Several things come to mind:

How deep were your little pots, and did you cover them with plastic and put vents in them?

Is your truck covered, or just an open bed? If it's got a cap on it, you'll need to remove the cap, or find another location for your containers. The idea is to get your containers into as natural of an environment as possible- open to rain, air circulation, and anything else Mother Nature wants to throw at them.

You mentioned a 'flat' for holding water. That's a great way to bottom-water, but not sure how it'll work with your pots if they WERE covered and are in baggies. If they are simply covered with saran wrap & duct-taped, two thumbs up for thinking ahead when they need watering!

Cold is def not an issue; that's how we do things around here!

Got a pic of your setup?

Hi mmqchdygg,

I put the plants into the cab of the pickup. There is
actually nothing covering them.

The sun though will really make the temps fluctuate.
From 85 degrees yesterday to our now super cold temps
we are having today. Luckily, nothing has sprouted
yet, so I don't have to worry about winter kill.

As for a picture, just envision the interior of
a PU cab, with the little pots sitting in the seat &
floor.

Thanks,
Mary

Ahhh...
Take them out of that cab!!!! Put them in the BED of the truck instead!

Again, make sure they are covered, and are at least 3" deep. If they aren't 3" deep, simply spread the whole of your shallow containers into a bigger container like a milk jug or a deep lasagna pan. If they are 3", just cover, vent, and put in the bed. You can still use the flats as a 'corral' for your smaller pots and for bottom watering.

Here's a pic of one person's setup I found on flickr. See how she uses the smaller styro cups, but still has them covered (& vented)? That's what needs to happen with your smaller cups. She's got a big bag covering these, so it's probably relatively easy for her to remove it for watering, but another idea is to use a zippered blanket bag, which usually has 'sides' and can be accessed by simply zipping open the top.

And below the pic, I linked a thread with some smaller pots being used- again note that they are being covered by something like a dry-cleaning bag and vented:

{{gwi:364043}}

Here is a link that might be useful: Smaller Pots for Winter Sowing

mmqchdygg Thank you,

What about the Foxglove that are suppose to be
surface sown, since they need light to germinate?

I don't know that I can manage 3" of soil on top
now. Some are probably only an inch from the top of
the container.

As for planting depth, I just followed what was on
the seed packet. Are those directions automatically
thrown out for WS??

Thanks for the link.
Mary

Sorry; I was unclear.

You need an overall soil depth of about 3"
Your seeds are sown generally no deeper than the size of the seed.
Some really tiny seeds are simply pressed into the surface of the soil.

If your container is ALREADY about 3" deep overall soil depth, then you're fine, and need to do nothing other than cover it and vent it.

If it's not, you'll have a real problem with moisture retention. That's why I suggested that if you have little tiny cups (something like those flats that indoor sowers use), then you'll want to take the WHOLE MASS of soil from each cup (with seed), and spread it thinly over a larger area- like the deep lasagna pan. That'll give you a container with the correct amount of soil, and your seeds will still be sown thinly and shallowly on the surface.

Think of it like spreading peanut butter over a bread. The bread gives you your depth, and the PB represents your small amount of soil (with seed) that you've already sown in a too-small container. If you spread it over a bread (lasagna pan or milk jug), now you have the correct amount of soil, and your seeds are unharmed and not 'buried.' Follow?

As far as the foxglove goes, if you're needing to put into a deeper container, be VERY careful when you take that surface soil off, and simply 'place' it on top of your new container of soil. Then you won't disturb these surface-sown ones. Maybe use a knife or a spatula for the move.

Great. Now I'm hungry.

The cab of the truck is basically a greenhouse. That's not really wintersowing, but I can understand why you did what you did. Improvisation is the child of desire. MMQ gives good advice.

Just had an idea. Can she freeze the containers if there are no sprouts and lay those on top of new soil in deeper containers? Seeing as how our temps were in the teens this winter, and seeds sprouted, would it be detrimental given the temps inside the truck?

MMQ,

I think the little pots I have started them in will be
okay. The foxglove I just pushed into the soil. All
of my containers are at least 3" in depth.

I think I will find something suitable to move them
all into the bed of the truck. But not today, temps are
still only 18 degrees.

Token,

Since I only started these last week and it was
really nice weather, nothing has sprouted yet.

So I should have a chance to move them into the
bed of the truck.

My biggest problem will be to make sure nothing
blows away in our infamous KS wind.

I think I have an idea about just how to move them....

I am getting excited this just may work out!!

Mary
Freaking freezing KS z 5b

Laundry Baskets are handy for this sorta chore.

Oh Mary, that brings back memories!!I grew up between Wichita and Salina and the wind was always blowing, if it stopped you ran for cover!!LOL!!
We could hang our wash and by the time you were at the end of the line, what you had first hung up was dry!
To keep the cats out of your stuff, sprinkle it with dried hot peppers, they'll find something else to mess with.
-B

Actually Mary, By placing your containers out in the cold you did them a favour. A lot of those seeds will benefit from a bit of cold temps. Just follow the great advice MMQ's tips and you'll do just fine. :O)

Hi Brandy,

Someone who can identify with the wind! lol
Yes,I always said, if it quit blowing, we would all
fall over.! If you have been to Salina in the
past few years, you will see the wind turbines.
They are an awesome site! I love watching them
when I drive east.

MMQ & Tiffy,

Thanks for answering all of my questions.
I will let you know how I finished my WS project
in a few days. I need to make a trip to Wal-mart
on Thursday.

Right now it is too cold outside but to stay
inside and dream
about summer blooms & fried zucchini!

Thanks for all of your help. Updates in
a few days, hopefully with pictures.

Mary in-
Freezin' cold & windy KS

Mary
do not worry overmuch about "your" way of doing it. Everyone is here different and found its own way to make things work and plants to grow...
psss.... do not tell your seeds though.... as they have their own idea when to germinate and will do so despite anything you do to them...

Thanks Linda,

I do want to get my seeds off to a good start.
Rather than throw money down the drain year after
year.

I can't tell you how many packages of Delphiniums and
Foxgloves I have wasted, probably just because I didn't
start them the right way.

I don't know that I will start Delphiniums again.

But Monarda I am going to try this year.

Mary
z 5b KS

My wintersown foxgloves grow like crazy, I think I must get 100% germination. I have a jug of them popping out there now, as well as some returning from last year. Get 'em out in the cold, they love it!

{{gwi:364045}}
Karen

oh goody, I WS some foxgloves. they are so pretty. I also like Lupines and WS some of them too.

Karen