Author Topic: Ready to winter sow? (Read 5251 times)

barleychown · « **on:** Dec 12, 2008, 08:05:24 PM »

I'll be doing some winter sowing again this winter. If anyone else has an interest in doing this, I can do a step by step tutorial on this.

Good plants to winter sow include trees, shrubs, herbs, most perennials, and hardy annuals. Winter sowing is a good, easy, cheap way to add plants to your gardens.

Who's in?

Triss · « **Reply #1 on:** Dec 12, 2008, 08:06:52 PM »

I am in. Dunno what I am going to sow yet though. I hope I have more success this year.

barleychown · « **Reply #2 on:** Dec 12, 2008, 08:22:06 PM »

Awesome!

Start saving your milk jugs and the like now...you will be suprised how many you will use!

Triss · « **Reply #3 on:** Dec 12, 2008, 08:41:54 PM »

Will do. I even have a table for them this year.

Bonnie · « **Reply #4 on:** Dec 12, 2008, 11:18:41 PM »

I love your tutorials. I would like to read it even if I don't plant.

duh · « **Reply #5 on:** Dec 13, 2008, 08:17:23 AM »

I'm in. I got some Golden Chain Tree seeds and I would like to give them a try. And maybe I'll but in a bunch of blackberry lilies.

barleychown · « **Reply #6 on:** Dec 15, 2008, 03:16:06 PM »

Great! I'll be sure to take lots of pics.

I have around 20 milk jugs saved. I need more.

Dianna · « **Reply #7 on:** Dec 15, 2008, 03:24:11 PM »

I think I would like to try this, too.

How many seeds do you put in a gallon jug, Sarah? I am just curious. I can wait for the answer until you get the tutorial done. I just know I will forget if I don't ask now...

barleychown · « **Reply #8 on:** Dec 15, 2008, 03:29:48 PM »

I've read where with the smaller seeds, it's about half a packet of seeds. Then, once they sprout and get going good you divide them up when you plant them out. They call it hunk o' seedlings.

Dianna · « **Reply #9 on:** Dec 15, 2008, 03:35:30 PM »

Hunk of seedlings sound good to me!

Should make it a whole lot easier to water in the gallon jugs, also...

Bonnie · « **Reply #10 on:** Dec 15, 2008, 04:41:07 PM »

What all are you planning to winter sow, Sarah?

barleychown · « **Reply #11 on:** Dec 15, 2008, 06:53:55 PM »

I need lots of common perennials, like liatris and coreopsis to fill in beds in the back yard. Tough stuff, because the chickens free range back there, and everything is fair game to them.

duh · « **Reply #12 on:** Dec 16, 2008, 05:37:59 AM »

I'm thinking of planting the Kiss me over the garden gate, Knautia Macedonica "Burgandy Wine", . Love in a puff, Rabanete Sparkler Radisch, Radish "April Cross Hybrid", Radish "Crimson Giant", Radish, White, Sea Holly - Eryngium Planum, Sweet Pea, Tickseed. And that's the entire winter list. A couple I think I actually planted at the end of fall.

duh · « **Reply #13 on:** Dec 17, 2008, 03:46:59 PM »

Well I'm almost ready for the winter sow. I got a 5 gallon bucket of amended top soil at our landscape place to mix with my bio-matter. Now all i have to do is decide where to put what I want to plant for the winter. I'm thinking about making a small unheated greenhouse on the deck using pvc pipe and clear heavy plastic. Something very simple.

Penny · « **Reply #14 on:** Dec 26, 2008, 09:14:43 PM »

Not sure yet what i am going to start, but i will be watching this thread.

duh · « **Reply #15 on:** Jan 09, 2009, 01:31:38 PM »

i got the blackberry lilies and the sea holly planted and put outside. I still have a bunch of both kinds of seeds left. Hopefully they will still be viable next year.

Not that it's the least bit winterish for the most part. But I've done my part. Hopefully we won't have any more wind storms or the yogurt cups will go flying.

So the winter planting included the mock orange, wild yellow plum, sea holly and blackberry lilies. That's not much I admit. But I've been fighting some depression and it's really made even doing the simplist thing almost impossible. I hate it when I get like that but I hate what the medication does to me too. So I get between a rock and a hard place sometimes.

Penny · « **Reply #16 on:** Jan 09, 2009, 01:34:02 PM »

Sounds like a good start so far.

duh · « **Reply #17 on:** Jan 10, 2009, 10:08:15 AM »

Thanks for the kind words.

bestofour · « **Reply #18 on:** Jan 10, 2009, 02:19:01 PM »

when will you sow your tomatoes?

duh · « **Reply #19 on:** Jan 10, 2009, 07:29:03 PM »

I'll start those indoors about 6 weeks before I want to start hardening them off. That would be March 15 and start hardening them off on May 1st. That way they aren't as tall as they usually get before I can get them outside.

bestofour · « **Reply #20 on:** Jan 10, 2009, 11:07:17 PM »

what does "hardening off" mean?

duh · « **Reply #21 on:** Jan 11, 2009, 11:20:06 AM »

hardening off means that when a seedling is ready to be planted outside that you acclimatize it to the outdoors. First take the seedlings outside during the day and leave them in an appropriate location for their likes. For example full sun for plants that like that and partial shade for plants that prefer those conditions. Try for a sheltered spot if you can so the plants can get used to the wind. And then bring them in, in the evening. Do that for about a week. Then leave them out overnight for about a week. Then you can put them in the ground.

Today I finished off my winter sow. I did 10 butterfly weed cups with three seeds each and 8 luffa sponge seeds.

So now they are all out on the deck where I can keep an eye on them. Cross your fingers we don't get anymore major wind storms this winter. I'm probably asking alot on that one.

Dianna · « **Reply #22 on:** Feb 12, 2009, 02:30:58 PM »

Is it time yet?

Do I cut off the top of the milk jugs?

bestofour · « **Reply #23 on:** Feb 12, 2009, 07:22:29 PM »

I'm going to start some tomato seeds after the 21st.

Penny · « **Reply #24 on:** Feb 13, 2009, 12:21:23 PM »

Same here Tammy, i am going to wait until around the beginning of March or so before i start all my tomatoes, since our last frost date up here is May 20th.

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Author Topic: Ready to winter sow? (Read 5251 times)