I know about the toxic waste dump too

My Rudbeckias started germinating the last couple of days too, Cherry Brandy was the first.

I had 2 or 3 blooms on mine before fall came.. kind of small but still flowered WS'ing

Allison, were they rud hirtas? My wintersown ones are usually in flower by mid July here in SW Ohio.

Karen

these were the first ones Sept 15th last year.. the cherry brandy seeds were given to me last year.. not sure if they are or not

Pretty! I liked the cherry brandy. (picture at top of this thread).

Karen

Allison, Rudbeckias have been like that for me too. A couple of years ago all that I wintersowed behaved more like biennials, with a few blooms the first year and lots the 2nd year. Then last year they behaved more as annuals, producing a huge display that year. I don't know if it was environmental factors or what? I love them so much, I just plan to WS some every year to ensure a good show each year regardless of what they do.

I should mention that I push the envelope with not having full sun anywhere .. that might be the problem for me

I finally wintersowed tomato seeds yesterday. I did them in 16 oz. cups half filled with potting mix. As they grow I add soil to the top of the cup, effectively planting the seedlings deeper in the soil. I did this once before and it worked well

Karen, when's your average last day of frost where you live, when you would be planting out your tomatoes? I ask this because ours is May 25, and the soil doesn't really begin to warm up until early-June. I'm trying to time the starting date for my own WS tomatoes. Your's must be earlier than mine here on the Cape, no?

I generally plant out tender annuals around May 15, but I'm a little more conservative with tomatoes. If the weather is warm, they go out sometime around the 15th to 20th.

Remember, with any sun at all (mine get morning sun if Mother Nature cooperates) the soil in the containers can warm up a lot more than garden soil. Have you ever stuck your finger down into the hole when the sun is shining on the jug? You can really feel the difference in the warmth and humidity inside the jug compared to what's outside. I've also measured the soil temp between garden soil temp and jug soil temp- in the jug it can be 10° to 20° warmer. (I measured with my compost thermometer).

Karen

Hmmm, I think I hear what you're saying: being in the jugs is the equivalent of being under a cloche, or "wall-o-water," so the WS tomato seedlings really are relatively protected. You're about 10 days ahead of me so I think I'll adjust accordingly.
Thanks!!

No sign of the petunia seeds yet. The poppies I direct sowed may have been washed away by some heavy rain we had after I sowed them :-(

MollyD

I sowed some pelleted petunia seeds about a week ago- no sprouts there either. But pelleted seeds always seem to take longer to sprout I think.

Karen

But pelleted seeds always seem to take longer to sprout I think.

Is this because it takes a while to get through the pellet-protection? What's the reason for pelleting, anyway?
--Emily, who has sowed some of them herself, but doesn't know why they are supposed to be a good thing.

Emily, pellets are used for some very tiny, hard to handle seeds. e.g. it's pretty tough to get one dust-like petunia sown at a time, but pellets are far easier to handle. But the pellets are made of a clay material and that clay has to break down before the seed is actually exposed and able to sprout.

If you only have 10 petunia seeds to start with, pellets can be a real help.

Karen

I will say it over and over.. I blast the pellet off with my spray bottle.. never leave them on unless they are ones that need dark to germinate

The coating on the pelleted Petunias I sowed just melted away when I watered the container, but I've always found purchased seed to take longer to germinate than saved seed. Do any of you note that?

yes some do

I've always found purchased seed to take longer to germinate than saved seed. Do any of you note that?

That's interesting, Neal. I suspect it's like Allison says and depends on the seeds?
I don't have a comparison because I only purchase the seeds I can't or didn't collect--sometimes hybrids. The seeds that I DO collect germinate very well--almost too well ;-) 'cause I always WS a lot of them and then I have many babies to find room/homes for. ("Every garden needs some Butterfly Weed plants--or ten--yeah; that's right!" )

Here's a jugeye shot of my Salvia transylvanica which is starting to sprout: