Is anyone direct sowing anything this fall? Does anyone know of a resource that says which plants like to be direct sown in the fall? Has anyone done any direct sowing in the fall before?

Yupper. Yupper. Yupper.

Will put together a list of what and when I'm doing stuff this fall/winter. Who knows what lurks in the seed fridge? Some things will be sown insitu and some will be sown in a bed which I monitor more closely.
Anything in this germination table in the columns Autumn or Winter/Out can be direct sown. The number is the number of days from sowing to germination but this table is from the UK so it will vary for us depending on zone. http://theseedsite.co.uk/germi...

Thanks, D-nut. I will check my seed stores and see what might be lurking there. I was thinking columbines might be good.

Last year I think that DSO weeded some of my seedlings. I'll have to keep a better look out this year.

Dahlia, That's a great list. It sounds like she doesn't sow anything directly in the earth.

Columbines will be very good for sure for you methinks. I have been known to weed out many of my direct seedlings That's why if I'm trying something new I usually put it in the one bed where I do not allow myself to weed until there are true leaves.

Do you cover your seeds with anything to protect them from the wind or the birds?

I don't think she does herself but what's the difference if you amend the soil whether it's in a pot or not? oooo what a fabby name for direct sowers: 'potnots'

It depends if the seed needs light to germinate or not. If it needs light I will broadcast in sand on damp soil and do a 'footplant' where you step on it to push it into the ground. Broadcasting in sand also works really well for fine seed like poppy seed. I lose some seeds to birds but mostly the birds prefer their fav seed that I put out for them. I use Tom Clothier's guide for light germination needs http://tomclothier.hort.net/

Larkspur, poppies, and bachelor buttons come to mind. With any luck they'll sprout soon and overwinter as small seedlings. Colunbines and digitalis are good choices, too.

Karen

Thanks Karen, I've got some perennial Bachelor Button seeds. Do you think they will do OK?

Definitely on the perennial BBs. My plant self sows prolificly so I'm always weeding them out.

Do you sow anywhere there is mulch?

I only have leaf mulch that I put on for the winter and I do sow under it if they are dark germinators. I have to be careful though cuz sometimes the baby seedlings will rot if it's too wet.

Dahlia, Do you shread your leaves first?

Nope but it is usually very dry and windy in my garden in the winter so I don't get mold. I do have to watch for crown rot on some things if the leaf layer is too deep though. I can be seen raking leaves about the beds all winter to keep them evenly distributed and then shovelling on snow icing when it's dry.

The leaf mulch blows off of my roadside bed in winter. It all ends up on the lawn. This year I put some wood mulch down over there and will keep the leaves for other areas.

I direct sowed Poppies,Larkspur and cosmose last fall,late.
This year I have hopes the larkspur reseeded. I collect the poppy seeds and re sow where I want them. Not all of my direct sow poppies came up this spring. I had an order from OneStop Poppyshop that I never saw.
I will resow in late November and December. I also footplant the seeds.
I am sowing Collicinia (sp) Chinese Houses. This is a new plant for me and I followed ths directions on the pack plus what was written about them in PF and the seed company website. I have sowen these in 4 inch pots in outdoor planters so I will be able to id them in the spring.
I am keeping some seeds back incase I need to replant in spring.
I kept OSPS poppy seeds back to be sure it's not my fault they didnt germinate last spring due to too early a sowing. If a Dec. sowing doesnt germinate I will let OSPS know.
I plan to sow densly in a marked area and label the 3 poppies.

Jo Ann, the poppies and larkspur can actually be sown earlier in the fall. Then they can sprout and winter over as tiny seedlings. They're not bothered by winter weather at all. They're very cold hardy.

This pic shows my larkspur last January. What appears to be a groundcover over the bed are all larkspur. I had to stop growing them because of invasive reseeding.



I shouldn't have allowed so many to stay the year before.



Karen

That is just gorgeous. In my best dreams my larkspur will self sow like yours.
I only had about four plants come up from the first sowing last winter.I left them where they were and have great hopes for a nice spread into the pink and white lily patch.
You can barely make them out at tyhe right above the Walkers Low.
This is also the area where I will sow the purple,blue and giant white poppies.
I believe Gemini Sage on Cottage Gardens ,sowed some last year that didnt germinate.

O what a prettiful patch Karen! I haven't tried larkspur as I thought they might be as floppy as my delphs but yours don't seem to be floppy at all! Just went on my seed list. I have almost finished sifting through the seed fridge and will post my list of what I'm going to direct sow.