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WS Tomatoes Sprouted!

14 years ago

I've got several tomato sprout outside in their mini-greenhouse bottles. I believe this is the most successful I've been with tomatoes that are wintersown. Next year, I will seriously trust in the WS process and not do any tomatoes indoors under lights. I despise the hardening off process, so WS is the best! Love it. Happy dance!

Karen

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Comments (7)

didzgarden
14 years ago
Yay! I have 5 varieties out there now.. nothing happening yet. I'm determined to believe though. I kill things under lights. I'm just not diligent enough.

Let Ma Nature do it all for me? Yeah.. that's the way to go.
bookjunky4life
14 years ago
I grew about 50 tomatoes (beefsteak and cherry) just in my windowsill. Some are REALLY big and others are a few inches because I did two rounds.

I also did three or four varieties by WS. All of them are sprouting, some more than others but sprouts in all. Some have their second set of leaves already.
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Hey Colorado WS'ers, when will we see sprouts?
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Comments (20)
Thank you for asking maidinmontana ... sounds like an excuse to post some pictures, LOL! I did end up digging down 8" - 10" after removing the sod, bought a half yard of compost from a local garden center, then added about 20 bags of organic composted top soil. The soil level is actually a few inches above the original sod height, so it is kind of a semi-raised bed. The edging is holding all the dirt in well, but the grass has managed to sneak some runners underneath. Then my DH built a trellis for me out of some left over cedar from the fence. Before: After: As far as WS goes, I had good germination on my herbs and veggies, but between the 12 hours a day of high altitude full sun exposure, and the lack of protection from the wind, there have been some casualties. There is only one dill seedling left, one marjoram seedling, a couple of tiny thyme seedlings, and a few sick looking basil seedlings. The peppers sprouts were all eaten by something once they were planted out. It wasn't a total failure though. The oregano is finally starting to grow some, and the swiss chard is taking off now too. WS Swiss Chard 'Bright Lights' I have to say that the things that are doing the best were all direct sown - the carrots, bush beans, cucumbers, and the 'Jack B. Little' pumpkins. Jack B. Little pumpkins: I will probably do some WS again this year so that I can feel like I'm gardening while it's below zero outside, but I might stick with annuals, and perennials, and just direct sow the veggies/herbs or start some in the kitchen windowsill. The basil, and parsley that I sowed in pots in the kitchen windowsill (south facing) are much bigger and healthier looking than the ones WS and planted in the garden. I know these results differ from many of the success stories on this forum, but the high desert/mountain climate here makes gardening more difficult than many areas of the country. My problems weren't with the WS process, but keeping things alive once they were planted out. I'd love to hear how it went for other WS'ers from this part of the country! And post some pics if you have them.
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New to WS: Snaps, nemesia , clarkia, Brussels Sprouts
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Comments (3)
Hey, Patreesh, you are going to love this. The color of the container itself doesn't matter, but your containers should have at least opaque tops. I have some that have blue lids - when I use those, I ditch the lid & cover with plastic wrap, OR (better idea) cut the lid so that only an inch or two remains around the rim (center is cut out) - then cover the container with plastic wrap, and use the lid rim to hold it in place. Be sure to poke holes in the plastic wrap! I'm a huge fan of snaps, and WS them is the only way to go, IMO. I've started them indoors - and lost them to damp off. The ones I start outdoors are strong & healthy, & will take a hefty amount of cold. Heat is a bigger problem - down here, as soon as things sprout, I take the lids completely off, but when I lived up north, I would gradually widen the transpiration holes. I do keep some kind of covering - an old sheet, Remay, whatever - around for more delicate things that have sprouted if there's a hard freeze. I don't think I've ever needed it for snaps. All the plants you mentioned are great WS candidates. Have fun!
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Needing reasurance
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Comments (5)
Dearest neighbor: Your sprouts look fantastic! Thanks for sharing! While I realize this isn't a competition, I will always admire the indoor-gardener's early sprouting. You have great discipline to tend to that kind of setup, and it is commendable. Fortunately for me, there is a style of starting seeds that caters to those of us who either don't have the time or interest in babysitting that kind of setup, or it may be cost-prohibitive. That's why I do winter-sowing. I like that Mother Nature still has control over what springs to life in my garden, and I like that I don't have to worry about losing carefully tended plants to things like damp-off and hardening off. This is too easy a method for me to not do it, and I like that it works- on Mother Nature's time schedule. In a couple weeks, I will definitely invite you back over to see my flush of green as these jugs spring to life with wild abandon. I will have more plants than I could have ever dreamed possible if I had to buy them. The cost alone makes it worth doing for me; I could never afford to fill my beds any other way. Oh, and did I mention that I get my seeds for next to nothing aside from a little postage on the seed trading forums? There is so much more out there to grow than what Walmart has to offer!
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Comments (26)
So far it looks like: Zinnia - Purple Prince Zinnia - Cactus Mix Poppy - Double Lavender Lavatera - Pink Morning Glory - Mixed Colours That's not bad considering the poppy and lavatera seeds are at least 2 years old. Didn't think anything would come of trying but I guess I was wrong. Now only if the frost doesn't ruin anything it'll all be good.
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bettycbowen
14 years ago
My first ever WS tomatoes sprouted well and most have had true leaves for a couple of weeks. This weekend I put 9 of them in larger pots (I had them in little flats). Pretty fun. I won't actually plant them for a little while.

I, too, will "trust" this method better next year!
bookjunky4life
14 years ago
I grew about 50 tomatoes (beefsteak and cherry) just in my windowsill. Some are REALLY big and others are a few inches because I did two rounds.

I also did three or four varieties by WS. All of them are sprouting, some more than others but sprouts in all. Some have their second set of leaves already.
Judy Brown
14 years ago
I wintersowed tomato seeds for the first time this year. Mine are about 4" high now with several sets of leaves. I've given away several plants but plan on planting the rest in the garden this weekend. I also have 2 other batches of tomato seeds done. One batch all of them have germinated with 2 sets of leaves. The second batch was just sowed last Thursday, 4/8. I love wintersowing and all of the great surprises it brings!!!
floodthelast
14 years ago
How are your sprouts now that it's getting so cold at night in NE ohio? I have some I tried starting indoors but I've been putting them out and in depending on night temps. So far this method is not as easy as winter sow. Ohio just makes me nervous about the chance of frots.
didzgarden
14 years ago
Floodthelast, I posted earlier today that I had no action. I just checked and have sprouts in the Black Krim container. *Happy Dance* I'll cover them if the forecast calls for frost, but otherwise they're on their own. I'm North of you in Ontario. And I know I've heard colder zones than myself being successful.

I say go for it. Do you have any extra seeds? Just toss em in a container for kicks. See compare your season end results to the ones done on your windowsill. That way next year you'll have this years data to roll with.

(I'm betting you'll be wintersowing toms next year!)

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