Winter Sowing in zone 5

cyrus_gardner

14 years ago

Winter sowing is just that ; You sow the seeds late fall or during winter(provided ground is workable). Example: we winter sow tulips, daffodiles,... onions,
We can do that with seeds too; onions, leeks, chives, lettuce,..., some herbs seeds (parsley, basil, marjoram, savory...), wild flowers, ..
INTERESTINGLY, some seeds will germinate better if they freez and the thaw. That is how lots of things in the garden self seed and multiply. But you cannot push them. They will grow on their own terms. Plus, you should remember not to disturb their beds after sowing.

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gardenluv

14 years ago

"Plus, you should remember not to disturb their beds after sowing."

I am a little confused.

Using the wintersowing method, you plant the seeds in containers and put outside just SO they are not disturbed after sowing.

Am I missing something?

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I lost all of them when during one fall they grew too vigorously only to be destroyed in the winter. =====>>> did you hyper-fertilizer them late in the summer or early fall.. leading to lush green growth that did not harden properly before the first heavy frost/freeze???? in my experience.. peat pots are IMPOSSIBLE to use.. in a house ... especially if you have a forced air furnace ... it wicks the moisture form the media.. causing undue stresses ... [i suspect peat pots would be bulletproof in a greenhouse with super high humidity] my suggestion .. 6 oz plastic dixie cups ... and use a razor blade to cut the bottom edge in about 3 places for drainage ... and a good seedling media ... its much finer than regular potting media ... and sterilize it in the microwave or oven ... see link do you use supplemental light??? wait.. you want winter sowing outside.. or in the house??? your title plus the peat pot issue confuses me .... do some of both .... since you have a few seeds to work with .. anway .. isnt 2000 seeds a bit of overkill .. lol ... i guess you are really working on insuring success .. lol .. ken Here is a link that might be useful: link

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Hi Norabelle- I tried 2 types of primulas last year-- one was a primula japonica that I received from another gardenwebber and one was primula vulgaris from T&M. For the p. vulgaris, I followed the directions on the back of the seed packet; the p. japonica, I WSed (but not until the end of March... because that is when I received them). The p. vulgaris did not germinate, but the p. japonica (that I winter sowed) germinated very well. I had way more plants than I expected and by the end of summer, some of them were 6-8" tall...I didn't get them planted out right away, so some of them stayed smallish. I am going to try to start the p. vulgaris again this year, but this time I will winter sow them.

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Rebecca, welcome to the Wintersowing forum! I'm in zone 5 too, and wintersowing has allowed me to grow much more from seed than I could before, since I simply don't have the space indoors. Here are the vegetables that I have wintersown: Lettuce Spinach Swiss Chard Broccoli Peas Tomatoes Cucumbers and canteloupes I did using the wintersowing method, but in late May Herbs - basil (late April), dill, lavender, marjoram, oregano, parsley, perilla, rosemary, sage, spearmint Really about the only things that I don't wintersow for the garden, are carrots, since they don't always transplant well, and peppers, because our growing season is just too short to do them that way. I've included a link to Wintersown.org's list of vegetables for wintersowing, which may help as well. Start saving those containers, and buy plenty of potting mix before winter gets here! Bonnie Here is a link that might be useful: Wintersown.org - Vegetables for wintersowing

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friesfan1
Original Author

14 years ago

Hi

I think the reply from Cyus_Gardener was a bit too general, or too broad.
If you leave your plants in the ground until they seed, some
of those seed will drop and reseed themselves. Some
seeds benefit from freezing, others do not.

Winter Sowing, done in this group is done in containers. Milk Jugs. You can check the FAQ's for more information.

If you are choosing to sow your seed directly into the ground
remember that you are going to get not just the flower seeds
that have dropped at the end of last season, but also a lot
of weed seeds.

The Winter Sowing that worked good for me was done in
milk jugs. I also sowed some seeds in clear plastic containers
and drilled vent holes on the top. If done this way, they
should also be drilled on the bottom for drainage.

Hope this helps some.
Mary
z 5b

Here is a link that might be useful: Winter Sowing

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gardenluv

14 years ago

I have been wintersowing for a few years now so I understand. I was just confused as to what cyrus was referring to.

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Winter Sowing in zone 5

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cyrus_gardner

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Winter Sowing in zone 5

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cyrus_gardner

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