I Just Couldn't Help Myself...

[TheSeedObsesser]

Got a little bit planting-crazy so went ahead and winter-sowed quite a lot this morning. Among what I planted were mixed poppies (included the Black Swan poppies from @journey11 - thanks! and the Ziar Breadseed poppies from @sea-kangaroo - thanks!) carrots were planted (included carrots from @HotPepperQueen - thanks) and I also planted 7 out of 8 packets of kohlrabi seed from Natives Seeds).

I would have planted a lot more, but a blizzard hit.

Anybody else winter-sow?

 

[digitS']

I would have planted a lot more, but a blizzard hit.

Ha!

Maybe I should sprinkle some grass seed. My lawn looks like an absolute wreck!

There isn't a bit of growth anywhere - record high days, or not. The soil must still be frozen even if it has been a warm winter up to now.

Are you out in the open garden with these sowings, SeedO'?

Steve

 

[TheSeedObsesser]

Yup, I was out in the open. It was the perfect time to sow - no wind and only a little bit of snow. Now all of my babies are sleeping under a 12 inch blanket of snow.

Having to carry multiple buckets of water back to the ducks a few times a day and snow-plow every once in a while - there isn't much grass here either. Smothered, swooshed around by duck beaks on the warmer days, hard-panned, and frozen.

 

[journey11]

I got 22 jugs done up today, a variety of things...mixed morning glories, poppies, alyssum, lovage, basil, cabbage, broccoli, kale, mustard, brussels sprouts, escarole (thanks @Nyboy ), lettuce, some pink rose seeds I got from hips collected in the native garden at the Andy Griffith museum in TN, 2 types of tomatoes which I am starting at the same time as my indoor flat of tomatoes for comparison...and some other stuff I can't remember right now. I may do a few more of flowers as I get my hands on some more jugs.

LOL, I can't tell you how many jugs I had to un-tape because I got in a hurry and taped them up, forgetting to cover the seeds with a little soil first.

Nothing I planted needed cold stratification, or else I should have had those done months ago. Still plenty of time to plant other more tender seedlings though. I'm excited to see how this works out. Everything I've read and heard says the seedlings will be tougher and more adaptable to transplanting, having experienced normal weather and not having been babied, no hardening off needed. This will allow me to start a lot more stuff than I could possibly fit in flats in my sunroom.

They say you can start just about anything this way, although more tender plants should be started later and covered with a blanket if a freeze is expected. Now peppers are one thing I wouldn't wintersow. Those need more heat to get going.

I have a little more left in the bag of potting soil, a 2 cu. ft bag of MG moisture control potting soil. I'm guessing I could get 30 milk jugs per bag then. They said it doesn't have to be sterile potting soil under these conditions either (although if you use garden soil/compost, make sure it isn't full of weed seeds.)

Have you had anything sprouting yet, @TheSeedObsesser ?

 

[so lucky]

@journey11, Did you post about using jugs earlier? and I missed it? That sounds like fun. Do you cut the top off entirely or use one side for a hinge?

 

[journey11]

@journey11, Did you post about using jugs earlier? and I missed it? That sounds like fun. Do you cut the top off entirely or use one side for a hinge?

I might have mentioned that I was hoarding milk jugs, lol. This fella's blog will tell you everything about it. He has lots of pics too. You leave an inch or so intact at the bottom of the handle for a "hinge" and you poke holes for drainage, throw away the lid, then use a couple of pieces of duct tape to hold it closed.

They say it is a really effective way to start stubborn perennials from seed that require cold stratification. A bit late in the season for those, but still plenty of time for annuals and veggies.

 

[ninnymary]

Journey, what is the blogger's name? Do you essentially cut the top of the jog (but not all the way), plant seeds, and put outside? Then when they are starts, you transplant?

Mary

 

[journey11]

Journey, what is the blogger's name? Do you essentially cut the top of the jog (but not all the way), plant seeds, and put outside? Then when they are starts, you transplant?

Mary

The blog is "A Garden for the House", by Kevin Lee Jacobs and there is also lots of info on www.wintersown.org where the method originated.

That's pretty much it in a nutshell, although the more tender annuals you put out later when you don't have to worry about hard freezes. The jug is cut in half, about where the lower part of the handle ends. It's like little mini greenhouses that you put outside. They are not supposed to get dampening off like indoor grown seedlings sometimes do. And they are supposed to gradually harden off as they grow, just like direct sowing.

 

[TheSeedObsesser]

Nothing sprouting here yet. there's still a half-melted layer of snow over everything, maybe in a few days. We've been having odd weather here, something with the humidity. It feels like 50* but I can see my breath and there's a thick layer of fog over everything in the morning.

 

[ninnymary]

SeedO, did you receive the seeds? I'm beginning to worry that I might have written the wrong address.

Mary