lessons learned for next year #5

I was thinking the same thing ... donation! and Trudi popped into my head, too. unless someone has a better idea. I saw one thread with a school, but they don't need any more.

I find I do not have a huge variety, just A LOT of seeds of the varieties i have.

I think i will look more into this when the WS frenzy picks up pace in Dec-Feb.

i've been finding seeds stashed in all sorts of places...everytime i think i know what i have it changes
almost surprised i haven't found sprouts :-)

You can also share extra seed with 'newbies' from Daves Garden. Makes you feel good and gives them a head start.

thanks for that reminder Anita .... with all the forums on Daves, sometimes ya just don't know where to look.

here is a link to the Seed Trading Forum
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/f/trading/all/

I also found this thread in the Seed Trade thread ....

I'm gonna go through my basket of seeds and send what i can.

http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/788072/

Ok, you folks' enthusiasm is contagious:-) I'm gonna try this...Of course I'm a total newbie to it, but I have a few seeds that are just crying out to be wintersown. So far I've collected seeds from my diathus, zinnias, hollyhocks, cleome, and some salvia coral nymph..Anyone with way too much can send some my way!
I'll keep reading your wonderful wealth of info and advice on the subject and cleaning out space on the patio!
Keep up the great job:->
Bev

Bev,

you can take a peek at my "haves" list and see if anything strikes your fancy.
I dont have a huge variety, and since i just gave away a lot of my bulk seeds, i'm down to a modest amount, but enough to still send some to a WS newbie.

you can also, if you haven't do so already -- pop on in to the Seed trading forum [link posted 2 mssgs above]
there are many in there that will send seeds if you send them a SASE. [self addressed envelope]

Terese

Thanks for the suggestion, Terese...I am checking there as we speak!
I also checked your list. I would love to try some of your cosmos if you have any left. Let me know, I'd be happy to send as sase:-)
Thanks!
BTW, the campansis should be orangey and tubular. It grows as a native here. I have one that I purchased at the arboretum here that is a lighter orange with a yellow throat. It usually roots about some, so check with me in the spring if you are interested in it. It's cultivar is 'Tangerine Beauty'. See pic on my have list.
Bev

This message was edited Nov 17, 2007 4:59 PM

Anita, I've kind of done an 'Adopt a Newbie' and sent one person who was starting over from scratch a really good stash to start.

Bev .... I was cleaning seeds earlier today and have TONS of cosmos left.

That would be wonderful, Terese! Found your add in the exch. Should I send one or two stamps:-))
Bev

2 and i'll be able to give you plenty.

I'll send it out on Monday! Thanks so much for sharing:-))

Does anyone use 2 liter "soda" bottles for winter sowing? I do and they work very well!
Instructions for how to use these used to be on the winter sowing website, so I suppose they still are... (I also use these for rooting cuttings that need humidity...)

I also found a source for clear tall cups (they have more than one size cup) with dome lids, not free, but .09 each if that is not too expensive.... I bought a box of 600 at Starbucks for $54. They are clear, clean, and I think a nice size for either individual or maybe 2 or 3 seeds depending on what it is. What I really like is that they are sterile in case some seeds have to be done indoors. I know we are talking about winter sowing, but I do both depending on what it is and how many different things I am doing. Some seeds need to be in the dark to germinate, and for me that is easier to control in the house. Some seeds need higher temps to germinate and would be later compared to if started indoors. Anyway these containers work either way.

I used a few 2ltr bottles last year. and yes, i found the directions on how to "cut them" on the WS.org pages.
To hold them all in place, especially on blustery winter days -- i'd put them in a card board box. that worked well.

>>with dome lids

is that the Frappuccino cup and lid? makes sense that it would work, nice big hole in the top.
we reuse those cups all the time, my oldest works there - so we usually have a few laying around.

I can't recall if i used them last year .... with such a narrow bottom, you wouldn't be able to get too many seeds in there.

I had that problem with a few of the WS containers i used.
I just may stick with Gal jugs for this year.

I use the quart milk containers when planting a few seeds and the gallon water for everything else. I like the handle aspect of them.

When you plant a bunch of seeds in a milk jug, do you have trouble separating the plants in spring? Our milk jugs are not really clear. They are a semi-seethrough white. Not a lot of light comes through. Are yours different? Are the gallon water jugs clear?

RE the Starbucks cups... I figure with 1 or 2 seeds in them they wouldn't be any more crowded than 1 is in a six pack container. with 600 cups that is 600-1200 plants. I thought it was worth a try. I will also use my 2-liters so I should have plenty of plants! I only did winter sowing for the 1st time last year. I had a good turnout on most. Some of my containers were too shallow I think. They did ok, but would have been better if they were deeper. Especially since we were so busy it took us too long to plant them out. Also we had a relly bad wind and most of my poppies turned over and you know what that means... They did not like that at all! I did not think those rectangular flat containers would blow over like that.

yardqueen1948 - I think the semi-see through milk jugs will work just fine. grow_jo up in Canada uses them for her WS . . . http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/fp.php?pid=4232441 (demonstrating how she makes the holes).

yardqueen - last year was my first too. and yes, our milk jugs are opaque, but all mine did quite well.
some of them i pretty much dumped a packet of seeds in there and did have troubles getting them out ... but i just did the HOS method - i'd rip the soil/seedlings in quarters and pop them in the ground.

so - one of my lessons learned there was .... don't use so many seeds per container.

and I too had some where I didnt use enough soil ... i think the 4" rule is one to follow. some i probably only had 2" and i found their growth was stunted - til i got them in the ground.

syrumani -- i do mine similar to Joanne, but just cut it a lil farther. i think i still have an image.

then when the weather has warmed up enough to take the lid off permanently, i'd just cut the rest off.

i used a hole punch to make the holes and twisty ties to keep them closed.

I used 1/2 and 1 gallon semi-translucent plastic milk containers also. The seeds germinated fine inside of them.

I agree with tcs1366....Don't germinate the entire packet of seeds! Unless, you have acres & acres of gardens to plant!!!

Yes, they tend to germiate in clumps. I also use the "hunk of seedling" method when transplanting them from my milk containers to the garden. The seedlings are very forgiving! They transplant and bloom just fine.

My containers are held together with silver colored duct tape. Nothing fancy, but it works just fine!! Don't forget to label your containers on the bottom and/or sides with a china pencil or paint pen that is weather & sun tolerant and will not fade. You can find them in craft stores.

I found this message in the Seed Swap thread -- very good "lesson learned"

the way I did this last year, the marking of the containers, was....
I put a # on the container plus on a wood popsicle stick marker [with the plant name on 1 side and the corresponding number on the other side of the stick.] then i entered all the pertinent data in a note book, and spreadsheet.

when i planted out, i'd stick the stick [if there was one, as not all containers had one] into the ground with said seedlings. By mid-summer many of the lil wooden sticks were rotting, some broke in half so they were useless.

I did buy some plant markers, so i replaced some of the sticks, but not all. I bet next year i will be pulling some plants that i think are weeds, since there will be no markers.

another lesson learned... if you are entering data into a notebook or some type of paper, make note of where you put said note so you can find them later.... I seem to have misplaced the one that had the planting out details on it. **shakes head** oh well, live and learn.

I bought REALLY CHEAP mini blinds at wall mart. Makes hundreds of tags... Some I punch holes and hang on a branch and some I stick in the pot or dirt in the garden. I love paint pens!

Yardqueen, I'm with you. For less than $3 you've already got 100's of strips of plastic. I cut the bottom into a v to make it easier to stick in the ground. The writing doesn't come off with either a #2 pencil or a garden pen. I wait until my plants are big then I usually make a metal marker but I ldo eave the plastic one in the ground for an extra id just in case one goes missing.

I'm interested in doing the zip lock bag over the bottom half of a container -- but I wonder what happens when there's a big snowfall -- doesn't it collapse into the container?

crockny - I just planted about four containers using a half-bottom in a zip lock bag. I inserted 2 sticks on opposite ends of each container and sealed and taped the zip lock bag, leaving about a one inch opening between the two sticks. The sticks are supporting the top of the zip lock bag. This is my first time winter sowing and am trying several methods suggestions by our fellow DGer's.

It has been a long time since I checked in here and I just skimmed everything since the last time. Guess I had better do a better job of keeping up.

I am in the process of organizing my seeds to get ready for a seed trade on the 12th here in the Twin Cities. It is so much fun I can't wait. Last year we had a snow storm and I didn't get to it so I am more than ready for a trade/potluck.

there is a "SWAP" frenzie in the Seed Trading Forum ... for anyone interested

http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/801335/

Just thought I'd add a link to the post I made yesterday on my blog, about my wintersowing. This is my third winter for it.

http://ourlittleacre.blogspot.com/2008/01/wintersowing-2008.html


Here's a link also to my last year's blog post about my wintersowing:

http://ourlittleacre.blogspot.com/2007/01/sow-n-go.html

I Kylee, I love your blog! What a fantastic writer you are. I added a link from my site [http://www.lakehousecreations.com/winter_sowing.htm ] to yours. I hope you don't mind. I plan on getting started next weekend.

Anita, how flattering! Thank you!

Wow. I'm impressed. You had success with so many things! I'm such a lightweight in comparison! Nemphila! I've tried to grow that a couple of times with no success. Maybe I'll try wintersowing it. And I never even considered doing gazanias that way. I need to start more jugs!

I'm drooling over your journals. Those are just gorgeous! I can't quite see the last one though. When I click on it, it doesn't enlarge for me.

Kylee, I can't agree more with you in referencing Anita's winter sowing. I read and re-read so much of her journals and charts last year to get me started. I wouldn't have had the success I had had not it been for Anita's information. Your blog is wonderful too! Your pictures are so easy to follow and understand. I'm sure the information you are providing in your blog will certainly help folks new to winter sowing get a good clear understanding of the process.

Coredeledawg, thanks! I've just read so much angst over this wintersowing stuff that I really wanted to show how easy it is. I feel like since I've done it a couple of times before, I can honestly say it's not that hard at all. Hopefully, this year's version will go well, too!

It's true that alot of people make more of wintersowing than necessary. Kylee, I found that a small piece of duct tape on each side of the container made my life alot easier that wrapping all the way around. I was amazed at how stuck the tape was come spring.

Anita: I do the same. One small piece of tape vertically on each of 2 corners is all I need. The first year I taped securely all the way around the jug and it was a pain to remove in spring.

Karen

I did the same, except just one piece of tape on the opposite side of my hinge.

I wondered how hard it would be to get that tape off this spring. Thanks for the ideas. This is my first year WS so I think it will be fun.

dylancgc - we are going to have a blast doing this . . . . whatever are going to do with all the little plants we start????

Seandor... NO KIDDING!! I'm getting about 63 or so new varieties in the swap... and i htink i'm on the low end for receiving!! how about you? Plus all the new ones I got since this summer. I"m already quietly freaking out.