Glad that you're now feeling better and ready to WS! Keep us posted with the progress of the jugs! ;-)

Thank you Emily, and I will keep ya'll posted.

Hi, Debbie. How nice to see you here! I'm sorry it took me so long to check in. I've had a few very hectic days @ work and at home. Happy for a few days off. Debbie, sorry to hear you have been sick, glad you are feeling better.

Emily is right- your wintersowing should be fine now as long as it's not seeds that need a long cold stratification.

I checked my jugs when I got home from work yesterday, just before the monsoon rains started. Four of my 15 jugs have sprouted. (2 alyssum, 1 dianthus, 1 liatris). I have been so busy I had not looked at them for about a week, I guess. Even after years of wintersowing those first few sprouts are exciting, somehow much more so than indoor sprouts- confirmation that spring will soon be here.

Karen

Karen,
How long did your liatris take to sprout? I've been peering into mine for quite a while now and nothing...Much else has come up so I am really looking for it to make it.
Bev

I sowed the liatris sometime in January and it sprouted within the last few days. Our high temps this week have been in the 50s and low 60s so I guess maybe that's the temp they like for germination.

We really had monsoon type rain last night and it's raining again now. Current temp is 46°. It's not supposed to stop raining until Monday, then be sunny with temps in the 50s for a few days. Maybe I'll see some more action then. I'm kind of surprised that the ruds and snaps haven't sprouted as they're usually early birds for me. I don't expect the echinacea for a while because they're always slowpokes.

Karen

Joanne, when do you wintersow the Livingstone Daisy? winter or mild spring weather?

Karen

Thanks...Maybe there's hope yet for the liatris. Most of my ruds are up including the Denvers Daisy that I got from Ella (many thanks, lady:))).

I usually ws my stuff between mid to late March. You have an earlier spring so you should be good to go.

Thanks, Joanne.

I sowed a flat of seeds inside today. It's a mixed bag of stuff that should have been sown already. I did either a 4-pack or a 6-pack of each type and stuck them all in one flat. They included Livingstone daisy, petunia, impatiens, coleus, verbena, alyssum, zinnia... Oh well, time will tell.

I intended to wintersow some today, too, but never got that far. I just have so many things on my "to do" list besides sowing seeds that I just can't get to it. And I'm tired. The fact that it has been raining for 24 hours isn't helping my energy level.

Karen

I'm suffering from the same rainy-day malady, Karen. I was planning on starting my tomato seeds and some herbs today. All I managed to accomplish was getting other plants rearranged under my grow lights in preparation for the seed trays. My yard looks like it could use some bog plants right about now. Maybe tomorrow for the tomato seeds.....

It's monsooning today--I know just how you all feel; kinda sapped of all energy as the rain comes down and down. . . I finally roused myself this afternoon and sowed a few jugs of hardy stuff that needs to go out. And while standing out in my patio to distribute my containers and getting nicely drenched, thank you very much, I glanced down and spotted two jugs of green sprouts!! Oh frabjous day! White Alyssum and Calendula Citrus Cocktail--and the latter is 2008 seeds! Oh, Spring!
It IS a lot more exciting than the indoor seeds.

YAY Emily! So glad to hear you are seeing sprouts. None here yet. I need to look up that variety of calendula--have never heard of it before. I'm thinking I will need to put on hip-waders to go out in my yard tomorrow. We have flood warnings in our county (the river about 1/2 mile from us was seriously over it's banks this afternoon, and it is still raining

Hi Linda,
Hope that the rising river doesn't threaten your property!
Here's the PlantFiles entry on Citrus Cocktail. Thompson and Morgan also offer the seeds. It's a sweet little bushy plant with bright yellow blooms for the front of the summer border. My seeds were T & M from 2008. Rather pleased that they came up. Now I'm hoping that they survive the monsoon in their jugs! Oh, I know they will, but it's really blowing outside tonight.

http://davesgarden.com/guides/...

Ugh! It's still raining. It has been raining almost constantly since since Friday at dinner time. That day and a half of rain, plus all the recent snow melt, is causing flooding here too. And it's supposed to rain until tomorrow morning.

I guess I will wintersow my tomatoes soon. I have no space left under lights unless I evict other things. (my shelves are stuffed with overwintered coleus mostly). I do think the tomato plants seem healthier when wintersown anyway.

I haven't wintersown any tender annuals yet. Just a few six pack put under lights yesterday.

Karen

Karen, I'm like you; it's SO grisly outside (a lovely nor-easter rattling my windows) that I'm inside fingering my seed packets and longing to plant something--ANYthing! ;-)
I agree with you about wintersown tomato plants--three years ago that was all I had left after a cold wind did in my toms that I had raised under lights and was attempting to harden off! Not those sturdy little WS guys. No sir. They did just fine.
Do you have specific recommendations for WS tomato varieties that have done particularly well for you? Not all of my WS tom seeds germinated last year. Could have been the seeds, or perhaps the varieties--I don't know enough to tell.

My favorite tomato is Snow White. They're sweet little yellow cherry tomatoes
http://www.tomatogrowers.com/w...

I also grew Matina last year. It's a small early one (58 days) but the taste is very good.
http://www.tomatogrowers.com/e...

My husband also picked 2 beefsteak ones that he wants this year. One was called Aussie and I don't remember the other. I'll be growing those this year, too.

I did nothing useful today. We watched a movie "Radio Rock" which we never do during the day. It's just a sleepy, dreary day.

Karen

Thank you for the suggestions! I hadn't heard of Matina OR Snow White. It's good to know some new "favorites" and I'm glad to hear that they WS well. I liked their descriptions.

A few WS seedlings for you. These are Salvias:

Salvia transylvatica:

Gazani rigens and Kiss: