I have a long list, reading around I thought they would all do well. Please help! I wonder if I should bring some of these in? I will be hosting a plant swap in the spring and sharing with friends and family, and donating to the local plant sales. At some point I will post pictures of my containers, they got snowed on last night.

the starred ones * are what I think are okay :/

Ready......

all these done with miracle grow potting mix with a little soil over them:

tomato yellow stuffer*
purple weed no id * (b/c I don't know what this is, before I share it I have to make sure it's not an invasive species, the seeds looked like joe pye)
bachelor buttons*
black eyed susans*
red zinnias
rudebeckia*
green mesculin*
blue flax*
campbell's soup tomatoes*
evening primrose*
mexican sunflower
blue porterweed*
liatris spicata blazing star*
scabiosa*
joe pye weed*
sunflower mix*
velvet queen sunflower*
lemon queen sunflower*
meadow garlic*
yellow hibiscus*
blue ballon flower*
lavatera*
hibiscus rose swamp mallow*
columbine*
salvia coral nymph*
holly hock mix*
pansy*
chinese money plant*
yellow trumpet vine*
meconopsis: blue himilayan*, frances perry*
drama queen poppy*
raspberry fool poppy*
turnip greens*
peppers, grand bell mix*
lupine*
bartlett pear*
china aster*
penstemon - husker red*
birdhouse gourd*
winter squash delicata*
cardoon*
marketmore cukes*
tomato white currant*
beet detroit dark red*
broccoli*
dill*

these done with pro-mix and a little vermiculite on top from fafard's:

alma paprika pepper
gypsi pepper*
dianthus- village pink*
convoluvis*
lavender moonvine*
black holly hock*
white holly hock*
yellow holly hock*
baby's breath*
blue rose of sharon*
double purple datura*
cilantro*
black krim tomato*

strawberry blonde sunflower*
mixed cleome, some rose queen
red poinciana
blue borage*
crimson clover*
parsley*
blue forget me nots*
double blue clitoria vine*
white clitoria vine*
pink brandywine tomato*
cracker jack marigolds*
alaskan daisy*
nasturtium*
castor bean*

these I sowed today with the pro mix with some soil over them, and have not put outside yet:

sweet pea - captain of the blues*
bright lights swiss chard*
onion- sweet white spanish
cosmos - radiance
f1 hybrid twist green pepper
jack be little pumpkin*
special "hot" mix peppers

Now all except the the F1 pepper I am hoping to save seed to share next year if these grow..........

Please help, thank you all for holding my hand!!!!

My advice would be to double check your list of seeds & bring in all those that aren't perennials. I'd be concerned with the cosmos, sunflowers, marigolds, perhaps tomatoes, bachelor buttons, peppers, broccoli.....

Sorry! :( I hope I am wrong!!! maybe someone else with more experience will chime in!

Martha

P.S. Joyous Holidays to everyone!

I wait until April to sow most of the annuals and veggies, because they don't need cold stratification and germinate quickly with warm temperatures. There's no benefit to sowing these seeds early - and there could be some drawbacks. The seeds could rot or get sloshed around inside the container; the potting mix can compact and drainage can be reduced; and the soil sometimes grows algae on top, which could just be a cosmetic problem, not sure if that affects germination.

If you bring containers inside, I think they would germinate too early. Probably a good idea to save some extra seeds in case you need to re-sow any in the Spring.

I love the wintersown.org website, but there are some things on there I don't understand. The zone charts, it says 'seeds germ' then a y or a n, but doesn't say when they were sown.

My guess now is to stick with a few basics, and don't go nutty like I did :)))

If you think about the plants native habitat it will give you a clue to their germination requirements. Temperate perennials and annuals, which grow where there is winter, have mechanisms to delay their germination until the Spring, such as a protective seed coat. These often require cold stratification to break through the seed coat, because they are used to going through the wet and cold of winter. Tropical plants, such as Zinnias or Tomatoes, don't experience winter - so they germinate readily with just warm temps (some tropical seeds will survive a winter and reseed though).

PS. Could I please borrow some of your energy or maybe you can come over and sow some containers for me too?? :)

PPS Merry Xmas everyone.

I'll take a bunch of containers, poke holes in the bottoms and sides, fill with soil, moisten it, add seeds individually and label as I go along, sprinkle a little soil on top, take a spray bottle lightly mist, saran wrap, rubber band, poke holes on lid, write down what I did. I don't move on to the next step until all are complete.