There have been times when I lost seedlings on the periphery of the container which were touching the plastic, but those in the middle survived. Time will tell.

I haven't decided on WSown annuals yet, I'll have to search my seedbox. But mostly likely profusion zins, marigolds, nicotiana, alyssum, Yvonne's salvia, forget-me-nots... and maybe a few others.

Karen

Ok, thanks Karen, I was not so much concerned because I have annuals that reseed their self in yard or flower bed but It takes all summer for them to germinate, I never see any flowers till october then right when they are getting big and pretty a frost will kill them.

I have now tried MiracleGro organic, Fafard regular and organic, Espoma organic, and Al's (tapla) 5:1:1 bark:perlite:peat mixes for wintersowing.

I didn't mean to start an experiment, but these are just the bags that were either left over in the shed or were on sale.

Espoma is my least favorite and I will not be buying it again. It turned to hard brick as soon as it got a little bit wet. I don't know how anything could grow in it. Fafard is my favorite. It has this beautiful silky texture when wet. Al's mix was pretty good, but I hadn't done good job of sifting out the bigger bark pieces. If I put the energy into sifting it a little better, I think it has the potential of being a really good mix, and cheaper than pre-made.

I had just made Al's "gritty mix" (Turface, grit, and bark) for my succulents, so I had very small pieces of Turface that I'd sifted out. Instead of sand, I sprinkled Turface fines over the seeds. I'm hoping the Turface helps with moisture retention this spring when things start heating up.

I still have a bag of ProMix that I'll be using for spring sowing. I wonder if I'll like it as much as the Fafard. Now I need to see what's more cost effective!

I use ProMix, Fafard, or Sunshine metro mix and all work well for me without amending.

Karen

I just bought some Fafard, but haven't tried it yet. Glad to you you both like it so well.

I'm in zone 5. I'm not usually out of danger if frost until midMay. Should I wait until then to ws annuals?

My last frost date is around the same time, and I sow my annuals around March or April. But I'm willing to give them protection from overnight frost if necessary. (that's a big disclaimer!)

Some years our weather is already hot in April and annuals will sprout, other years the weather is still pretty cool. I watch the forecast and decide when to sow them but basically it's a crap shoot.

Karen

I think I have been wsing my annuals much too late. Most of my plants will not go out until June 1 to be on the safe side. I did sow some herbs in early June, those did okay but the tender annuals didn't perform well. I think I need the extra couple of months. I'm going to try them in April as well.

Anita:

I did my annuals in late March/early April and everything did great. My zone is probably very similar to yours. My jugs were in an area that was only slightly protected, but they were within a cardboard containers and all nestled together--no problem with frost.

mom2goldens said:Anita:

I did my annuals in late March/early April and everything did great. My zone is probably very similar to yours. My jugs were in an area that was only slightly protected, but they were within a cardboard containers and all nestled together--no problem with frost.

I did my annuals at this time too, and we're nearly neighbors.

It can pay to sow them in March or April and just give them a little added protection for an overnight frost. It only takes a minute to throw a blanket or tarp over them at night and another minute to remove it in the morning. I'd rather do that than risk losing the seedlings and it doesn't happen that often. I've also been known to move them into the garage overnight for a deep freeze.

Karen

the garage is always a good option

How long does it take annuals that are sown this way to start blooming? It "seems" to me that they would be later than if started indoors, but are they? For instance, I normally start my petunias around the beginning of April, to get them blooming, or close to it, by Memorial Day. I start them inside under lights, and then move them out to the greenhouse about the 3rd week in April, depending on the weather. If I start them in jugs aren't they going to take longer to get going?

a bit longer.. it all depends on how much effort you want to put into them .. WS'ing is the easy way for sure

lol, well, gardening up here near the Arctic Circle just IS a lot more work than it is for some of you! Too short a season to wait for late bloomers, but I might try doing some that way for some plants to fill in when the older ones start looking worn out.

Mine definitely start later but it depends on so many things, most notably the plant. Cool weather plants like bachelor buttons, calendula, larkspur, or poppies do pretty well in cool spring weather. Heat lovers like marigold and zinnia are slower in that weather.

But again, with WSing it's in Mother Nature's control. Last spring we had our coldest, cloudiest, rainy weather ever and everything was slow to get moving. Some years we're already hot in April and the heat lovers are already thriving. So, again, a crap shoot, but it usually works out well for me.

This year should prove interesting. After our warm winter, I'm hoping for a warm spring to follow. But hoping for some sunshine, too, unlike last year. We had over 13" of rain last April alone- cool and cloudy every day. Hopefully we'll see a little more sun and less rain this year.

Karen

parks seed sale with free shipping
http://parkseed.com/category.a...

Oh, my!

I do have some empty spots now in my seed binders...

...I've been busy.

I have almost a hundred varieties planted so far.....

You've got to stop doing that, Allison. How do you expect me to resist a free shipping sale?

well you need $50.00 to get the free shipping.. might be a deterrent

as I look around in my seeds I realized how many I actually have... need... to.. stop... buying