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Cukes and Bell Peppers - Good for WS?

greengardener07

16 years ago

I see that tomatoes can be wintersown now, but what about cukes and bell peppers?

Also, how deep should I put the seeds? The same as I normally would? Any special considerations? The last frost date around here is May 15th.

So, when do I actually wintersow these little guys (toms/cukes/peps)?

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Comments (7)

rjinga
16 years ago
I'll be watching for any responses...I'm also interested in WS peppers, I want to have a whole bunch of plants this year...last year I had about a half dozen and got little puny peppers from them...and then 2 I potted up in 5 gallon pots and they did GREAT!!! on my patio...go figure.
greengardener07
Original Author
16 years ago
rjinga,

Sometimes the garden really does imitate life. You'll get the best results or biggest suprise from something that should be able to perform as well. That makes gardening all the more fun.

Good luck with you peppers this year. I hope to get some good ones myself. I did well with the Burpee Hybrid II cukes last year. I yielded 210 total cukes from two different plants!

Here is to hoping.
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greengardener07
Original Author
16 years ago
(Bump)

Just trying to get an answer to this one. If cukes and pepers can be wintersown, and when should that be done? I was thinking that instead of growing indoors (space and a cat consideration), I was going to do the gallon jug winter sow method, but in the first week of April.

Any thoughts?
rosebush
16 years ago
I've winter-sown cukes and peppers, but I sow them a bit later, usually March (I'm in Zone 7). I put the seeds in a little paper towel roll (about 3" section) filled with dirt, then put several of them into the gallon jug. When it's time to plant out, there is no disturbing the roots, I just plant the whole thing, cardboard and all. The depth of the seed would be the normal requirement.
greengardener07
Original Author
16 years ago
rosebush,

That is a great idea about the paper towel roll! I never know what to do with them, I always seem to have so many of them. Them and the toilet paper rolls.

Since I am in the Philly area, I am thinking the beginning of April would be safe for cukes and peppers. Nice!

Thanks again!
seedmama
16 years ago
Keep in mind that cukes and peppers often self sow in the garden, which means their seeds were abandoned and left to their own devices all winter. They still sprouted, which means in theory you can put them out any time. The beauty of WS is that if you incur a late season freeze, after your seeds have sprouted, you can move the containers indoors.

I started cukes, squash and pumpkins last year in gallon milk jugs. I planted only four seeds to a jug to minimize the tangling of fast growing roots.

On the few occasions I use paper tubes, I fill in the gaps in between with soil and put a 1/2" cover over all of them as well. Otherwise, the cardboard provides a very large surface area for evaporation and I fight moisture loss.
highalttransplant
16 years ago
Greengardener, I know that I'm a zone colder than you, so my experience may differ from yours. Last year was my first year WSing, and I did peppers. They germinated very late, and were not ripe by the first frost. I am going to try again this year, with varieties designed for shorter growing seasons (like King of the North). I'm also going to sow a couple of each indoors as a backup. This is my plan for my tomatoes as well.

Cucumbers I direct sowed last year, and they all came up very quickly, but I may try both WSing/direct sowing this time just to see if there is any difference.

Bonnie

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