Thanks guys Nichol

Also,just so you know,next year you will be such a pro at this,the first year is always the scariest! ;)

KMOTGG
1. Variegated sown 3-21 sprouts 4-20
2."Regular" sown 3-21 sprouts 4- 12

I love these plants and they are worth the "worry",I prefer the variegated because it is much fuller on it's own,the "regular" seems like it would do best in a mass planting to me. Both are beautiful ,no doubt,so don't take this as one is better than the other. If you need seeds for one of them let me know and I will be happy to share. Good Luck and remember,Ma Nature is good at this stuff and ws'ing is just a way of helping her do it a little faster!:)

Carrie

Ok these 9x13 pans you bought,can you fill them with 3 inches of soil and still have enough head room for the sprouts? If not,I would reconsider your containers. Shallow containers are good for things like Alyssum,that have shallow roots.Most seeds you need the 3 inches of soil for best results.

I start with perennials and work my way to annuals,last year I started a few annuals way too early and had to "baby" them until we warmed up. So this year I plan to do them perennials first, hardy annuals,and then tender and 1/2 hardy annuals.You are not too early to start. I plan to sow tender perennials,tomatoes and peppers under lights,some of them take forever to mature and I am too impatient to wait it out. But many others start their veggies via ws'ing and say they have great results. :)

The ws'ing forum and wintersown.org are really great resources for info,when in doubt,just ask,people are always willing to answer questions and guide you along,they know how great it really is and want to see you succeed! :)

If you would like the Var. KMOTGG let me know,I would be happy to send them to you for SASBE/BEAP or trade!:)

Good Luck and I hope I was of some help!:)
~Angie

Oh, yes, it looks beautiful in the pictures and I have wanted to grow it for a long time b/c.

gardenmom,your containers sound GREAT! The price is definitely great! I am going to have to check BL for those,thanks! :)

When to start is always a zone (and location in that zone), factor. People zones warmer than us can start before we can,even though at times freakish temps can mess them up too.I think it is safe for our zone to do the perennials first and than work on your annuals last. I will begin my annuals sometime in the middle of April this year. Starting them in March was a bit early for me personally,but some do start earlier and have great success.All my sprouts survived last year,but the running back and forth with my tender annuals was a bit more work than I like!;)
I start all my tender perennials under lights,just to give them more time to mature,my season is way too short for somethings and I purchase no plants...well....not all the time...lol...so I figure why not have them just a bit longer in bloom!;)

There is some great info at wintersown.org,there is a data base for our zone,the data comes from real people that actually ws these plants.I printed out the seed lists for our zone and sat down with my seed box,went through all of them and pulled out what could be ws,than the rest I didnt find on the list, I looked up individually.To my surprise,there were not many to look up after going through the list! I think I only had a handful of "not sure" ones,and those, I posted threads and asked about those particular plants at the ws forum ,most of them I got an answer on, and the others I just did under lights or ws'd them as an annual. It took sometime to really understand this part for me too,but after all that I got it pretty good now...at least I think I do,season 2 will definitely let me know! Of course I will make mistakes,but I am not so afraid of them this year,I have a much better understanding of the way ws works and always hold back seed! ;)

Well I am off to see what goodies you have on your list,hope you had a great day at school!...I love teachers,you guys ROCK!;)

There is more and I will post as I go. Anything you see that I should wait awhile on??? I will go to the WS webite and print out the list. Thanks guys.

They all look great! Just keep an eye on the poppies if they are the annuals,if they sprout and you get really low temps,you will want to cover those containers or take them in.They germinate fast and grow even faster. I am not sure about the parsley,I sowed mine with my herbs which were one of the last batches I did and our temps were good shortly after they sprouted!:)

The data base will help alot. Honestly, I think you are going to do pretty good at this and have great success. Remember, if something sprouts too early and is on the tender side,you can always just make sure that container has extra protection if you have any really cold days. It wont be a loss,just a little bit more work,that's all!:)

Hope you are able to actually sleep tonight...lol...
~Angie

Now I have the excitemnt of all the WS new seeds that are popping up daily and what their going to look like as they get bigger,how many will go in my yard and where and how many will be sold at market...I've been gardening 15-16yrs./growing my own 9yrs and I still get excited as if it's my first plant/seed.

Abraham Darby,Belinda's dream,Carefree Beauty....
-B