Cool idea, but it might be tough finding something everyone grows.

I would love this --- I think a perennial like Delphinium would be great since it can be sown in Dec./Jan. no matter what zone. Is that common enough? Ideas?

Delphinium would certainly be a challenge. I did in have good luck last year which was my first WS season but I may have planted it too late. I have planted some this year in December. I also have some new seed on the way this week I hope. I heard that the seed quality really makes a difference. I would be willing to do that. Maybe we should also have a veggie to sow also for those who don't do flowers.

Some people find delphinium finicky, from what I've seen posted. For me, it's always been relatively easy -- I plopped some seeds on a windowsill years ago and got four beautiful plants. Three of them didn't come up last year so I wanted some more, and just ws a jug of them on 1/16. But I have seed left so if anyone wants to do this I'll just do a few more.

Now to find people in a few different zones. I'm now 7, thanks to changes last year or the year before and both of you are 5. We need some 4, 6 and 8. Don't know if I've seen many higher or lower than that on here. Plus, there are variations within the zones - some 7s are south of me while Long Island is northeast.

Caryl

Sounds like fun! But not with delphiniums, lol. At least not for me!

How about something like marigolds, or zinnias, or cosmos - something easier and more common that lots of us might grow already, and which would be something that those of us who don't grow might be able to use (and come to love?)

Dee

I didn't realize Delphs were difficult for some - never had a problem myself. I really would like to try this experiment with a perennial though. Any suggestions? Yarrow? Rudbeckia? Cone Flower? Pinks?

Pinks are dianthus, right? What about hollyhocks or lupine -- since the hollyhocks are biennials many of us probably do them every year just so we have some ready to bloom when the old ones are spent.

I will participate if I have or can get the seeds needed in time. This could be interesting.

Its my 2nd year WSing.

We could do 2 things and if you only want to do one of them then that's fine. How about Delphs and an annual like cosmos as suggested. Should we stick with common varieties or maybe that doesn't matter at this point. It's just for fun !!

Can cosmos be transplanted? I always direct sow mine.

Common varieties are easier to find -- most dollar stores have common petunias, marigolds, snaps etc for really cheap.

I think most people have WS cosmos with no problem ???? You can buy is in 6 packs in the nurseries !!!

OK then, I'm in. Should we pick a date, maybe in Feb?

OK, Cosmos it is. Let us know if you are in and what your zone is. I don't think it matters how early you plant them if they self-sow in your zone.

RyseRyse, Z5a

I'd be happy to participate too, as long as I've already got the seeds!

February is probably good, although it should probably be a hardy annual, since I don't sow the heat lovers until late March/early April.

How about something like Rudbeckia hirta/Black eyed susans?

What about Groundhogs Day for the date? Punxsawtney Phil might like that. He is the seer or seers and prognosticator of prognosticators. Also marks the half-way point of winter. We'll have to see what Phil says.

See you at Gobblers Knob 2/2.

J

Two thoughts if you direct sow Cosmos -- (a) You might try a short variety of these: Pink Popsock (found those at Lowes) 24 inches. (b) Only do a small potatoe salad container and save the rest of the seeds for direct sowing. You can plant the ws plants in pots with other annuals.

Doing a tomatoe as a second sowing makes more sense to me. One flower one veggie. I have Box Car Willie (Ferry Morse) seeds on hand.

What is the obective of this anyway? There are loads of us unspoken in other zones who will pipe in later about their trials

I think the objective is just fun! Just for each of us to sow the same seed on the same day and compare our results.

Is that right, lilykit?

Dee

Yes-fun only !!!! Let's wrap this up before Feb 1st so we can get to work !! I am game for the consensus. I'll pick it on 1/26/2013 how's that ?

Sounds great -- you decide -- we plant!!!

I'm in!

Will we all post updates on this thread?
Maybe start a new, fresh thread on the day of sowing to post photos and results.

Do you think we should keep track of key info like: seed source, seed age, potting mix, (I think we should all use the same kind of container if possible), post the date we see sprouts.

Should we all sow the same number of seeds and count how many sprout we get?

I really get into keeping track of the picky details. I grow 660 tomatoes in a greenhouse at work and have to keep a journal everyday, so I'm used to keeping conditions consistent in order to track results that are accurate.

Good idea about containers and potting mix and the date we see sprouts.

Size of the seed could affect whether we can count seeds, though. Some seeds are tiny.

Caryl

I am in zone 6 and I'd like to try ...sounds like fun! I'll do Delphs, cosmos, and a tomato. I have had tomato plants volunteer elsewhere in my garden but they never reach fruiting stage because of our short growing season for warm weather veggies..not sure It 'll work for me but I always love an experiment!

Yay, sounds like a plan. Let us know what we should plant, lilykit!

Dee

pghgardengirl, try a short DTM tomato and you should have no problem getting fruit. The plants go in small but quickly catch up -- they have great roots. And you can always start a few longer DTMs inside if you're worried about them.

I'll do Delph & tomatoes. No cosmos, as soon as it gets warm they sprout. BAM...a cold snap and their gone! Can we try another annual ex. nigella, snapdragons, clarkia, coreopsis or Rudbeckia's. They can handle the cold snaps once they sprout.

LOL, I knew there was a reason I ds cosmos. I'll do delphs and a tomato, too. I also have nigella and snapdragon seeds, but no clarkia (no idea what that is), coreopsis or rudbeckia.

Are we going to try to agree on a tomato type? Someone mentioned boxcar willie. I think I have a few of those. Also cherokee purple -- I got 100 percent germ on them last year and they're consistently near the top in taste tests.

OK. .... Based on all the input what about Cosmos ( sensation mix), Delphs
( pacific giants) and tomato (Cherokee purple which you can get from Botanical interests I know because I have a packet ). If you don't have all three that's ok just sow what you have. I think as far as the process we should just do our own technique of WS and document it . Photos would be great. There are always going to be variables. Maybe next year we can modify it to eliminate some of those. For now it would just be interesting how things grow in different zones/climates. Anyone on board ??

Count me in for the cosmos. And actually, I may have a few delph seeds in my seedbox. I won't count on them to grow well later, but I did have success with WSing them as far as germination.

I don't have any Boxcar Willies so I'll pass on the tomato.

Do we have a date picked? I hope my potting mix thaws. I forgot to bring it in and it's been in the single digits here all week... :(

Dee
P.S. Any particular kind of cosmos....?

I'm game if I've got the info right.

Feb 2nd we sow one container each of cosmos, delphiniums, & cherokee purple tomato.

Document when they sprout - photos good.

Okay Feb 2nd - I'll sow only the Cosmos because I don't have Delphs and although I do have seeds for Cherokee purple, I didn't like them all that much last year.

Cosmos has 2 species - Cosmos sulphureus (the yellow and orange varieties) and Cosmos bipinnatus (these are usually pink, white or crimson, and have lacier foliage).

So which species?? or does it matter? (I happen to have both).

Oops, I missed the Cherokee Purple thing - thought we were sowing Boxcar Willie. I might have some CP seeds, although they will be kind of old.

I too have both kinds of cosmos, but guess I assumed we'd be doing bipinnatus, since it seems to be more common. I was wondering if we were going to get specific as to variety - Gazebo, Double Click, Sonata, etc. - since we got specific with a tomato.

Today is a tad warmer, so I may go chip some potting soil off the frozen block it has become, and bring inside to thaw just to have for this experiment. Haven't gotten around to starting my regular WSing yet!

Dee

Fer dirt, I know Walmart has an organic seed starting mix aound $4.75. Got it last week.

What container anyway?

I'm in - Z5a. I don't see why the date sown matters for perennials - mine were all sown several weeks ago. Even for Cosmos, I have already sown all annuals that self sow because cold temps don't affect the germination.

The biggie, I think is when they sprout. BTW, I have tomato seeds from 2001 that germinate every year. In fact, pretty much everything I save germinates for many years until I decide to collect a fresh batch. I store them in a refrigerator drawer in zip-lock baggies.

I think in this case the date matters because that's kinda the whole point of this fun experiment - to sow the same thing on the same date and compare our results. It's not necessarily important regarding sowing a certain seed on a certain date because of germination times, etc., it's in this case picking a date to sow on so we are all using the same starting point to compare our results.

:)
Dee

This post was edited by diggerdee on Sat, Jan 26, 13 at 16:46

Terence- I can send you some Cherokee Purple !! I sure I will have enough seed for 2. Email me and I will send on Monday morning.

I have the Delp's and cosmos orange sulphurs. I don't have Cherokee Purple tomato? Can I substitute one of these. This is what I have in tomatoes:

Tomatoes:
Black Krim
Delicious Heirloom
Black Cherry
Riesentraube
Super Beefsteak
Snow White
Super Sweet Hybrid 100
VFF Hybrid
Yellow Pear
Roma
Green Zebra
Kosovo
Abraham Lincoln
Moskvich
4th of July
Livingston's Perfection

I don't see why you couldn't use the black krim instead of the cherokee purple. Both have DTMs of about 80 or more days, and to me the tomatoes were very similar too. In fact, I think any tomato with a DTM of 80 or so would work. The only ones that might sprout sooner and throw the experiment off are the ones that are early and a bit more cold hardy, things with Russian or Siberian in their name for example. Your fourth of july, for example, might be an earlier, cold-hardy type.

OTOH, if you want to try a cherokee purple I can send you a few seeds. Just email me and I'll get them out asap.

Caryl

Regarding the tomato type I am really looking for something simple that everyone has access to. I can do Black Krim or Red Siberian but Boxcar Willie might be too hard to get for everyone. Just saying.

Lilykit, I've got some Cherokee purple, thanks! Somebody sent me some in a trade last year. They were okay but not my fave, but I will sow a container for the sake of this experiment.

I don't think container should matter. I'm planning on using 2 LTR bottles. But what probably DOES matter is how much sun a container gets. The more sun, the warmer the inside of the container will get inside.

For the sake of time, I will use the Black Krim. Thank You Carly.

OK- Let's say on FEB 2nd we plan on sowing : Delphinium( Pacific Giants) Cosmos ( sensation mix) and tomatoes ( Cherokee Purple and/ or
Black Krim ). I will plant both types as I want to compare. Game on ??

Sounds good! I will check my seedbox and go chip some potting soil off the giant block on the back patio!

:)
Dee

My containers usually go on the patio, which gets faces west and gets full sun most of the day. It seems to work fine unless it gets really warm, really early. Most years I never have to water, although last year was the exception with the freaky warm weather. This year seems more normal. I don't move anything to shade until late spring if at all. Most of what I grow seems to like the sun. Until the last few years, when a few of my trees have grown fairly big, I didn't have any shady spots at all so never cultivated shade plants.

Can we start a new thread on this? Now that the decisions are made. It's confusing reading thru the whole thing to figure out what we have to sow and when.

If I have it right, I'm going to sow delphinium, cosmos and tomatoes on Saturday.

I'm in too! Delphs, cosmos, and tomatoes on Feb 2nd.

Delphinium 'Pacific Giants' and Tomato 'Cherokee Purple' seeds needed!

Ok, so I was out and about today and thought for sure I would be able to find these seeds at my local garden centers. I found some Delphinium but they were a miniature type and if I'm going to grow them, I what the tall ones. My uncle usually grows Cherokee Purple but I will not be able to meet up with him in time to sow by the 2nd.

Can some one send me a few seeds please. I can send postage or we can make a trade. I do have cosmos and I also have some fresh 'Red Pearl' tomato seeds I just got from Johnny's that I could trade.

Thanks!

Yikes - I could send some tomorrow .... Send me your address tonight !!

We have a new thread for this post !! See the most recent.

Sending you an e-mail lilykit64!

Thanks!

Yes, I did see it, thanks for letting me know...I didn't what to clutter it up with my request.