I'm really enjoying the seed cubit. So many great suggestions and lots of good info.

I winter sow almost exclusively in the gallon milk jugs. It doesn't seem to matter that the jugs are opaque. Is this the case with everyone else, or would I be getting greater germination with clear tops. Right now I have 25 jugs outside under snow. Eventually I will put them in 2 hard sided plastic kiddy pools so that they get some bottom watering.

Roses_R_Red said:I'm really enjoying the seed cubit. So many great suggestions and lots of good info.

I winter sow almost exclusively in the gallon milk jugs. It doesn't seem to matter that the jugs are opaque. Is this the case with everyone else, or would I be getting greater germination with clear tops.

Roses, by opaque do you mean "white" (like the Hoods milk jugs I have to use) or "translucent," which is also available?
The translucent works fine--they don't have to be absolutely clear.

Joanne,

About "average" temps in spring. Here, I picked March 25. Our average high is 56°F and average low is 32°F. But as I said before it varies a lot from year to year.

I keep hearing that we're getting all this extremely cold weather and snow this year due to an El Nino. I'm wondering if those patterns were already in place last summer? Our weather was so cool, cloudy, and rainy last spring and early summer, it was a challenging summer for gardeners. Were these ocean patterns already in place then?

Karen

Emily,

I guess the milk cartons that I use are closer to translucent.

Here is my first try at WSing. I have a few more in the house ready to be put out. I have veggies and melons in mine.

giving cow pots a try this year

2nd container

Nice Allison. Be sure to let us know how those cowpots work.

I've only seen cowpots online, never met them in person. What are they like? In your picture they look almost like thick cardboard. Is that what they feel like? I'm wondering if they hold water well, or dry out like peat pots or paper pots. Or if they mold and rot like peat pots and paper pots.

Is that coir you're using as the planting medium? Have you used it before for wintersowing?

I know, I'm full of questions this morning.

Karen

I tried the coco peat coir and did not like it at all. seeds germinated fine, but did not grow, at all. I guess it has zip-o for nutritional value

I've never tried coir. Seems to me it might hold a lot of water and stay awfully wet. Is that true? That's what I have against seed starting mix. Those I've tried just seemed heavy, very fine texture, held a lot of water and stayed too wet for my liking.

A good peat based regular potting mix works so well for me that I'm reluctant to change. Sort of the old "if it ain't broke don't fix it" mentality.

Karen

the cow pots do feel like cardboard when they are dry... do get a touch of mold ..but good mold.. it is compost... and does break down that way... never saw any ill effects from any moldy ones... but I have only seen them get real bad if they are under the dome for a long time with my begonia cuttings... but they grew just fine.. my assessment of them would be they are fantastic...

yes it is coir... and my first time trying it.. it is supposed to... not hold too much excess water.. we will see... and switched because I got tired of the gnats... and there is no nutritional value to it.. totally neutral ph ... I use compost tea when they are seedlings.. and when they get planted... they all get slow release fertilizer

Also excited to learn about cowpots. I've used coir in my outdoor containers, but haven't tried it yet for starting seeds. I didn't have a problem with it holding water--it is loose enough to drain well. It does, however, need a steady fertilizing regime.

Do you use compost tea with every watering on your seedlings?

I alternate between compost tea & chamomile tea I will look & see if I can find some photos of the roots going though the pots even before they were planted.. that is the best part.. kind of hard to handle if there is a heavy rain and I try to plant them.. picking them up can be tricky... last year with all that rain we had.. I had to bring the tray out with me.. dig the hole.. and pick the pot up with my trowel.. so they wouldn't collapse.. under normal rain & watering they do just fine

Glad to hear they allow root growth, and disingegrate as they are supposed. to. That was a major problem with peat pots--it seems as if those darned things never broke down. I did try a few coir fiber pots last year, and roots seemed to grow through them pretty well. However, none of them got planted in my garden, so not sure how they finally did.

some of those peat pots were still in tact the next year when I was planting my annuals in my one bed... showed my honey that I can recycle it.. LOL

here ya go.. some lupine roots

Nice, Allison.

Karen

I just re-read this entire thread and learned even more! I should probably do this once a week.
I had never thought about using some 3-in coir pots for WS seeds, that I "inherited" from a friend who moved --that counts as recycling, right?
And the various temperature recommendations for WS planting were helpful to read again. I'm still very insecure about when to plant half hardy and tender annuals in my climate, even after three year's experience. When I think of how casually I just put things out my first "season"--I really had beginner's luck, and ended up with at least 30 healthy tomato seedlings, for instance. But maybe that's not unusual with WS. Mother Nature is on our side.

I finally found my list of what I've WSown this year

dianthus albus
dianthus arctic fire
echinacea white swan
liastris floristan white
playtcodon dwarf blue (I've don't platycodon for 4 years and never had a sprout, 5th time's a charm?)
penstemon smallii
snapdragon Royal Bride
snapdragon trailing
snapdragon chimes bronze
forget-me-nots

Karen

We've been having a mild spell the past few days and I *think* my 'Venus' poppies are sprouting!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! How exciting! I'm so behind though........had the flu beginning of the week and still feel kind of crummy. Need to get more poppies sown!

here is my list of seeds I sowed

http://davesgarden.com/communi...