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Post by coppice on Jan 18, 2019 4:53:54 GMT -5
I don't have any choice, not much room indoors.
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Post by brownrexx on Jan 18, 2019 8:24:02 GMT -5
I tried it one year with gallon jugs and some spinach seeds. I got little tiny plants eventually but I didn't enjoy transplanting those little seedlings to the garden and the seeds that I direct planted caught up to them so quickly that I didn't feel that wintersowing was worth it for me. Maybe it works better for other people.
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Post by september on Jan 18, 2019 10:24:08 GMT -5
I would do it, but I have such extremes between day and night temperatures, that I am leery of having the interior of the jug with trapped sunlight going up to the 60-s-70's or higher during the day, and then dropping down to 0F or lower at night. Or one week of moderate temperatures at night, and then down to -15F. That would kill anything that had sprouted. I could try it setting jugs out in March, but by that time I start seeds under lights anyway. I could try it earlier with hardy Rudbeckia and Shasta daisy seeds that self seed in the garden anyway, and see if they survive the drastic temperature shifts.
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Post by hairymooseknuckles on Jan 18, 2019 11:10:24 GMT -5
I'm like september , we may be 70 degrees during the day and 30 at night one night and then mild temperatures where we don't see a freeze for a week or longer.
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Post by paulf on Jan 18, 2019 11:11:34 GMT -5
I have a gardening season much like a sports season. Spring training begins in March, planting outdoor season begins in May, Growing season from May to frost and resting season from October to March. Thinking about gardening from October to March with serious thought and planning season from February to March.
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Post by spike on Jan 18, 2019 11:31:56 GMT -5
Wait wait? Gallon jugs? Transplanting? Okay what exactly is this "winter sowing" that you are talking about? I plant garlic/shallots/onions in the fall and start seeds in the spring. I am totally lost and confused?
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Post by hairymooseknuckles on Jan 18, 2019 13:02:24 GMT -5
Wait wait? Gallon jugs? Transplanting? Okay what exactly is this "winter sowing" that you are talking about? I plant garlic/shallots/onions in the fall and start seeds in the spring. I am totally lost and confused? You remember Trudi from Wintersown right? She was a member of Idig. She gave away bazillions of seeds. My Baby Beefsteak tomato came from her as did my Italian Market Wonder tomato.
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Post by daylilydude on Jan 18, 2019 13:12:11 GMT -5
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Post by Laura_in_FL on Jan 18, 2019 13:24:19 GMT -5
No - I have too many long warm spells in winter. 2-3 weeks of consistent highs in the 70s can happen even in January some years. Everything would come up and then - bam! - a hard freeze.
Generally what I sow outside in winter are things that are happy to grow all through winter.
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Post by spike on Jan 18, 2019 15:05:05 GMT -5
Not really but thank you! I guess I am just thick today but I just don't see the point.
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Post by september on Jan 18, 2019 17:17:47 GMT -5
Well, if it works right, you would have unlimited little seedlings ready to transplant into the garden as soon as your spring weather and soil permitted. Saves on time and mess spent starting indoors and hardening off, no need for indoor lights or greenhouse. Some people swear by it.
I can see doing it for hardy flowers in my neck of the woods, but peppers and tomatoes would be too late for me, if they didn't freeze out entirely. Spinach will survive buried in snow here, so that would work, but lettuce is iffy by 23F, so that wouldn't work too well.
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Post by coppice on Jan 18, 2019 22:58:31 GMT -5
Trudi has (had?) cats. They took posetion of window-sills. Setting seed starts out, outdoors was the result.
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Post by Laura_in_FL on Jan 19, 2019 13:42:14 GMT -5
Cats do love those windowsills!
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Post by ahntjudy on Jan 22, 2019 9:41:52 GMT -5
I’ve never wintersown before, but I’m going to give it a try with some parsley seed this year… I’m not confident enough to rely on just that working out, so I’m planting seed in the cellar set up as I had planned as well… And as far as I'm concerned, the more parsley, the better, as I'll be feeding the Swallowtail caterpillars as well...so I'm hoping for a good harvest...
I do like the concept of not having to baby dozens of seedlings inside for months… And to not have to do the hardening off thing is also a big plus…
We’ll see how it goes…
I read to and am stratifying the parsley seeds that I am planting inside... But do seeds being wintersown need to be stratified?...or does it matter...curious...
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Post by Laura_in_FL on Jan 22, 2019 11:07:56 GMT -5
I thought that one of the advantages of wintersowing is that Mother Nature handles the stratifying?
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Post by ahntjudy on Jan 22, 2019 11:11:42 GMT -5
Yep...That certainly makes perfect sense!...
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Post by paquebot on Jan 22, 2019 13:58:00 GMT -5
I've done it for 16 years with tomatoes and eggplants. Yes, under glass but accepted since no heat other than from the sun. Also, when available the initial watering is up to 6" of snow packed on top of the starter packs.
In recent years, added onions to real winter sowing by starting them in 8" pots but left exposesd to the winter snow until early March. Then plastic grocery bag placed over them. Lots of warmth during the day and the larger pots store it for the night.
Carrots have been another great WS discovery. I no longer grow them in the ground but in 7-gallon and larger pots. Sowing them in November may seem strange but worked great. They were not given any plastic bags for warmth but relied on the sun heating those large pots. (As an aside,, growing carrots in deep pots is the only way to get straight 12" or longer.)
Martin
The truth is more important than the facts.
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Post by spacecase0 on Jan 22, 2019 19:08:58 GMT -5
my warm weather starts about 4 months before my last frost. so pretty sure this method would be a total fail for things that can't take frost or longer days without going to seed. I know it works just fine for sugar peas because I do it all the time.
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Post by ahntjudy on Jan 26, 2019 1:59:56 GMT -5
I'm going to try wintersowing lavender seed...Munstead... Adding that to the experiment...
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Post by brownrexx on Jan 26, 2019 10:40:29 GMT -5
ahntjudy, what kind of containers will you be using for wintersowing? I used gallon jugs when I tried it.
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Post by ahntjudy on Jan 26, 2019 13:23:43 GMT -5
Milk jugs...I go through 3+ a week so I've been accumulating... spike , I had never heard about it before now either... I've been reading up about it and it seems pretty straightforward, but if anyone has any tips or suggestions for this type of growing, I would be most grateful for any advice... I also want to say Thank You to coppice for starting this thread as it has inspired me to explore a whole new gardening direction... Who says you can't teach an old dog new tricks?...
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Post by brownrexx on Jan 26, 2019 15:06:59 GMT -5
When I planted mine in milk jugs I left the cap off so that they did not overheat in the sun.
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Post by ahntjudy on Feb 12, 2019 13:59:00 GMT -5
Waiting for Spring...
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Post by bestofour on Feb 13, 2019 9:46:39 GMT -5
ahntjudy, Oh jeepers. I'm scattering a few of your seeds today. Sorry to rub it in.
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Post by bestofour on Feb 13, 2019 9:53:10 GMT -5
I have a friend in PA who plants in the ground then covers them with an old glass window.
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Post by brownrexx on Feb 13, 2019 10:55:00 GMT -5
I have a friend in PA who plants in the ground then covers them with an old glass window. I have done that with 2 old windows hinged together to make a tent over my spinach seeds and it keeps that area considerably warmer.
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Post by ahntjudy on Feb 13, 2019 12:30:04 GMT -5
I'm scattering a few of your seeds today. Sorry to rub it in. Thanks... At this point, I can only stare at the garden, pondering...
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Post by tamaraann on Feb 13, 2019 23:11:14 GMT -5
Yes, I do every year! I usually do my flowers this way. It is a cheap and easy way to grow your garden. I have also done cold hardy vegetable crops like brassicas and greens.
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Post by pondgardener on Feb 14, 2019 9:58:04 GMT -5
tamaraann, You have quite an interesting website. When time permits, I am going to spend a little more time there.
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Post by tamaraann on Feb 14, 2019 15:25:22 GMT -5
tamaraann , You have quite an interesting website. When time permits, I am going to spend a little more time there. Thank you! I hope you find something useful there. Let me know if you have any questions......my aim is to help fellow gardeners and/or homesteaders with it!
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