Hi Kassia!

It's my first year, too!

I've done 2 batches so far. I did perennials in January, a mix of perennials/annuals last week, and will be doing the annuals and veggies next month.

I already have sprouts in almost all of the jugs from the first batch! I'm terrible with record keeping, so I'm not sure if the columbines never sprouted, or if they sprouted too early and got killed during a recent chill.

This is the second most fun thing I've done related to gardening. (The MOST fun has been watching the crocus blooms come up in January. They're beautiful! )

Hi, Kassia

You'll love wintersowing. We're all struggling a bit with the oddly warm weather this season. But, don't forget that you can also use the same wintersowing method to start annuals--you'll just start them at a later date. Here in our zone, we usually start annuals by this method in early-mid April (our normal last frost date is May 15th).

Feel free to ask questions....there are several experienced Winter Sowers on this forum.

HI I'm more of a lurker but am here!

Welcome, Springcolor (love your name). Feel free to lurk or join as you feel comfortable--we're a pretty friendly bunch

oh I always have a tendency to do things the hard way... like starting winter sowing in a tough year!!!! lets see what happens!! just hope some will grow!!!!

Thanks for your warm welcome!!!! I took a couple of years off from gardening and from online gardening - used to be at DG and things just got complicated there... glad you guys have started here... time for new things this year!!!

Allison I am sure we will see each other this year.... and I will get some of your plant too... I am thinking of a RU here in my garden this year... it's a special year for me... I turn 50 on May 7th so I am celebrating it!!!!

oh wouldn't that be awesome!!!.. RU & Birthday party!!!!.. wouldn't miss it for the world!!!

glad you are here and you will be surprised how easy it is to WS.. makes the plants much tougher

We're in for a colder weekend, with night time lows in the mid 20s. I'm really glad none of my WSown stuff has sprouted yet. I've kept them in a shady spot that only gets the early morning sun, around 8 or 9 a.m., for an hour or less, to discourage early germination. So far that has worked. Some folks on another forum I belong to already have sprouts in zone 5.

ssgardener, I'd bet your columbines haven't sprouted yet, or at least not many of them - they tend to be slowpokes.

Karen

we have freezing rain this morning.. would not be good if anything sprouted

Hi all!

Kassia, you're going to be hooked before you know it! I only started wsing 3 years ago. I have since added gardens to accomodate my addiction. LoL Wsing is definitely my preferred method of starting seeds.

Sandy, in an earlier post, you mentioned that you when you start plants inside and they begin to get leggy, you move them to your greenhouse. I have some annuals that I started inside. They are still alive but sort of at a stand still. I'm wondering if my sprouts would benefit from being transplanted to a larger pot and to a more humid environment. I am thinking I could transplant the sprout to a 4 in pot then set them inside some of my wsing containers or I have a aquarium I could use. What do you think?

Hi Anita -- what kind of annuals do you have started, and how big are they now, and when were they planted? Are they under lights, or ? What did you use for a growing medium -- I haven't had very good luck using things that were supposed to be specifically for seed starting, so maybe your plants just need some fertilizer. (I usually start using a dilute Miracle Gro on my seedlings when they have a couple of sets of true leaves, really very dilute, just a light blue color) The annuals I start - mainly petunias, marigolds, impatiens - seem to get pretty overgrown even in the smaller 6-packs if I don't get around to potting them up, so I'm not sure that a larger pot is going to spur yours into growing bigger. And I think an enclosure like a ws jug or aquarium might be *too* humid and lead to mildew or damping off. So many variables.... but then, the uncertainty seems to hold some sort of attraction to us, doesn't it !! I hope we all have a good gardening season this year!

Hi Anita

Is there any way you could give them a shot of brighter light for a few days to see if they perk up? If they are leggy but dark green, I would suspect not enough light.

If pale green and not tall, like not growing at all, maybe rootbound, or maybe need a little bit more fertilizer.

Have the roots fully filled their pots, right down to the bottom? If the mix is saturated with water in the lower inch or so (like perched water), the roots may lack air down there, and be unable to go deeper. In that case, they might benfit from setting the existing pots on a capillary mat, or using a coarser mix when you pot up.

Or even take them out of their current pot, add a wick to the bottom, going out the drain hole, and return them to their pot. But it would seem easier to pot them up instead, if you're going to that much trouble.

You might pick 1-2 plants, and pot them up as a way of examining the root balls. If they are already quite root-bound right down to the bottom of the pot, probably potting up the whole bunch is needed.

If there are only a few few roots in the lower inch or so of soil, they are probably drowing, so give them some air in the current pot, or a bigger pot.

oh just what I need... a new addiction... well, maybe that does not count since is garden related?!http://garden.org/thread/view/7851/Wintersowing-chat/?offset=60

I just got 3 empty milk jugs... yay.... here goes more plants...

I started my seeds in vermicutlite. I wouldn't suspect that they are root bound, just yet. But they may to be potted up in some potting mix. I have clematis, cannas, amaranthus, callas, shrimp plants and dahlia sprouts. I have them under grow lights just a couple of inches over the plants from 6 am - 10pm. I will check out the roots once I make it home. I potted up the clematis and cannas. I have been giving them a waek shot of fertilizer. I will post a picture once I make it home.

New containers... I can't stop!!!!

My attempt to be creative...


cover: just another tray covered with heavier plastic...




Ready to go outside!

Kassia I like to use the milk jugs because the soil will be deeper ... sometimes the flats can fry and dry out too quick.. keep an eye on them

I like milk jugs for wintersown seeds, too. I've never used flats. They're shallow plus have a large surface area to dry out. And it wouldn't take much wind to blow them away.

Like Allison said, Kassia, keep a close eye on those flats. As the weather warms they might do better in a spot protected from too much sun or wind.

Karen

This is what I used the one year I tried WS. I didn't figure out a way to replace the opaque cover with translucent film (slit for ventilation) for some weeks, and I kept it on a shady porch for many weeks, hoping it would get cold enough to stratify.

It never dried out, but then nothing in it ever sprouted, except the Penstemon that took until April-may for ANY to be visible (barely) to the naked eye.

I have such a small yard, I don't need a whole milk jug-full of any one variety. And, two years later, I've only found a total of 2 milk jubs. (I should look for our local solid waste transfer station and/or dump).






WS attempt above , 2010-2011. There are a few mini-micro- Penstmon sprouts on the left, on vermiculite.




I usually start small seeds in trays, inside, now, but back then I used a lot of Solo cups.

Milk jugs. Potting soil.



Karen

such a pleasant sight!!

Pretty soon, Allison. I usually start to see sprouts some time in March, so...

Karen