In preparation to try winter sowing for the first, I requested free seeds from the people over at wintersown.org. They came in the mail today!
It was very simple, I just mailed them a self addressed stamped envelope per the instructions on their website and the seeds arrived about a week later. They came wrapped in this little flyer that also tells me how to grow tomatoes in a bucket. . . .
This is another Ode to Winter Sowing. Last year, I tried starting seeds in the Floriculture Greenhouse for my Adopt-A-Plot at Rutgers Gardens. The mice ate everything and I had to import scraggly seedlings from my beds at home. This year, I wintersowed everything except the nasturtiums and sunflowers which were direct sown.
I've been opening my winter sowing containers for a few hours each day to harden off the seedlings. The squirrels are delighted. They've been digging in them for any ungerminated seeds. One of the hardest hit containers is the one containing the Plum Blossom snapdragons. I'm afraid there won't be any left to plant in the Entry Garden. I told you that garden is jinxed. . .
This post is dedicated to Kasmira who introduced me to Winter Sowing via her blog, Cincinnati Cape Cod. I sowed 20 containers in late February/early March. When I opened them today to begin the hardening-off process, I discovered that all of them had germinated. The two laggards were Gas Plant (Dictamnus albus 'Purpureus' ) and Great Blue Lobelia. Here is my complete list of winter sown seeds for 2007. . .
I am still hopefully peering into all of my winter sowing containers. Today, I was rewarded with seedlings: Red Swamp Milkweed (Asclepias incarnata), a native perennial. It is destined for the Wildflower Garden. . . .
Miscellaneous updates....wintersowing has produced one sucessful seedling thus far, with more to come, I hope! This is impatiens balfourii, which is a white-and-purple flowering version of jewelweed or spotted touch-me-not. Hummingbirds and I really love this plant, both for the pretty flowers and cool "spring-loaded" seed pods. I had a heck of a time getting regular jewelweed established, but once you have it, you have it-it reseeds very profusely. So I have hope for my little friends here. As for my hardiness test ...well, this planter doesn't look so hot. I won't give up yet though...
reBlogged
to winter_sowing
Posted by lisa Reblogged by Old Roses to winter_sowing on 2007-04-26, 23:49:05
Here's an update on the "winter sowing" experiment shown here. I now have lettuce, Swiss chard, broccoli, spinach and nasturtium seedlings. Popped their top tonight so they can get a little further adjusted before the move to the ground. This was quite an easy way to go. They received plenty of light outside yet were a little more protected than if they were sown in the ground. Very portable too! They've been sitting next to the house on the deck until recently. I don't see slug/mystery bug damage like I see on the peas in the garden. Thanks for the idea, Angie!
More gorgeous weather and another container has germinated: Jewels of Opar. I harvested these seeds last fall from the Headhatter's plot at Rutgers Gardens. With her permission, of course! I'm going to be planting them in the border along the Ugly Green Wall to provide some autumn interest. . . .
Despite the cold, despite the deluge, seemingly against all odds, two more containers have sprouted. Snapdragon "Plum Blossom" is nothing special. I just think it is pretty. At least the picture is. I tried it once before with no luck. This time I hope to actually see it bloom. Since my yard had lots of shade, I'm always looking for flowers that can tolerate at least some shade. Monkshood fills the bill. Plus I love its other name: Wolfsbane. . . .
Despite the unseasonably cold weather, I’ve been checking the seven containers that haven’t germinated yet every day vainly hoping for green. I didn’t look into the other containers until I read Colleen’s post about covering her containers when the temperature drops. You’re supposed to cover them????
I ran outside and checked the containers that had seedlings. Sure enough, I’ve lost most of my seashells cosmos. Good thing I have a backup packet of seeds to be direct sown in my garden at home in May. I can transplant some of them to my plot at Rutgers Gardens if needed. . . .
Lucky number 13 has germinated. Pansy "Chalon Supreme Mix", an heirloom from Burpee. They are described as "Ruffled, large-flowered heirloom in bold-faced shades of yellow, purple, blue, red and rose". I've had limited success direct sowing these. The last time I was able to grow them was in 2005. I posted photos here and here. As you can see, they are indeed large-flowered and ruffled. . . .
Winter sowing...fellow blogger Kim (a.k.a. Blackswamp Girl) has introduced me to the concept of
winter sowing and I have decided to give it a try. It may sound like I'm too late to begin this project, but my weather up here has taken a strange turn-temps are to plummet all week, and I could get up to 11" of snow! So it looks like there's plenty of "winter" left for my winter sowing trial. . . .
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Posted by lisa Reblogged by Old Roses to winter_sowing on 2007-04-03, 23:59:14
I'm doing a Happy Dance! Kiss-Me-Over-The-Garden-Gate has germinated! This seed is supposed to be extremely difficult to germinate. I never understood why because it is an heirloom and heirlooms are generally very easy. Thankfully, I seem to have hit on the perfect way to grow them because they have become one of my favorites. . . .
So far, my wintersown seeds have been doing very well. I've started a new spreadsheet on the the germination dates so I can compare from year to year when various seeds germinated. Today, two more containers are showing green: Nicotiana sylvestris and Snapdragon "Black Prince". I've direct sown both of these in prior years with no success so I'm happy to see them. The snapdragons are destined for my new Butterfly/Hummingbird Garden. The nicotiana will be planted in the bed along the Ugly Green Fence. . . .
Two more containers have sprouted: Cleome "White Queen" and Wild Purple Foxglove. Normally I would be growing Cleome "Rose Queen", a nineteenth century heirloom. When I reviewed my plant list for my plot at Rutgers Gardens, I realized I needed to vary my color scheme. I had (pink) Cosmos "Seashells" and (purple) Verbena bonariensis on the list. Pink cleome would just be too much. White cleome would stand out and provide nice contrast between the pink cosmos and the purple verbena. At least I hope so. . . .
Please bear with me. This blog also functions as my garden journal. If my winter sowing experiment is successful, I will want to do it again next year. Then I will be curious as to when seeds began to germinate this year.
Probably owing to today’s warm weather (80F, 26C), four more containers have sprouted: Johnny-Jump-Ups, Love in a Mist, Nicotiana alata “Lime Green” and Verbena bonariensis. . . .
It's the year for seed experiments for me. Last yearwas the first inside seeding I'd done in years. Those cute baby basil seedlingshooked me so I'm back for more this year. With one round of garden seeding and one round of inside seeding so far this year, here is the next round. Angie posted about winter sowing here and here. I wondered if cool season varieties sown this way might be less inclined to grow so leggy, plus move more easily to the garden. I'd sow some directly in the garden under a cloche, except it is too wet to be digging in the beds and the sweet gardener might melt in the rain. . . .
Yes, I know I just did this yesterday, but I had to peek again. A third container has sprouted. Cosmos "Seashells". All three of these containers were planted for my plot at Rutgers Gardens. Just in case they didn't work out, I have duplicate seed packets for my gardens at home. If you recall, last year I lost all of the seedlings I started in the greenhouse and was forced to transplant plants from my own gardens. This year, I wanted to make sure that all of my bases were covered and that I would have plenty of plants for both "home" and "away". So far, so good. . .
The weather has turned milder although still below normal temperatures for March. Just for fun, I peeked into my winter sowing containers. I was thrilled to discover seedlings emerging in two of them. I carefully lifted the containers to check the labels on the bottom, still legible! I have Bachelor’s Buttons and Calendulas sprouting.
This year, I feel like I'm way behind. The tulips that I planted in the fall are already shooting up in the front yard. Hellebores are blooming, and sprouts of everything from Jacob's ladder to cardinalflower are showing. . . .
I'm definitely getting old. Not only is AARP trying to recruit me but I have also gone beyond merely talking to myself. I now hold both sides of the conversation. The most recent incident happened a few weeks ago when I was straightening up a corner in my basement and came across a bunch of one gallon water bottles left over from the aftermath of Hurricane Floyd when we had no potable water for about a week. The National Guard brought in tanks of water and we would all line up behind Borough Hall with our containers for our daily ration. . . .
If you consider the time of year, not surprisingly, I've had a lot of visitors to my blog who are searching for more information on either Winter Sowing or seed starting.
So, my 2 cents on the subject (Please take it as such!). . . .
reBlogged
to winter_sowing
Posted by Tina Reblogged by Old Roses to winter_sowing on 2007-02-22, 00:59:47
I got around to getting some more WS containers out, so my total is now at 36. The poor milk jugs are under 6 inches of snow. Not cool that I look out and can't even see them, but I know they're under there waiting patiently for spring. . . .
reBlogged
to winter_sowing
Posted by Tina Reblogged by Old Roses to winter_sowing on 2007-01-29, 23:58:38
Yesterday, after I wrote a post about how I wouldn’t be posting much (how ironic is that?), I realized that we had one month left until the winter solstice. Hooray!
Why am I excited? It isn’t just because I’m a pagan. It isn’t just because the solstice marks the point at which the days actually start to get LONGER again. It is because the solstice is the traditional day to begin Winter Sowing. . .
reBlogged
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on Nov 22, 2006, 9:34AM
Posted by Kasmira Reblogged by Old Roses to winter_sowing on 2006-11-23, 22:47:13
Ok, this is my best attempt at making you trash your yard. Well, part of it. Just a small piece, actually.
Oh, come on! Don't you want the neighbors peering through their curtains with a look of total shock on their faces? Don't you envy the point and laugh that some of us get? The lips shielded with cupped hands as they whisper amongst themselves with contempt at what you've done. . .
via My Skinny Garden on 1969-12-31, 19:00:00
As for my 
Angie posted about winter sowing 
