Last year was my first to try wintersowing. It sure worked for me and I'm in South Carolina. You talk about changing weather!! We often have days in "winter" that are close to 80. But then...lows in the teens are not unusual.

I have lots of sprouts up in the containers I sowed around Christmas time. They have weathered cold nights as low as 12; today was around 75. They seem to be doing just fine. Last year I had more plants than I had comfortable room for (made new beds this year);)

All I can say is it works and you don't have to have constant snow cover or even temps. Most of us don't. Try it. You'll be surprised. And it's not too late. I've still got about 75-100 containers of annuals to sow.

Yep. Here in Virginia we have the same flaky weather. Friday we had an ice storm, today it was sixty degrees. This type of weather helps seeds break dormancy. Even annuals which get fooled into germination early will not only survive temperature fluctuations, but will be stronger because of it. Can you expect 100 percent success? No. But can you expect strong healthy plants? Yes.

Kathy

Thanks so much for all of your help. Maybe I'll start buying some seeds to sow. :) Hopefully I'll have lots to trade by next year!

readsn writes

This is my first year Wsing also, so i am taking a conservative approach.

I am wsing many of my seeds, especially the packs i get 10 for a dollar at rite aid, etc. However, i am setting a few aside for more 8conventional8 planting under lights. I only need a few of each of many of the plants, so, considering the quantity of seeds in many packets, i can afford to ws most, and still have plenty left over to germinate under lights in april.

Zengeos,
I'm no psychic but I'm going to have to make a prediction here. I predict that by next year grow lights will be a distant memory for you and you will be a devoted winter sower. That will be 10 cents please.....or 1 pack of seeds!

Reads...,
Don't worry about swinging temps. Seeds are programed to sprout when the weather is at a consistent temp(most seeds it seems to range from 60-80 degrees)for a much longer period. Think of it this way, when you get a few days of warm up in the winter, you don't see plants sprouting up everywhere.
Remy

Reads:

There are seeds being offered on the Winter Sowing Exchange - all you need is to send postage. Check it out before spending too much money!

Becky
ramazz