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| Hello, To all this is my first time winter sowing. I believe I jumped the gun and sowed too early. (Got Pschyed!) The nights have dropped to 14 degrees. Now back in the low 50's and 40's.
I've sowed mostly perennials' Hollyhocks, Delphinum, Larkspur, Foxglove, campanula 'Canterbury Bells', Coreopsis, Bells of Ireland and Morning Glories. (Hard seeds) I've had no success in the past with these, except the MG's. I'm not getting much condensation in water jugs or bottled containers. Yet, I know the soil was too moist. I did put a lot of holes in the bottoms. Is it okay? Should I cap off the jugs? Since I sowed early, what will be the repurcusions? I was smart enough to save some of the seeds. What is the ideal amount/and strategic placement for holes in jugs, since that is what I will be mostly using for my February sowing? Yes, I have read WinterSown.org/that why got excited and jumped the gun! Still need help! |
Follow-Up Postings:
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| Not to worry, your seeds will be fine. We're very close to solstice. Does the six after your name mean you are in zone 6? If so, I imagine those warm temps will be short-lived. Seeds aren't bothered by cold temps, only seedlings are. Your seeds aren't likely to sprout in zone 6 in December. Seeds have to be at a critical temp for a critical length of time to sprout and that's just not likely at this time of year. You won't see condensation in cold temps or cloudy weather. Look in warm weather when sun hits the jugs and you will see it. As long as the soil was moist when sown you shouldn't have to water until spring in zone 6. Don't use screw on caps, throw them away. You want the rain and snow to water seeds. Only problem I see is possibly morning glory. Big seeds can rot in cold wet soil. They won't sprout until weather is pretty warm anyway so they might do better sown closer to spring. Congratulations, you're starting on a fun journey. Karen |
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- Posted by ladyrose65 6 (My Page) on Sun, Dec 12, 10 at 22:16
| Thanks Karen! Yes, I live in NJ. I was really worried when I didn't see the condensation! Wheeew...! I think I might very loose the MG's. But I will do WS again in March. I grew them from direct sowing this past season, and they did not bloom until October. My Calendula is blooming now! I can tell this WS can become an addiction. I was a rose growing nut, until too much fertilizer killed my roses. Now I'm getting back to everything. Sincerely, |
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| Rose, the mg's might do fine, you never know. I have had large seeds rot when sown in winter, but I've had some that grew, too. I just generally sow them later now, around March should be good. Another tip: plants that are very frost tender (like zinnias or marigolds) can sprout if you get an early warm weather period as spring nears. Then when normal freezing temps return the seedlings can be killed by the frost. If you have this happen you might give seedlings a little extra protection by covering with a sheet or blanket. Or, just wait until close to spring to sow them. They need pretty warm temps to sprout so sowing them in late March or April usually works fine anyway, and eliminates later worry about early sprouts. Karen |
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| Hi ladyrose65 and welcome to Winter Sowing! This is only my 2nd year, but I noticed last year that Winter Sowing rapidly becomes very addicting, lol. Last year I was really worried about how many holes to put in the jugs, strategic placement for holes, etc. I don't know if what I ended up doing was all that strategic, but on the milk jugs I just snipped off a little slot on each of the four corners, and then made a couple of small slots in the middle of the bottom of the jug. I think I have a photo somewhere of one of my prepped milk jugs...I'll look around for it and upload if I can find it. Last year I sowed my Morning Glories in March here in Zone 6b. I sowed them in newspaper pots that I then put inside the milk jugs and set outside. Some helpful Winter Sowers on the forum told me that the Morning Glories don't like to have their roots disturbed during the transplanting process, and said it's better to sow them in newspaper pots. The newspaper pots/milk jug method worked really well, and my Morning Glories ended up growing all the way up to the 2nd story of our house! They bloomed in September here in PA Zone 6b, and stayed blooming all the way into November when we had our first frost here. I had such a nice experience on the Winter Sowing forum last year...everyone was so helpful and answered all my many newbie questions. Good luck with your Winter Sowing & have fun!
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| Welcome to the wintersowing forum on Gardenweb.com..Yes, WS can be additive, but hey, you're not huring anybody by doing it and you'll find how satisfying it will be when you see your first blooms. Keep in mind, not all perennials will bloom for you the first year. This was a hard thing to understand for me at first. Make yourself up a Wish List and post of seeds that you might be looking for, or seeds you have to trade. Maybe your first year, you may not have many seeds to trade with others but there are a lot of generous people on these boards, and will welcome newbies with seeds..just for the asking. You might also want to add your email address in case somebody wishes to keep their conversation with you private. This will be my second year to WS..and I'm even more excited this year. Last year I was so scared of doing something wrong and my husband would throw it in my face that Wintersowing wouldn't work and he told me so. This year, his attitude is completely different(so far) |
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| Ladyrose65 - Welcome to the crazy group known as WSers. As Betty said above, it is addicting but so satisfying, particularly for things like herbs and veggies. If you go overboard you can always leave seedlings on your neighbor's doorstep... I think you'll enjoy it, it's lots of fun! Let me know if you need any seeds (that's the other thing - we're all seed puchers and seed enablers) - you can never have too many! Happy gardening, Ann |
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- Posted by ladyrose65 6 (My Page) on Wed, Dec 15, 10 at 14:10
| Thank you all for the Helpful and Supportive Information. I have to check out that seed trading site. I just have a lot of Larkspur right now. Thank You: kqcma, toie, pippi21 and kmpsmom. HAPPY HOLIDAYS! IT'S FREEZING HERE! |
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