Well I marked my annual containers with a sharpie and wrote a number on them, then kept a list of what each number was. I just noticed today that many of the markings on the jugs has faded off.
I wrote on duct tape for the perennials to mark them and that is holding up well.
So next year I'll probably use the duct tape for all of them.

Also, I plan to participate in the seed swap. I had a lot of old seed this year so I concentrated on using that up.

Oh, and I think next year I'll plant fewer seeds in each container. Still doing the HOS method, but not quite so dense.

I'll start earlier. LOL
justsaymo

This is my first year and I will do this again next year, well worth the wait to see sprouts!
Next year I'm going to use the 2 liter bottles as someone else mentioned on here, cut them in half and make slits on the upper half, this way you can slide the lids on & off easily instead of trying to pull the duct tape off! I'm also going to buy a used kiddie pool to water my jugs :) AND plant lesser seeds in the containers. tsk, tsk!

I will hope to find some different and unusual seeds.

Plant more.

Sow seed for butterfly bushes.

Start way earlier.

Carol

Next year, I won't use anything shallow. I didn't realize that after rain and sitting outside, the potting soil would sink and settle, and almost all of the first 17 flats that I sowed in deli containers ended up with only one inch of soil!

I also agree with Shasta--cutting slits in pop bottles so you don't have to use gobs of duct tape is another must.

I'd like to say I'll plant fewer seeds per container, but I won't kid myself. :-)

nothing..this year is wonderful and hope I have a repeat of this success every year.
moonphase

another nothing here. so pleased with 1st time success!

oh, actually maybe I would use all milk jugs - they germinated the best for me over 2-liters, juice jugs and margarine/coffee tubs, and it looked neater when all containers were the same.

And maybe sow more! LoL

I will try very hard to just stick to my wish list when sowing seeds. I will offer bonuses for trade or SASE. I just planted by 100th container - mostly seeds that came as bonuses in trades. I just feel that if someone takes the trouble to harvest, package,and send the seeds, I must sow them.

Note to Dirtbert: the best marking tool I've used is one by Lee Valley. I bought one last year and it's lasted through this year as well. I am finding labels in the garden that made it through last year's WS, last year's summer, and this year's winter and the writing is clear. The only thing I have found to remove it is acetone.

I won't sow so much next year because of perennials and the like will brighten up my bare lot instead of annuals. I will only use Styrofoam cups next year. I can't stand trying to transplant freeform seedlings.

I will direct sow more next year. Poppies, lettuce, peas, spinach and bachelor's button. The directed sown plants are doing much better than the wintersown plants.

I will try to use only the sweater boxes with 8 oz foam cups, it is easier for me to keep track of, & they done better for me. I will be on the look out for seed sales LOL (got to have more, more, & MORE !!!) LOL Hopefully I can keep better records of where the seeds came from, plant date , germ date, etc. And put the names towards the outside of the sweater box, hahaha
Jan ") forever hooked!

Dirtbert - Northerner's suggestion of the Garden Marker from Lee Valley, well, I have to second it. I started buying them three or four years ago and you can't go wrong with them. They also last a long time. The one I'm presently using is nearly two years old and this year has marked over 300 containers. Yesterday I got some compost out of one of my bins and found a label from 2005 still in perfect shape (Lynchnis Viscaria March 2005). I threw it into the new pile to see how long this thing can keep going.

Northerner - I use nail polish remover. It's got acetone AND some have vitamin E and A... LOL!! :O) I reuse 99% of my containers and thought of it this past winter. Works fantastic.

Ellen,
I won't change anything but will continue to learn in the 7th season.

Next year I plan to start a month earlier so I can plant more seeds.

I plan to get more bulk soil instead of the expensive bags of soil

I plan to do much more WSing next year...200+ containers, I hope, tho some may be duplicate seeds just to get more of some.

I plan to continue using the 2 1/2 gallon jugs as well as the milk jugs. I found the soda bottles to be much more difficult to cut and flimsier.

I plan to start seed trading much earlier this coming year to further broaden my seed selections. Folks here and the various seed trade/exchange boards here have been fantastic!!!

I plan to continue to promote WSing to all who will listen.

Mark-

This season is so much improved from last, which was my first. Since I'm using the flap method with over 160 milk jugs -- I'm experimenting with turning them into top & bottoms when I'm planting out. Instead of lifting everything out of the flaps, cut from one side around the backs leaving them hinged in the back for next year. Even though I'm not thrilled about duct-taping everything, and adore the sturdiness of the flap system, I can't stand the thought of having to collect all these containers again! lol! I tend to rip them up too much getting things out the flap, and they aren't easily reusable.
--Tina

1) I'm cutting out the unnecessary step of thoroughly watering my pots before they go out the door. I planted seeds in completely dry potting soil (not pro mix) and they sprouted fine this spring. I found it was easier to stir out the clumps if I dampened the soil a little first. So I added just enough to get the top semi-moist. No more messy, dripping pots. It's a real time saver, too! I live in a damp winter climate and mother nature does the work for me.

2) I use nursery pots and always duct taped plastic covers to them. It's a pain in the neck and takes forever to do a round of sowing. I ordered some plastic reusable tops online this year and they work really nice! I punched holes in them and punched a hole on either side (upper rim) of my nursery pots. I used pipe cleaners to attach the lid to the pot. Presto! The pipe cleaners aren't the best material to use because the fussy stuff comes off so I'm going to find a plastic twist tie to use next year. I plan on getting colored ties and use one color for annual and another for perennial to help organize myself at planting time.

1)I'll start earlier. LOL I didn't get started until late Jan/Feb when I discovered the forum and technique.

2) I'm keeping a journal and some kind of plant/ID system. Of course, this is probably the 5th year I keep promising to start journaling my gardening. (rolls eyes) LOL

Thanks for the tip on the marker!

Can you believe I HAVE one of these already and forgot to use it! Good grief, I think I'm loosing it.

I'm going to go out and remark the ones I can still read right now!

This is my first year, and the jury is still out. I'm trying different types of containers, so far 1/2, 1 and 2 1/2 gallon plastic jugs, 1 and 2 liter bottles, and the big plastic salad boxes. Cutting them different ways, tried both duct tape and twist ties to close them. I want to see what kind of container works the best in the following respects -

- is easy to fill and sow the seeds
- sturdy and easy to pick up and carry around
- easy to open and close tops
- easy to remove the seedlings from them
- are reusable next year!

So far I really like the 2 1/2 gallon Spring water containers, cut in half and using cardboard dividers to sow 3 different types of seeds. Also LOVE the big salad boxes that are 7 x 12 inches and 5 inches deep. They're big and deep and the tops are so easy to take on and off. I use cardboard dividers for them too.

Next year I'll use a little less duct tape - it works great to close tops, but it leaves a sticky mess on the containers. It's so sticky you only need an inch or so to close the top.

I tried the foil tape this year and like that now that I am taking some tops off, it holds well yet comes off easily. But I will use it differently next year - small pieces (1,2,3) to tape a jug closed. I love it on my plastic boxes - leaves no gummy mess, so they are all clear for next year.

I will also really use JANUARY to write up an inside label (cut up veniatian blind) and a foil tape outside label for each seed packet, and do masses all at once, ready to go when containers are prepped. This is one advantage of the foil tape - it has a peel off backing - so you can write in advance, then just peel off the backing and stick it on the container later. I am doing this now (first all the writing at night, then all the container prep the next day) so that I can just seed production line style, but I am realiziing that I could have done the writing part at least in the dead of winter, as I didn't really get going on containers till early february.

Other than that..I have to see what does well to know what I want to sow again and which ones will leave my list. Although I started WSing last year and did learn some "favorites", I have so much more out there this year and so many I've never even heard of no less seen! It's exciting.

Nancy

i would
1 start way earlier,
2 use the vinegar bottle for non food and milk jugs for food
3 use the better marker!! duh i forgot this time!! LOL
4 start earlier!! OOPs i said that LOL i knew that, i just wanted to make sure!!
5 somehow make sure that it doesn't get to wet so it don't mildew.
6 fill with dirt deeper!!
7 cut the jugs all the way in half and use hole punch to punch holes in the 3 sides and use yarn to tie it. i did that on some and it worked great for me!!
8 ohhhh ya, and keep a journal/or something of everything i have, and keep up on it!!

Nancy,I use the foil tape as labels too,love the stuff.I went through my seeds,wrote my labels and then had a mess.So many seeds I divided and didn't put the label with it.I will tape the label to the seed pack with scotch tape next year,lol/I use the clear packing tape to seal my containers.It is wonderful.Seals well and comes of easily.I will never use duct tape again.so yes,I guess I am going to do my labels differently.I will order the marker from Lee Valley and try it now.I want to keep improving every year and always appreciate tips for a better way of doing things.Also,I am not cutting the tops off my containers.I will rinse,dry and bag them up for next year to save that chore.
moonphase

1. Date and label my collected seeds.
2. Participate in seed exchanges.
3. Buy another bale of Pro-Mix this summer for next year's WS.
4. Use less duct tape on milk jugs.
5. Label containers inside and out.
6. "I Brake for Milk Crates."

Carol,
I sowed a ton of butterfly bush seeds and the percentage of seeds coming up in very small. Not to mention the sprouts are so tiny! I can't wait for them to "grow up". I would collect lots of seed if you can. Unless someone else had better germination, and I had a bad bunch of seed?

And as to what I would do differently next year? If I could, I would get a bigger yard!

I will start much later next year. The first jugs I started in Dec/Jan have not sprouted, but the later jugs are all sprouted. Same thing happened last year. You'd think I'd learn.

I will plan my family around wintersowing! (just kidding) But I am finding that being almost seven months pregnant and bending over to plant a lot of seedlings gets tiresome. :)

I will do more and more flowers! We finally penned up the chickens and they no longer dig up my beds. That means the plants actually survive so I can plant more now and not worry that they will get dug up!

I want to find some LARGE flats that are deep enough. I like the milk jugs, but when there is a plant such as marigolds or Zinnias that I want a ton of, it helps to have larger containers to plant in.

Have my beds ready!!!!
(Course, I say that every single year!)
LOL

1. Plan my seasons AROUND WS-ing! Must have all my mosaic and other indoor projects DONE before I need to start heading outside and doing 'serious' WS-ing of annuals in March/April. I've still got my birdbath 1/2-done in the basement, and isn't even thinking about being ready to be back in the garden yet!

2. More Perennials. Got lazy this year, and didn't realize how many "bald spaces" have appeared in my garden now that I moved & shovel-proned last fall. I "planned" a ton of annuals, but didn't realize how many I'd actually need. Good thing for mass HOS with WSing!!!

3. Start earlier. Got lazy...didn't start in full until Mid-March.

4. Hit up Starbucks! A total goldmine for containers! I knew this, but had never used them before since I had a r/c source.

5. I finally have the watering-thing down-pat with two under-bed boxes going simultaneously to bottom-water in bulk. TOTAL time-saver, and SUPER easy!

6. LOVE having my plastic shelving units in two locations next to the house. A lot tidier than in previous years, and I think it makes the DH happier, too. I can get about 23 containers on each shelf, so about 200 containers easy, and neat.

This is a great thread.

I'm not using duct tape and I'm only using milk gallons.

More soil. I had 2" in some and I can see the difference.

I am going to try my sister's method for poppies - she cuts off the bottom of the milk jug and punches holes in the bottom of two sides, prepares an area in her garden where she wants the poppies to grow, plants the seeds directly, covers with the milk jug secured through the punched holes with hooks made from wire hangers. This is the ONLY (can you believe it?!) type of winter sowing in which she participates BUT has great success!

I have yet to grow poppy one!

So here is to next year - a year full of poppies!

CHEERS!

I will only sow one variety per container,this year some of my containers have 2 to 4 types in them(some more),and I really wish I wouldn't have done that! I am going to salvage as many of my containers as I can from this year and hopefully save enough for next year so each will have it's own container.

I am also planning to mark my containers with their preferred lighting and plant height.I could kick myself for not doing that this year,I have a ton of stuff to look up again to know where I should plant it.

I will plant all of my seeds in rows.

Other than that I think everything else is fine so far, we will see when I am trying to get them out without cutting the jugs...Tiffy any advice on that one?:)

mceller,
what a brilliant idea! (your sister)
I keep trying to improvise, to think of ways to adapt WS so as to make it easier. Seems like your sister is on to something.
I'm going to try it next year.
It saves transplanting.
I wonder if she is able to measure the amount of poppies she wants. I find, no matter what I do, to wind up with too many all bunched together.

ellen

mceller, that's very close to what I have decided to do! And it's a great idea for poppies, or anything else that sends down long roots. I thought I'd prepare one of my raised beds in the fall, making it nice and level, and then plant directly in the soil during winter and fasten down my milk jug tops like your sister does, but in a little "colony", instead. In this way, I have a better chance of good drainage, uniform moisture, and if I don't get things transplanted right away, they can grow on, right where they are, till I have time to deal with them.

I had poor results using 2-liter pop bottles. The soil dried out repeatedly, I kept having to water, and ended up losing things because one time I didn't water soon enough. I vote for milk jugs. It seems like the more transparent bottles heat up faster and get hotter.

I also struggled with soil. Miracle-Gro seed-starting mix failed me miserably, which kind of hacked me off considering how expensive it was. It formed a hard, dark "crust" on the top, which made it look like it was wet enough but it wasn't wet at all. I lost more stuff that way. The composted soil that I used worked better.

Now some of the plants are wanting to go deeper and can't, so they are starting to look kind of sick and I'm trying to get them all transplanted or potted. I've cut the tops off of all the jugs that had sprouts in them so I could monitor better, and each day I pick out some to work with. They're all on my back porch, covering two big tables.

In Oklahoma, we have really warm spells and then several days of cold, with cold wind. I found myself spending a lot of time checking jugs for seedlings, and then moving jugs around after the seedlings came up.

I will not wintersow things that like warm soil, like basil. Only one variety of my basil even sprouted.

All in all, though, it was a fun experience, and I did have success with about 60% of what I WS'd, several people sent me interesting, unusual seed that I'm trying now to find good places for in my yard. Feeling a little overwhelmed right now and don't know how I'd find time to do it all if I hadn't just recently retired. Fortunately, lots of the plants I WS'd are perennials, so probably next winter I will not sow so many things.

I also found that the jugs filled up with water during downpours, which caused the seed to all float into one part of the jug. I have several instances of thick growth in only one part of the jug, or along the edges, up against the jug walls.

Ellen, try mixing your fine seed with sand or fine soil before you plant. Just scatter it on top of the soil and pat it down. Don't cover. Or you can use a little seed dispenser. Some people make "seed tape" using newspaper strips and paste made out of flour and water. (I haven't had good results with that, but some people swear by it).

Right now I'm on the hunt for the perfect container. I envision something like the plastic storage containers for Christmas ornaments (that have the plastic dividers inside)...though a bit more shallow. And clear plastic, of course.

Basically, I want to grow everything in flats next year. Using recyclable materials was great and all. But I'm constantly having to move stuff around because of the 2 dogs and husband in the yard. It would be MUCH easier to just stack and move flats than to be trying to transport all kinds of soda/milk jugs around.

Not to mention the clean up at the end of the season. I have absolutely no faith in my ability to make time to clean out all these jugs individually. Ugh.

I'll start sooner next year. And I'll change my game plan, as well. This year I sowed whatever caught my fancy. Next year, what I sow will have a purpose - to fill in blank spots in the garden (so prolly more annuals) - or to enhance a particular color scheme. Yeah, I'll definitely take a more tactical approach.

I've been using Google documents to keep track of everything, which has been GREAT. I've got a spreadsheet of everything I sowed on there. Plant descriptions & even a schematic of where I plan to put all these plants. And I like having it on Google documents 'cause I can access it from anywhere (we have multiple computers in our home). I'll continue w/ that trend.

On cleaning containers at the end of the season: I don't. They get planted out, and the ones that are still good to use again go in giant garbage bags in the basement. Unless you are really a neat-freak, or have other reasons for wanting them clean, they will work just fine without being cleaned. I only rinse them out when I initially get them to remove icky milky stuff.

On marking both the outside AND the inside of the container: I don't. Mini-blind markers can be read when you're peeking in the tops of containers if you tuck the top of the jug into the bottom, making sure the marker is INSIDE the top half. I don't have time or need to do twice the work in the marking department.

On spreadsheets: I bagged this whole idea, too, due to lack of time. If it germinates, it germinates. If not, to the compost heap with it; can't worry about the "why" of it all if I know I did the method right. Got plenty of others to take its place (I don't plant anything "weird" or "special" that might need extra care). I did the spreadsheet thing in year 1, and contributed to one of the databases...but it's a wheel that doesn't need re-inventing IMO. I'll check the stats that are available, and use those as my benchmarks...otherwise can't be bothered.

ponce- I posted comments that related to things you mentioned, but didn't mean that to come off as haughty. Please don't take it that way...I was only commenting on things that I found were wastes of MY time...objectively.

so sweat, mmqchdygg. i didn't take your comments as haughty.

honestly my main use of the spreadsheet has nothin' to do w/ tracking when things germinate but more on plant characteristics....

ie, how big is this plant going to get when its mature? what color are the flowers going to be? does it like sun, shade, a mix of both? when's it going to bloom?

made it much easier to decide where everything is going to go.

our house was basically a rental home before we bought it so there was virtually no landscaping to speak of when we moved in. i'm in year two of creating landscaping beds. so planning out in advance is a big help. hence, the spreadsheet.

but i can totally see not having time for all that tracking down the road.

thanks for the tip on cleaning containers. nice to know its not necessary to scrub 'em out or anything. aleviates the need to search for better container solutions!

I broke both of my legs 12 years ago, so it is hard for me to do a lot of bending and lifting, so this is what I will do next year:
1. Use clear totes 1/2 full of potting soil for large amounts of same seed- just lift the lid to peek in
2. use pallets or blocks to raise totes off the ground-reduces slugs
3. use 2 or three litre soda bottles- I liked being able to see inside
4. use wire racks to raise bottles closer to eye level, easy to organize, easy to water
5. deeper dirt in all containers- better moisture retention and prolonged planting-out time
6. only use 3 or 4 types containers, I bought a lot of mix-n-match containers at the thrift store- too hard to keep organized, and spent a lot of time finding lids to fit, etc.
7. delay starting tomatoes, peppers and cabbage 2-4 weeks. I started them in February- too soon for my area

All in all, I am hooked on w/s, can't wait to try it again next year, and I will probably try sowing a few annuals.

Ill make up a name tag for each bottle as I go. The china marker thingy works well and it will save the hassel of looking for the numeric log all the time.

Im going on the "minimal record keeping" list next year also. It reminds me too much of doing the books at work! Ill probably just keep a name only list on the puter as I sow, so I can figure out what I need to put in. No dates or percentages or any of that stuff.

I made the mistake of sowing some annuals and tomaters during dec/jan. I realize its still early for Chicago, but I added some fresh seeds to everything that hasnt sprouted yet, just in case....

I couldnt find any more seeds for bottle #x, but when I went back to look at it, I was happy to see they were sprouting after all!

I used alot of vitamin water bottles this year, but I wont again. To narrow! Ill scavange lots of nursery pots and put them in bread bags.

I think I will plan on not making an interstate move - that should improve my next wintersowing season considerably.

I will use better potting soil.I started out using cheap TOPSOIL.Geez....poor sprouts growing outta cement basically! Then did cheapo potting soil. Finally finished with Miracle Grow potting soil. I'll use that from now on!
later...April/dirt_under_my_nails

That's a great idea, doris, about the breadbags and regular pots. I'm probably not using the milk jugs again as they don't store well and I have tossed 3 bags of them already because I'm totally sick of them heaped in piles aroud the house.

The white plastic of jugs is very kind to the plants--so I'll probably look for white plastic trash bags and try leaving them open a bit for air flow and rain.

I used mushroom boxes inside my milk jugs and like those because they stack so well, though they are a bit shallow. They seemed to work alright.

I will delay planting a bit longer. This was the first time I planted anything in December and none of the seeds planted in late December or early January sprouted. It could just be my choice of seeds but from now on I will wait until mid-late January to sow.
Other than that, I love it! This is the only method that has been successful for me in growing plants from seeds.
Also, a thank you to all the GardenWeb traders who helped add to and diversity my collection of seeds!

Ok, I'm a newbie (year 2) and don't grow the volume or variety that most WS'ers do ... but I absolutely love ws-ing in small yogurt containers. (I loved it even more before they stopped putting plastic lids on my brand.) I HOS the whole yogurt container of alyssum in one spot, or maybe split it in two. Even the zinnias are easier to pop out of the yogurt container, split into two or three pieces and plant. So, I'll save and use more yogurt containers next year. However, I was surprised when I planted this year that while my soil looked wet and I still had condensation, the soil was drier than I expected.

Winter Sowing has been a great experience. This is my second year and I am hooked.

Nest year I will try to plan better and I will be more selective about what I sow. Any seeds I got, I sowed and now I'm trying to find spots to plant them.

I will also sow less per container. The ones with less seeds were much easier to plant out.

I will take notes when visiting gardens so that I know what I want to plant next year and then try to get seeds from the Seed Exchange Forum.

i'm not wsing anything that i don't have. i think that for now i have enough variety that i can concetrate on bulking up what i have. peace out.

Mary Mary, I'm in your camp. I don't clean the containers, I label the outside and I have yet to keep any kind of records :) My personality is too laid back and my time too crunched to get into a lot of details.

I use flats. I like them, they are uniform and a little more neat looking for the neighbors benefit. I usually plant more than more type of seed in a container. I don't recommend it, but I do it anyway!

The one thing I want to do different next year? Start earlier. The last few years I have waited too long and I don't get enough of my seeds done.

Lisa

I'm going to try using the smaller water bottles in the same way I use 2 liter soda bottles to do items like tomatoes or other plants that I don't want to HOS. It can be a pain sometimes trying to separate seedlings that you don't want to sow in a hunk. This is my second year and I learned the hard way the first year that the shallow containers didn't have enough soil depth and dried out to fast. Everything has gone much better using the 2 liters and juice bottles.

I only use the blind pieces as markers inside my containers and that has worked great especially since I use clear 2 liters, but I will add the date to the marker so I can more easily compare seedlings of the same type in several containers.

I will continue to collect the soda bottles throughout the year and replace the clear juice bottles I used. The juice bottles worked well, but it is more difficult to get the seedlings out of them.

Oh, I will also keep my jugs off the ground and sprinkle diatamaceous earth around them earlier to keep the slugs out of my containers.

:-) Pam