joanne

LOL My thoughts and method exactly Joanne :-) Of course, I tend to be like that with most of my plants. I do my best to give them what they need to thrive. If one of them doesn't like it I will move it once. If it still doesn't like it it's history. If it's something special that I would really hate to lose I will give it one more second chance, but after that it goes to a good home if anyone else wants it and to the compost heap if not. Tough love for sure.

Hey Steven - sounds like each of your containers is going to be a self-contained mini-jungle :-) Maybe you'll need your Supersower alter ego to fight them into submission LOLOL!!!!!

--Ginny

Ok guys, I'm getting the drift. Pun intended. (:

Thanks, from newbie to winter sowing.

Joan,
I sure don't want to mislead you - I'm totally new to WS myself this year. I just figure that if WS in Calgary requires a bunch of fussing around moving the containers and so on, then it's not for me, so they're not getting any special treatment. Like Ginny, I treat all my plants like this - they don't get a lot of second chances. I don't baby anything for very long. mean, mean plant mommy.

Joanne

Sandy, those trays are just a teetering on your melting snow, lmbo! I hope you ran out there and remedied that situation.
I don't do anything particular with my wintersowing containers......just sow them and plunk them in a snowy spot on the ground and leave them there til whenever. I do check on them in case the squirrels get curious and knock something over which they did last year. I also check on moisture content alot once things really warm up.
Joanne, you're not a mean plant mommy; tough love means tougher plants!!

Two softies trying to make us believe they are tough plant-mommies:
Ginny said "I will give it one more second chance"
Jo said "they don't get a lot of second chances"

LOL

Sandy

Darn, exposed for what we really are! LOL. Okay, and I confess. I have a Rex Begonia that gets to sit in a tray of pebbles with water for humidity. I'm so ashamed...

Joanne

hehehehe, you're ashamed?? I must admit to installing a pond in my living room just so my plants would be happier.....

Oooo, good one 3G's; way more shameful than me. Excellent. Perhaps we should start a new thread called "Gardener's True Confessions".

eeeeeks

Oh dear - busted! If I have to 'fess up anyway, I may as well go all the way and tell you that I accidentally burnt a leaf on my newest banana seedling (Musa ensete) by not noticing in time that it was about to touch a hot metal light fixture, and now I feel like I've committed assault and battery on the poor thing. Some tough chick, huh? :-)

Ginny, don't feel bad about your banana.....you should see mine....it's a VERY sorry sight. If you saw it you wouldn't feel guilty about yours :)
And about my self-contained mini-jungles, when I was sowing the seeds it just didn't feel right for me to neatly plant only few seeds in each container. I'm going to be doing ALOT of dividing.

3Gardeners, May I ask what kind of pond you put in your living room? Does it have fish in it? I'm intrigued :)

Steven

It was actually an antique bathtub, the kind with feet on it? It had goldfish and Koi in it. It has since been removed, it sprang a leak....lol...which was an interesting mess I might add. I had hooks all around the edge of it to hold humidity loving plants and I hung orchids right above it,a few cats had surprise baths because they'd balance on the edges looking at the fish, their paws would get wet and they'd slip in. I missed the humidity so much when I had to remove it that I went and bought a 72 gallon aquarium to replace it.
I am slowly gathering the materials to build another, permanent one here in the living room, some day in the not to distant future. I should add that the living room is 23 feet long and 14 weed wide with windows all along the long side so there's plenty of room.......anything to keep my plants happy!!!

I put a pond in my conservatory. Unfortunately the fish died but the orchids and brugs love the humidity.

Beautiful Conservatory!!!! Interesting...er...scenery.....

He's the man who stands over the pond and has a fish by his feet that is a fountain. He's almost life size and people walking outside of the conservatory do a double take lots, they can only see his bum. LOL

I want one of those! The conservatory, I mean. Blush.

Joanne N.

Edited to add that I just brought home 4 orchids from this fabulous orchid grower and I feel positively guilty exposing them to the horrendously dry air we have. I neeeed a conservatory. LOL.



This message was edited Mar 24, 2007 2:27 PM