I have a question. I just got some seeds from georgiavines.com and want to know if it is safe to winter sow the seeds that are perennial in my zone 5? Also would it be safe to winter sow annual seeds or should I wait until the weather starts warming such as in April before putting the annual seeds out?

Jeanne if they are perennial in your zone you can W/S them now. Some need the cold moist stratification anyway.
IMHO I'd wait until the beginning of April for your annuals unless they are very cold hardy. Again even some annuals like cleome and four o'clock do well with the CMS .
What annuals are you going to sow?

A couple new seeds that I just got are:
Zinnia Queen Red Lime
Lathyrus odoratus Spencer Ripple

Older store bought seeds are:
Alyssum
Nicotiana
Aster
Evening Primrose
Gypsophila
Cleome
Sweet William
Nasturtium
Convolvulus
Forget-me-not
Zinnia
Shasta Daisy

You could W/S the Lathyrus odoratus Spencer Ripple in mid March.
I would wait a bit on the Nasturtium, Convolvulus and Zinnia. I've done the other's now with no problem. I'm zone6.
My Cleome comes back on it's own every year same with the Alyssum, Nicotiana and Aster.

Thanks Ronnie. I will do some of the others now and the others in March/April. I have a few others that I am going to experiment with just to see if they can be winter sown but will have extra seeds to plant if they do not grow.

Here are my jugs so far. I'm excited! I used a hot glue gun to put the holes in. I didn't use the glue. I just used the heated tip to melt the holes through.

Great job!
You should have a good garden this year!

IF I can get the beds in shape.

If planting directions say sow in fall or spring couldn't one just WS the seeds?

Fall yes, spring could be questionable...

Leslie, That would be my thought also. I just took a lunch break. I have been winter sowing more seeds in milk jugs. I filled the jugs with soil and put them in a tote of water so they could soak up the water from the bottom. Then I cut up cardboard type egg cartons and made flat sections for dividing my milk jugs into 4ths. I am numbering my milk jugs with a wooden tongue depressor type stick for inside the container. I am keeping track on paper what is in each quarter of each milk jug. In each milk jug, I am adding a thin layer of seed starting mix on top of the wet soil so the small seeds don't fall into the cracks and get too deep. Then I am adding the seeds and then putting another thin layer of seed starting mix on top and pressing it down slightly . Then I am misting with water to soaking and letting it set a day before sealing and putting outside. I am so anxious to see how this works for me. I will let you all know in the spring how this worked out. Here are a few pictures.

Here my milk jugs are sitting in a tote soaking up water from the bottom.

Now they are soaked and waiting for the egg carton dividers.

The top left section has seed starter put on top of the wet soil.

The seeds have been planted and a layer of seed starter is covering them.

These are containers that I did this morning. They are waiting for the clear tape to be put around the two sections to seal it before going outside.

I used the cardboard from toilet paper rolls in a lot of these smaller containers for larger seeds such as Daylily, Hollyhock, Lupine, and others.

You may think this is a lot of work and it is but I am hoping for a rewarding payoff this spring.

Jeanne,
I like your egg carton dividers. I'm curious as to why you used the toilet paper rolls. Would you explain your thinking please?

I have a ton of those white plastic "picket" pot markers. I used them to kind of section off my jugs if I didn't have enough seeds to fill a whole one. I wrote the name of the seeds on the pickets and then had them face the seeds they represented. I wish now I'd thought of using my 4x4 pots in gallon ziplock back for the seeds I didn't have many of. I'm out of jugs and will have to wait on several seeds types until I can get more. In the mean time I've done lots of the ziplock ones. Will post pics soon.

Thanks to all of you for sharing your WS tips and tricks. I ran out of 1-gallon milk & water jugs and just picked up a few 2-liter soda bottles to try. I don't get my seeds sown in the next little bit, I'm going to miss winter altogether!

gardenglassgems said:Evelyn, I do have a large area to plant these flowers if they do germinate and grow. I have a large yard with many flower beds that need to have more flowers added to them. I am thinking that I am going to be pretty busy this spring. I have a few more jugs to winter sow plus I want to start some seeds inside under lights before spring. I just ordered about 26 different flower seeds that are supposes to be here tomorrow.

Jeanne, you are going to be VERY busy!!!

Sundownr said:I don't get my seeds sown in the next little bit, I'm going to miss winter altogether!

I know! According to the Farmer's Almanac my area only has two freezes left this winter.

@Lalambchop1 I use the toilet paper rolls so that the single seed roots stay pretty much within the roll and then when it is time I just take the whole roll out and plant it and don't disturb the roots. The roots will grow through it and the cardboard will become part of the soil. I hope that explains it.

I know I will be busy if even one thing per pot grows since I now have 79 jugs filled and a few more to do. Then I will go on a little later to germinating seeds in paper towels and planting the sprouts when they begin. What else is there to do while it is still cold and snowy outside???

I also just planted some Gladiolus in pots and I didn't get my Allium bulbs planted in the ground this fall so now I have them sprouting in pots. I have a couple make shift greenhouses set up in my garage. I must take a picture of them and show you. I just finished putting tarps around one which is a chain link dog kennel in my garage. I am hoping to hold in the heat and humidity with the tarps. Our garage is heated with LP and set at 50 degrees when we are not burning wood in the furnace. I will try to post pictures tomorrow.

Jeanne, I hope you have a lot of room! Please post pics of your garden this year.

If you put pots in plastic bins whose lids are not translucent, just use them upside down . Put the lid down upside down, put pots in place and snap the box part on top.

Karen

I am so excited at some of the results I'm getting in my first try at wintersowing. These daylily plants were sown Jan. 23rd. 5 weeks on and I have to transplant them. THey're at the top of the jug!