Woohoo woohoo! I off to sow as we speak. It's kinda overcast here. Looks like it might even rain.

Let the sowing begin!

It's a beautiful morning here in Central PA too! In the sun, the thermometer is reading at 58 degrees! I have to prep at least two more containers (I'm only planting four today for the solstice). I am going to plant these seeds for the following values:

Life-Butterfly Weed
Remembrance-Blanket Flower (Oranges N Lemons)
Mother Nature-False Indigo
Leap Of Faith-Balloon Flower

Wish me luck! This is my first time winter sowing! I can't wait to get started!

Brad AKA Moonwolf

As soon as I get out of work I have an appointment to get a hair cut....after that I sow, I sow!!!!!

Remembrance: White Echinacia
Life: Wedding Candles (from the swap)
Mother Nature: Rose of Sharon
Faith:, hmmm, think it was called Heather Queen(also from the swap), it is for zone 7 so I am going to PUSH the envelope.

As soon as I get my kiddos their lunch I plan to dig out the dirt!! LOL

My first time WS too!! I have been counting down the days!!! I am sooo excited-it feels like Christmas morning to me. I did force myself to get my morning chores done, drop off & then pick my son at wrestling & got my workout & shower. So my "mommy" duties are done-for a couple of hours anyways.... til I have to cook dinner!

HAPPY SOWING!!!
Jodie

Alright the day has FINALLY come!!! Whooooo hooooo!!!

Today I am sowing:

Rememberance - Berlandiera lyrata (Chocolate Flower)
Life - Asimina triloba (pawpaw tree)
Mother Nature - Euonymus Americanus (strawberry bush)
Leap of Faith - Nigella Love in a mist

A few extras also:

Aquilegia Canandensis (red native columbine)
Castilleja linariifolia (Indian Paintbrush)
Gentiana Andrewsii (closed bottle gentian)
Geranium maculatum (queen ann geranium)
Lobelia Cardinalis (Cardinal Flower)
Lobelia Siphilitica (Great Blue Lobelia)
Ratibida Columnaris (mexican hat)
Pulsatilla Vulgaris (pasque flower)
Rosa Canina (Wild Dog Rose)
Vaccinium deliciosum (Cascade bilberry)

14 containers for me!! I didn't include the ones I sowed in october late september.

Countrycarolyn: my seed pack of bottle gentian says to sow but keep 70 degrees for 1 month then move to 30 degrees for 1 month & then to 50 degrees for 1 month.

I might be wrong but did you get that seed from me in a trade? I wanted to share those details as I just read the pack & realized it for myself! GOOD TIMING!!

Jodie

I actually got them in a trade a while back from pvmiscaccount. The information I gathered on growing them says the Gentiana Andrewsii needs 3 months cold.

There is so much conflicting information out there when it comes to growing anything it is hard to say which is right and which is not. I am going to plant them as suggested from the site below and if they do not germinate in the spring then I will just leave my container out. I am also going to start some seeds that take 1 year to germinate. So having another container out is no biggie.

Here is a link that might be useful: Gentiana Andrewsii

Happy/Blessed Soltice, everyone!
Just got my planting done:
Remembrance - 4 kinds of pansies, for my mom, who has alzheimers, but was a wonderful gardener in her time; and for my Aunt Thelma, who recently passed.
Life - 3 kinds of Echinacea
Mother Nature - didn't have any tree seeds, but said one of many fervent prayer over the Persimmon and Paw-Paw!
Leap of Faith - 9 kinds of Columbine; read a lot of conflicting reports on these guys; decided to do them now and see what happens!
Total of 43 containers!
Also did about 70-75 containers last week, to take advantage of the waxing moon. Some of those are "leap of faith" too! I'm giving about 20 containers as Christmas gifts-saves wrapping AND repotting!!
Hoping everyone has a great WS year!! Shirley!

sjc48-WOW!!! 43 containers! NICE WORK!! Puts my humble 12 jugs to shame. :P In my defense I just got started for the day though. Had to do my "mommy" duties first! LOL

I am also confused on the columbine but I think the majority of forums seem to say they aren't too hard so I'm hoping that's the case cause they are my FAVE FLOWER! Them & tulips!

Happy sowing!
Jodie

Hi Jodie - Thanks for the kind words! I'm having fun!
However, I wouldn't call Wsing, keeping up with the kids, exercising, probably some housework, and cooking dinner a humble effort! My hat is off to you, and others in the same situation-I cannot imagine doing WS when my kids were small! Keep up the good work, all of it!! Shirley!

Alright my actual ws container count is now 15, I missed Stylophorum Diphyllum (Celandine Poppy) somehow. Which is no where near 40 something, lol, though I will be continuing to add more containers till march.

Here is my miss mash of containers, I know it is just so neat and perfect no compliments needed for my well organized sowing method. LOL

{{gwi:215654}}

Mother Nature - cilantro (for our own food also said to be nectar source for Black Swallowtail butterfly & host plant for its caterpillar)

That is all for my very first WSing! Trudi & others have been helping me in the tomato forum & later on I will WS a dwarf patio tomato that only needs an 8 inch pot & is disease resistant for my area. From Siichan & Terrene's posts I have gotten Cut and Come Again zinnias to WS later, liked by butterflies and hummingbirds (the red ones). Basil, WS later, use for salads, omelets and pesto. Thanks for all the info I have been getting here!

River

country carolyn-NICE DISPLAY!! We all have to do & use what works for us, right?

I ended up with 19 for the day. (18 milk jugs & 1 lasagna pan)

Quick question-how moist do you make your potting mix to start with? Say on a scale of 1-10 with 10 being SOAKING wet, what would you say? Is it better to be moist or more on the dry side?

Peace & love,
Jodie

I have not started yet. I still haven't decided on what to sow. Too many choices! I only have 14 containers which is okay for my first effort. Oh yeah, I keep forgetting that I have to buy some duct tape. Our weather has been warmer than normal so I might just wait until January before sowing anything. Ha, I'll catch up to the rest of you at some point!

Seeds are sown, I danced neekid under the moon, ok, I did not dance, I sat in the hot tub and looked at the garden with visions of what it's future holds. Felt so good to get my hands in the soil and made me think...........Spring is not that far off, I have to get busy! I am so happy I found this forum.

I will not be able to start mine until I have a day off. That will be
Sat, Sun and Mon. About 2 weeks ago I planted some seeds in
nursery pots, no covers. The rest will be containers with covers.
Looking forward to see how everyone's winter sowing turns out.

Jodie what I do might not be what others do so someone else may have tips.

I first prep my container then add soil, then I water it, let it drain, then I may add more soil depending on how much settled (water knocks out the air bubbles) then water again and of course let it drain again. Then I add my seed.

I would say that my soil is moist but its not dripping sobbing wet either. Moist to touch, but nothing is floating. If I had to put it on a scale I would say maybe a 3 to 4. My mind I tend to think of a sponge that has been wrung out enough to when you pick it up water is not running down your arm but it is still moist.

LOL @ my container collection, it is absolutely hilarious, though I want a lot of different plants, I just don't have room, lol. Soooooo I sow in small containers. I am one of those people that hates to waste anything. Heck I would of felt guilty throwing a perfectly good ketchup bottle away when I could use it for this purpose. You got to admit though that grated cheese container is pretty cool, I may have found me a new container, when I need to open up for more ventilation I will just open up the other side also. LOL

The little bag of soil doesn't go far when you're using large lettuce boxes. Sigh. Only got three flats sown, but it's a great beginning. When I get my car back from the mechanic I can go buy some more soil.

Tonight, I did these:

Remembrence ~ Hostas, for Lizzy. She loved the shady side of the garden.

Life ~ Purple Majesty Millet for the birdies.

Faith ~ Jobs Tears.

I think I may skip trees/shrubs this year--I really don't have a spot for anymore.

I planted my four containers earlier this afternoon outside! It was in the 50's all day and it was nice. I did up four more containers (3 soda bottles and a lemonade bottle). If all goes well (if the seeds sprout), I may have to do this every year!

Brad AKA Moonwolf

Beautiful Pictures Caroylyn!

I've got a question, when you winter sow for Feb/March is there any specific day like Winter Soltice?
I've got a lot of annuals, so I need to wait later.

HAPPY WINTER SOWING EVERYONE!

Remembrance: Viola 'Freckles' for my maternal grandma
Mother Nature: Hydrangea 'Pee Gee'
Life: Alcea rosea 'Marjorette' mix, for butterflies
Leap of Faith: Meconopsis betonicifolia

OK, well here's the deal on my potting mix & you all tell me if this is normal....

It's "miracle grow-moisture control potting MIX". When I watered my milk jugs, water came out the bottom but then I stirred it for curiosity sake & most of the middle was COMPLETELY DRY! So for every jug I watered SLOWLY but stirred it so it all got mixed in. Is that normal or is it the potting mix I am using? SHould I be concerned or am I being paranoid? LOL Now the mix proclaims to help retain moisture while avoiding overwatering as well.... I got these supersize bags of it at Sams for $5 bag so I'd like to use it but I would be CRUSHED if I don't get germination cause I used the wrong stuff!!!!!

I know others have used miracle grow mix but I am wondering about miracle grow with moisture control. It's a blue bag.....

Jodie - first, take a deep breath. Breathe out. Relax.

The growing mix in your containers should be the consistency of a cooked fudge brownie. Use that rule of thumb and you'll be fine. I water mine using a recycled sour cream container which = 16 oz. I pour the water over the potting mix in a back & forth motion then fill the SC container a second time & pour it back & forth in the opposite direction until water drains out the bottom. Then I set it aside while I fill another container with growing mix and repeat with that one. I sow the seeds, stick in a label & tape the jug clossed while the container in the sink drains. Write the name/date on the outside of the jug, set it outside and move on to the next.

Just go ahead and fill your containers, wet the growing medium, sow your seeds & smile. It'll be fine. Once the jugs are outside in the cold, it's all up to Mother Nature.

Jodie, some bags of potting mix can be more dry than others even newly opened, the amount of moisture in them isn't necessarily consistent. And of course once you've opened the bag and had it sitting, it's going to dry out a little - even those that come with a zip lock type top that never really seem to zip for me :)

I put an amount of the potting mix into a clean bucket, add water if I need to, stir. In my kitchen, I stir with a big wooden spoon but from my garden supplies. Outdoors, I 'stir' with a planting shovel.

Fill the pot from the bucket, then water to settle the mix, let drain, sow.

Jodie I came across that same bag of mix, I was kinda concerned about it also. After looking at it closer it is just like my mix I have been using. 5 bucks for a big bag is good, I found mine at walmart and it was one of the few to choose from. I paid 4.38 for 8qts.

The only time I poke holes in my soil after watering is on that big container that is sitting off by the left. That thing only has 2 seeds in it, believe it or not but that mix is deep. I tend to use containers that accommodate the root system. Anywho, I watered that one let it sit then watered again. If water does not come out the bottom then no you have not watered enough. Always when watering you should water till water comes out the bottom. It took a long time for that big container for the first time to start draining water.

If it seems dry but is moist to touch you should be good.

Ladyrose, I do not have dates on when I will sow again. I just sow when I feel like it. I research every single seed and see what it needs. I will sow periodically between now and march.

Hi guys,
This is my list:
Remembrance:Hyacinth Bean,in memory of my neighbor
Mother nature:Milk Weed
Life:Salvia for butterflies
Leap of Faith: Amur Maple

Others I did today are.
JapaneseIris
Hollyhock from a road stop in S. Dakota
Yellow Flag Iris
Scarlet Runner Bean
Hyacinith Bean
Malvia,musk mallow
Montauk Daisy
Gaura,The Bride
Dwarf Hollyhock,pink
A total for the day.17, yeaaaaaaaaa, more tomorrow
cAROL

Congratulations cAROL!! You got a good start this year! Several of those are the seeds I sent you aren't they? I got 32 jugs done between yesterday and today. Tried to stick with things that need cold stratification but it's tough to nail it down with one or two seed types. There's conflicting information available so I just put those aside. I have far too many to get done to worry about the ones I'm not sure of.

So far:
Rudbeckia hirta 'Autumn Colors' & 'Cherry Brandy'
Gaura lindheimeri 'The Bride'
Pansy
Penstemon 'Huskers Red'
Russian sage
Apple
Pear
Tricyrtis hirta/toad lily
Phlox paniculata 'David'
Stokesia 'Blue Danube'
Hypericum
Maiden grass
Blackberry lily
Trollius ledebouri/Chinese globeflower

I'm most excited about the Russian sage. I harvested seeds--it's a lot of work getting at them so they'd better sprout!

I've already had a comment from a neighbor who spotted the container ghetto on the breezeway. I would never have got so many done if I didn't prep jugs & write labels out way ahead of time. That's making a big difference this time. Silly me last year wrote out one label for each seed type when I actually needed multiples of each. Smartest thing I did was drag a bale of Fafard growers mix inside back around Thanksgiving.

I've been taking snapshots along the way to share with everyone as the winter rolls on.

So gardenweed I am so curious. How many containers is that for you?? Are you going for another 500 this year?? I can't wait to see your pictures!!

gardenweed, thank you,and Yes, a lot of these are seeds from you, the ones I am doing tomorrow,will be from you as well, :0)
I must thank you, for such a great job you did on marking all the seed packs you sent to me, sooooo, this is what I have been doing,The white lasble, that you typed out so nicly, I am peeling off,and resticking it onto another piece of paper,all the things I need to know are right there,you are my HERO,:0),nothing wasted,I can even reuse the clear seed pack.
I have so many I want to do,last year,I did about 400,this year, no!
I am only going to so 1 or 2, of each seed,instead of whole flates of one kind.Plus, I am using solo cups,placed inside a cardboard box, with plastic over the whole box, it will hold up good enough till spring planting out time.
And****Sow it begins*****
Gardenweed, you have a great start too.
cAROL

Gardenweed..... PICTURES! PICTURES! PICTURES! LOL

It's been a CRAZY couple of days with my 4 kids & Christmas prep but my favorite time of day is when I send my kiddos off to the family room or their bedroom to play quietly & I crank the Christmas music & WS my heart away!!!! It's mommy's TIME OUT!! LOL It's helping me to keep my sanity. :P

So far 27 jugs done.....
I hope to get a few more done tomorrow.....

Peace & love,
Jodie

Jodie, don't know how you do all your seed swapping and winter sowing
with 4 kids. You must be super woman.

I didn't sow one thing today!! I probably won't so anymore till next week. I still will not catch up to you guys that have 30 and 40.

Tomorrow I will be cooking and baking!!

Jodie I am like you the pictures get me all excited!! I can't wait till spring when everyone is showing pictures of their sprouts!!

roper- I JUST NEVER SIT DOWN!! LOL I do have 2 OLDER kids (13 & almost 12) and then my 2 younger (4 & 6)

I am only 36 & I run (3-5 miles a couple of times a week) I weight lift so I guess I'm a pretty high energy person. I don't like to be idle. :P

I made gingerbread houses (with graham crackers) yesterday afternoon with the kids & last eve when hubby got home the family baked some cookies. That was fun!

I planned to WS a few more jugs when daddy was tucking in the my young ones but ....I'll admit.... I was out of OOOMMMPPPHHHH!!!

We'll see what the today brings. I'm sure at some point I'll need a "mommy time out!" tehehehe

ladyrose65 - I don't see where anyone answered your question about Feb/March winter sowing. The solstice is the start date for winter sowing. After that it's pretty much a free-for-all with the only other date being May 1 when the Zone Wars conclude. Only those containers WS between 12/21 and 5/1 count for the Zone War totals. I continued winter sowing last year right into May with tender annuals. I had to winter sow more containers in January/February/March because more perennial seeds kept showing up in my mailbox from the many enablers on this forum.

Sow to your heart's content!

I think I may have planted these to soon.
Scarlet Runner Bean, & Hyacinth Bean.
Should I have waited til closer to spring?
I did 9 more today.
Rudbeckia hirta Autumn
Caryopteris-Blue Mist Sgrub
Balloon Flower,white, blue, & dwarf purple
Salvia farinacea
Liatris
Hibiscus
Coreopsis Early Sunrise
26 so far,woooo hooooo
cAROL

hi cAROL - these should be fine:

Rudbeckia hirta Autumn Colors
Caryopteris-Blue Mist Sgrub
Balloon Flower,white, blue, & dwarf purple
Salvia farinacea
Liatris
Hibiscus
Coreopsis Early Sunrise

I've never grown the other two. They may be tenders and need to wait until the weather moderates some but I'll let those more experienced weigh in.