This will be my first year wintersowing. Is it time Yet!! I will get my jugs ready today and go through my seed stash.
What s everyone planting? Show off your Jugs!

I'm trying winter sowing for the first time this year. I'm using cell packs inside of cake containers with clear lids and sides.
So far I've sowed Japanese Maple and butterfly bush.
I have more seeds marked for sowing but no more containers here.

This is zone 3 so there is plenty of time yet for wintersowing here.
I'll probably do it at end of February.
I have been direct sowing some seeds---larkspur, wallflowers, for-get-me-nots, columbine,hollyhocks, delphinium, iceland poppy.
It is a gamble as some will be lost to critters, and some may start and then get frozen.

Sounds good to me.
I'm going to follow this http://garden.org/ideas/view/v...

Mindy, a larger, deeper container might work better for you than cell packs. Cells are so tiny that it can be hard to keep adequate moisture in them once weather warms and lids come off. Dry seedlings = dead seedlings. There are people who have been successful at it, but you make a lot of work for yourself. They might need to be watered several times a day. Also, their light weight makes them prone to blowing away, so you'd be wise to weigh them down somehow. And remember, the seedlings need adequate head room.

I don't have a list yet. I'll wintersow echinacea for sure. (I lost quite a few last year to aster yellows). My husband will be gone on several business trips later in the month. I'll probably get started then. And definitely tomatoes and some annual flowers closer to spring.

Karen

I agree a larger container is easier to control .. the cells dried out for me too quickly as well.. I don't have a list ready yet either.. but will soon

Once school resumes I'll begin germination tests. I find these experiments interesting, and it helps to keep me entertained while I wait for the best wintersowing time (for me). I haven't had a whole lot of luck with starting my containers in January...here, mid-to-late February seems to work out the best. I've had a few plants come from January jugs, but not many. That's not to say that it's necessarily a timing issue however, it may just be because I chose the most challenging seeds to start early.

I'm aware of the cell packs needing more attention but I don't plan to keep what's in them in there very long. The maples need cold to germinate so they are in cell packs until I see green then as soon as they are big enough to handle I'll transplant them to larger pots. Normally I would just stick them in the ground once they get their second set of leaves but that's not a good idea around here since someone keeps coming to our property away from the house and digging up stuff. The maples are meant for an area just before getting to our house and I sure don't want someone digging them up before they get big enough to deter such activity.
The butterfly bushes also need cold but those will be potted up to bigger pots because they grow extremely fast for me once they take off.
I'm checking for a deeper container for other seeds to winter sow.

I wish I could do more winter sowing here but our winters are just to inconsistent. We always have a warm up - like into the upper 70's for a few days in the middle of January which causes some seeds to germinate prematurely then night time temps will drop into the teens and low 20's in February. In past years I've lost a lot of seedlings because this. Now I just sow seeds that are solid zone 8 hardy.

Xeramtheum, we've all had that happen occasionally. Consider, it's currently 24° here. But by Friday, it's supposed to be 59°. Keeping containers in shade does help to prevent premature sprouting. Also, I only wintersow perennials at this time of year. They tend to take a little longer to sprout anyway. For annuals or tender perennials, I use the same method, milk jugs outside, but I don't sow them until around March or April. Then for frost after they germinate, I just throw a blanket over them overnight.

Customizing the method a little bit this way really does limit a lot of problems. This will be, I think, my 8th year wintersowing.

Karen

8 years! Karen, you are our expert! I usually don't wintersow until March too. We have had temperatures drop to -20ºC which is -4ºF in April. That's not common, it it does happen. Even a blanket is not enough at that temp if they had sprouted

In a case like that my jugs sleep in my unheated garage.

Karen

This is why Winter Sowing is a challenge in my area:

That wouldn't even break dormancy for seeds that need cold-moist stratification. I think that requires temps below 40'F.

Xeramtheum said:This is why Winter Sowing is a challenge in my area:

How long are your days now? Over 12 hours?

Joanne

Here, our 10 day forecast has highs as warm as 67° on Saturday, and as low as 32° on Thursday. It happens to a lot of us, Xeramtheum. And as Joanne points out, days are still short. Limited light.

If you keep containers in shade, and avoid sowing tender things until spring, it helps. I haven't had really early, problematic sprouts since my first year, 8 years ago. Then, I had sown some quick sprouting annual seeds. Now, I don't, until spring.

And I haven't started sowing yet this year. I've learned a few things in 8 years!

Karen

About that - it's just now 6pm and it's almost completely dark .. but it will get cold again .. we always have a January warm up - in a week or so the nights will probably go below 40 and the days in the 50's and 60's - but hey! Personally I LOVE IT as I really, REALLY hate cold weather.

Me, too. We've had dirty old snow on the ground for weeks. I'll be thankful to get rid of it. It can't survive the temps we're going to get.

Karen

I know this sounds nuts, but the hotter n humider it gets the more I love it. 95 degrees with 90% humidity is my dream weather.

Why not try sweet peas? You can get tall vine type and also short mounding types. They will sprout and then enjoy weeks of slow growth. You may be surprised at how well they will do. Look for a daylight neutral variety, early to flower or the word "winter" in the name, so you will get blooms in about 12 weeks from germination. Frost won't harm the seedlings.