Hi,everyone! this will also be my 2nd year attempting solstice sowing.Made many mistakes but had success with hollyhocks,lavender,and many vegetables.This year I anticipate a move north to Pa.,so that will keep things challenging.

Hi, I've been posting and inquiring on this forum since about 2006 and have been 'away' for over a year due to illness, and now I'm back I find most of the old-timers are gone. Now I know there's a FB for WS and that's probably where they are. I also found some former members on another site by the owner of Dave's, so I guess people are moving around. I personally do not like FB, and I visit several GW forums, but I have always found the members of this forum to be the most agreeable. They have always been willing to give advice without being condescending, and really helped me along to the point that I don't have anymore room for new plants. I look in regularly though and will offer advice if I have something valuable to offer. Right now I am busy collecting seeds, cleaning up, dividing, and making a new bed. So I'll probably be on soon again.

I've collected seeds from friends and my local library. The librarian must have been a gardener herself because when I asked permission to clip the seed pods off the hostas out front, she didn't bat an eye and cheerfully handed me a plastic baggie.

I've got all the seeds dried, separated, bagged, labelled and sitting in the crisper drawer in the fridge. I find the return envelopes from junk mail great for storing seed.

So much fun!

Hi everyone,

I've been wintersowing for a few years and last year was my best year yet. I used empty milk jugs to WS most of my seeds and Kool Whip (low fat, of course) plastic containers. The results were amazing! Normally, I use 4 inch black pots and while I get good results, by using the milk jugs and the Kool Whip plastic containers, I couldn't believe how well things did. I can't wait to WS again this year. I usually do my WS in Feb. Here's what I WS: larkspur, poppies, rudbeckia, delphiniums, foxglove, dames rocket, agastache, snapdragons and a bunch of other stuff that I can't remember. :-) Welcome to all the newbies (and oldies, like myself - LOL). Happy WS.

I'm still here, popping in occasionally throughout the summer. Mostly post on the perennials forum and check out a few others. Have some 2years to germinate containers on my patio. Will ws some biennials & annuals next March/April. Not much room left for perennials.

I come over and check in every few months, but it seems like a whole lot of "old timers" have moved on or over to facebook. I have joined the fb group but find it so unorganized. I feel bad for newbies there because it just does not allow people to format subjects in easily searchable in topics.

When I was first learning about WSing (10 years ago?), this garden web discussion group was so incredibly helpful to me. My beds are full now and I do not WS half as much as I use to, but it is such a great way to grow plants!

I am thinking about trying this method. I have a couple of small greenhouses that will not be heated from December to April. Perhaps these could be used to winter sow? I just know so little on this subject that maybe I am too hopeful it will work.
i sure would like to have the kind of success that i have read about here!
lori

WELCOME NEWBIES!

I'm back. I got sick and had to resign from school. I hope I can answer newbie questions. I still have questions about certain seeds I can't get to germinate.

Welcome to all the newbies, and high to everyone else who's back as well.

I don't usually check this site that often in the summer, but now that it's cooling down (fast, alas), I find my thoughts turning to wintersowing. Just bought some potting soil to get ready and should probably get more before the bad weather swoops in.

And Bellarosa, the milk jugs are just the best, although I might go to one seed per in the half-gallon size for tomatoes this year to give them more room to grow so I don't have to re-pot.

Buka, where in PA?

Caryl

CanadianLori, here is a link to a posting about winter sowing using a greenhouse. You may find more postings by putting greenhouse in the search box at the bottom of the main discussion page.

Ladyrose, so sorry you had to leave school. Hope your recovery is going well and glad to see you posting.

Here is a link that might be useful: Winter sowing in a greenhouse

This post was edited by mnwsgal on Wed, Nov 12, 14 at 9:53

I'm another of the old timers who has been around forever. I had a major upheaval and lost a job over the summer. Ended up moving from Michigan to Wisconsin for a new job, leaving my kids and husband behind to finish school. Unfortunately, the new job turned out to be mismanaged and I ended up resigning. So, I'm back with my family, but out of a job again. I don't know how much wintersowing I'll be doing, but I'm certainly available to answer questions. Welcome to all,

Martha

Martha... Wishing you and your family well and that a job will soon be yours.

And a good winter sowing season to all!

I'm new here. Trying to figure out how to adapt WS to a very warm climate. I have many beds with shrubs that need some color! I also volunteered to provide plants for an Eagle Scout project...so I feel like I need to be successful if at all possible!!

Missymoo,
I probably shouldn't be giving advice as I don't have experience with your warmer zone, but it would seem to me that you would be ahead of the game. If a seed needs cold stratification couldn't you just put the seeds in the freezer before planting them in the milk jugs. Because of your warmer climate you should be able to winter so earlier than we would in the Northeast. I'm sure someone can chime in who has more experience in both your zone and winter selling. Good luck and keep us posted how you make out.

That's "winter sowing".....NOT selling!

Thanks Valal!

I'm concentrating on perennials and winter annuals right now - all of which I've had in the fridge for a while . Today it really warmed up and I took the plastic wrap off of my sprouted seeds. I keep them in the shady part of my covered porch, but there is still a little sun for an hour or two.

I think my biggest problem will be cooking seedlings. If I put them in full shade but out in the open, they will drown in the next rain storm. I just need to find the correct shady, covered spot!

Hi everyone! I'm back after taking last winter off for much needed knee surgery. I have dozens of milk jugs just begging to be sown and sweet hubby bought me a pickup load of potting soil so I'm ready. I still have to go through my seed stash to see what might still be viable and order the ones I need. I plant mostly annuals and biennials now that my garden has almost all the perennials it can safely hold, but, of course, I still find a few I just can't live without! I've been wintersowing for about 15 years and will try to answer any questions that I can.

Hi all,
I'm an old-timer, checking in.
I agree with 'Northerner' - this is the most agreeable forum! I learned so much here.
Last year I could not garden due to torn meniscus. Now I have moved into Senior Housing which means I cannot strew my containers around the yard. I will have to keep them at my community garden, which is 3 miles from where I live. Not so convenient but it can be done.

Terrene, glad to see you here. I am glad you are getting back to gardening. I know you will miss yr Dad forever, but hopefully the grief becomes more manageable.
I see some other old-timers I recognize:
Nan from Long Island,
Lady Rose from the great state of NJ.lol. I hope you are better. caryltoo from Pa- hi.

I had checked out the fb page a while back (I do fb). But I prefer the way things go on this group. It is easier for me to follow.

My intent for this summer is to have more perreniels. I haven't thot yet about WS'ing.

In the meantime, I have an indoor garden for the first time ever. In a north window, but everybody seems to be doing fine. I am getting a lot of good help from the Houseplants forum on GW.

Keeping my eye on WS'ing is a good way to help me get thru the winter, which I do NOT look forward to!

take care, y'all- be seeing you.

ellen

What is everyone winter sowing this year? I can't wait to start!

I've been going through my seed stash. I have a lot of seeds left from two years ago, but not many from last year since I had knee surgery and couldn't get out to wintersow. I'm checking to see how many of the old seeds are viable, but right now I have some perennials, a lot of annuals, a lot of vegetables and a few herbs. It takes some time to check them all, but I'm hoping to be ready in time to start at solstice. I will sow some liveoak acorns I collected this fall at my parents' gravesite for nature, probably some zinnias that my sister loved for remembrance, and I'm not sure about the others yet. Maybe broccoli because my daughter-in-law loved the way I cook it and wouldn't eat it any other way. That might be for remembrance, too, and the zinnias for leap of faith. Whatever, I will get started on the solstice. I'm happy to be back and may even do the moonlight dance on solstice eve -- if it's not too cold!!

Nice to see so many members checking in!

I did up a few pots this weekend and put them outside. Hopefully its not too soon but I stuck with hardy perennials so I should be ok, I think? Guess I'll find out! :)

This year I am attempting: plume poppy, hollyhocks, allium, zinnias, Echinacea, hostas, balloon flower, daylilies and nasturtium

what is plume poppy? i've never heard of that? also, has any one ever wintersown white echinacea?

I grow plume poppies. They are very large plants with beautiful leaves, insignificant flowers in my opinion and can be quite invasive spreading both by seeds and shallow underground runners. They require some vigilance in keeping them in bounds. I cut off the flowers before they go to seed and keep the runners in check by pruning them out. The Latin name is Bocconia (Macleaya cordata). I've also wintersown white echinaceas. The old reliable White Swan worked better for me than the newer variety Prima Donna White.

Bukasmom, Will you share the mistakes you made yr first year so perhaps us newbies can learn from those mistakes?

Greenhearted, hope yr early sowings work well....from what I have read, it's the same as sowing in the garden directly but in a protected environment...I suspect you'll be fine as long as our crazy weather isn't Too warm and the seeds sprout and then freeze...keep us posted.

I have a unique ??? Question in that during the week I am often away 3 days for work so and won't be able to open up my bottles/seedlings daily when weather gets nice during the day. I am hoping this won't lead to losing a lot of my seedlings.....thoughts?

I don't open my containers at all till it starts to get hot. One 70 degree day here and there is unlikely to kill anything. You can also put them in the shade if a warm spell is predicted while you're gone..

Caryl

I've never grown plume poppy (but have read the warnings!); a friend from Minnesota gave me the seeds. I thought I would try to control its enthusiasm by putting it in a narrow bed that gets mowed on each side. We'll see if I'm making a huge mistake! I read on Dave's Garden that the seeds do not store well which is why I sowed them rather early.

I have 'Pow Wow White' echinacea which is what I am trying to winter sow. I read on a gardening blog that it grows well from seed.

Thanks for the well wishes, valal! I am hoping it will be fine... I'll try to move them to shade if we get a warm spell

I'm another "old-timer" who was away for a while-I had a whole year without a garden & it made me sad to think about what I was missing. But I just moved & am really excited to start fresh. I'm trying to start small until I find out what is already here, but will check in if any new (or old!) folks have any questions I can answer. I'm the poster formerly known as jessew

Jesse, having a new place/possibly blank slate is an exciting prospect.th. That is what happened w/us..bought a house recently and last spring thought "why not dig up all this grass in the backyard and plant flowers!?? Thus started my major project.....am so excited to see how my gardens grow this year And adding my WS'ing seedlings!

I'm another old timer who isn't on the forum much anymore. Seems like our old place has changed since I was here. Is it for the better? Or not? I actually spend more time on another garden forum now, and if the new admin here is anything like the old GardenWeb they would likely censor the post if I mentioned the name of that website.

It's nice to see some old friends and acquaintances - Martha, Barbe Wa, mnwsgal, caryl,...

Karen

Is it DG?

No. I'll speak plainly and see if the houzz police sensor it. I followed Dave Whitinger and his wife Trish when they left DG. Dave now owns/ operates All Things Plants
https://allthingsplants.com/

Karen

How can you tell which posts are new? Which are unread? etc

Nice to see you back, Karen. Not sure I like this new format -- it just changed this past week. So far all I've figured out how to do is post.

Hi everyone,

I didn't have the chance to WS the last couple of years and was not planing on it this year, but...we converted our veg garden last year to raised beds (17 4x12 foot beds) wow, thats a lot of garden. We didn't fill it all last year and I decided to fill in the empty spots with flowers for cutting, this year. I may WS a few of them to give them a head start. I usually like to use 2Lt bottles, but i might try a plastic tub with flats of 4pack cells instead of the mass planting like I have done in the past. We also have the beds set up with hoops, so I can move the seedlings into the beds when they thaw and cover them with plastic.

indianaplantlover:

Are you close to Franklin? I set up a booth for Apple Works orchard every year at the the Garden Celebration at the Johnson County 4H fair grounds in Franklin. It will be May 2nd this year. It has become a very nice event over the past few years. Lots of plants and garden decor.

I'm up to 24 milk jugs wintersowed and I'm not done yet. LOL. I called our local Starbucks and they said they can set aside as many I want. Can't wait to pick them up tomorrow! Oh, WS is a dangerous addiction. :-)

I'm an "old-timer". I think I started WS'ing around 10 years ago. I'm not crazy about this new site. Altho with time perhaps I will adjust. I don't WS as much as I used to - in recent years, I haven't had as much success as I used to. I will however WS annuals. I just received the seeds I ordered from Crosman's. This is my 3rd year ordering from Crosmans, and I recommend them. Altho they do not have a broad selection - their prices are good (including shipping is reasonable), the count of seeds received is accurate, customer service is great, and germination is very good. Looking forward to reading about everyones' experiences.

Hi everyone.

Hmm...what's going on here? I went away for 4 weeks and came back to this new site. It will take some getting used to.

pitimpinai:

You missed all the big initial shock, but you can read all the posts about it. It will take some time to get used to, but I think it will all work out just fine. Something that many of us have found as a good change are the idea books you can create. I have made idea books of photos of the plants I have seeds for. People can look at my list and also see my plant photos in my idea books so they know exactly what they are getting.

Thanks, Matt. Obviously I missed it all.

Apparently Gardenweb would have been defunct had Houzz not taken it over. There is a post here explaining exactly what happened. It takes a little getting use to, but I think they are trying to make us feel welcome,and find out way around

I miss a few things like the Herb exchange forum, but it was never very active any way, and I can always do the swaps on the main page. They kept my favorites - the Seed Exchange, Pacific Northwest Exchange and the Wintersowing Exchange, so I'm on my way to becoming a happy camper.

Wow, I'm another who hasn't checked in for a bit and come back to find everything different! Hopefully I'll get it figured out.

Hi Barbe! Just wanted you to know that all of the GardenWeb forums were kept and you can find all of the Exchange forums (including Herb) here - http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/exchind

Hi greenhearted! Glad you found your way back. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask. Always happy to help!

I really don't like this new look. So difficult to navigate. I miss the old look.

I am coming back here after few years. Had moved to an apartment and no garden. About to buy a house with small garden now and all so excited to have my own garden again!

hi everyone. I'm here but as a newbie. I am soooo thankful for all the advice and hand-holding of you veterans. you guys are so patient will all my questions. I cannot believe that this is working. I have spouts on almost everything I planted. I never would have been able to afford all these plants. Thank you thank you thank you!!!!!!

Hi daisy08 and gardendaydreamer!

I agree with how much fun it is to see all those little seeds sprouting... I was so excited when I learned about WS in the fall that I put mine out in November and then worried that I did it too soon but thankfully many of my pots have sprouted. I would have never thought to do something like this and I'm grateful to all the members who have shared their experiences (and reassured us first timers)

Greenhearted, the only reason we all wait till Dec. 21 is to make sure it's reliably cold enough that nothing will sprout.

Yeah, that is what I was afraid of caryltoo! Everything was going or had gone dormant so I thought it would be ok. But I was definitely biting my nails when we had some warm spells before the hard winter!