Don't be nervous, we all had to start fresh at one time or another, :) Gather your seeds and soil, make sure you wet the soil well, especially with that peat moss, and give it a shot. You have time in your zone, and then when germination starts come back and update us.
Alberta

You have plenty of time left to sow yet. Can't help much on the potting mix - I've never made my own.

Your set-up with the plastic sheeting and containers sounds good. Make sure you leave enough head room for seedlings.

Jump in! Have fun!

Good luck!
:)
Dee

Hi:

When making your "soil" mix: add a drop of dish detergent to each gallon of water, and the peat will absorb the water much better. I do this separately in a bucket, before blending with anything else. It may need to sit around awhile to absorb the water. Using hot or boiling water, with the detergent added, will speed absorption.

I'd go more with 70% peat, 20% perlite and 10% manure, but if that doesn't look right to you, adjust the perlite amount. Maybe you can go up to 20% manure. I do make my own wintersowing mix, and I think I used about 10% aged manure (my first year adding that). It may be fine to use even more manure, but that will be an ingredient that will stay pretty wet, and is rather dense.

When you're drilling those holes, put a scrap of wood under where you're drilling, and that should prevent cracking from the pressure of the drill bit on the plastic.

Have fun!

I have 12 of the sweater boxes going strong! DH drilled holes in the bottom for drainage, & I can fit 15 of the 8oz foam cups in each box I put drainage holes in them also, them cover it with heavy plastic tape it down with clear duck tape, & cut holes in the plastic with a knife for air vents, then when the babies get here, I just cut the top open as needed. It has worked really well for me. This way I can get 15 different kinds of seeds in one container. WA--HOO This is my first year WS & I'm having a blast ! hahahahaha
Jan ")
PS I check all the $ General stores for broken sweater boxes & get them for half price. Less holes to drill in the broken ones ")

Here I am reporting from my wintersowing adventure! Thanks so much for the reassurance everyone. I have been busily drilling holes in my shoe and sweater boxes this morning. I should have checked here first because I did indeed make some cracks in the first two before I got a good drilling technique down. The cracks aren't so bad that the soil won't stay in so I just figure I have extra drainage for those boxes! ;)

Stage Rat -- thanks for the tips on the soil ratios. I was just about to go mix some and I will go heavy on the peat moss initially. I figure I can use whatever leftovers I have to amend my soil for the beds. When you say dish detergent, do you just mean stuff like regular old palmolive? I never would have thought to put that in there!

Gosh, I have so many seeds already. I can see myself making emergency runs to the store to stock up on sweater boxes in the middle of the night. Has putting more than one kind of seed to a sweater box worked for you lillyjane? I was thinking that because I have more than 1 variety of some things (different kinds of snaps or hollyhocks for instance) that I could just sow a big box of different varieties. This is so much fun! Off the get dirty!

HI! We are basically in the same area! :) I started my annuals a few weeks ago and didn't expect them to spout so quickly with the chilly days and nights we were having,so I put the brakes on and waited until yesterday to start back up again,I am still saving my tenders to sow last.It sounds like you have everything together and I am sure you will be very successful! Make sure you report your sprouts to us!:)

~Angie,fellow newbie ws'er

I sow my seeds in 8 oz foam cups & mark each cup with an inkpen, the seed type, the date, & where they came from, then I can get 15 of the foam cups in one sweater box, & cover the whole sweater box with heavy plastic, & add some cuts in the plastic ( I put drainage holes in the foam cups also) Thay way I have 15 different varieties in one container. This works well when I don't have enough seeds to fill a milkjug. I also sow for my Mom, 2 daughter-in-laws, one sister, & a close friend & this way they can each have their own cups to take home with them.
Jan ")

I have one sweater box too. I just found it from last year, with holes already in the top and bottom.
I like this, cuz the top easily fits on, and can be moved to halfway off when appropriate.

ellen

The antikitty-Love that name!!
This is my first year also it's awesome several jugs have sprouted allready! good luck and enjoy yourself!

Annette

Thanks for the replies everyone! I didn't sow into individual cups -- I just loaded the whole shebang up with dirt and sowed into the dirt. Some stuff I sowed HOS-style, some stuff (like sunflowers, larkspur, etc) I sowed in tiny rows that I made with a fingertip. Of course, as soon as I finished all my containers it started to rain here in Pittsburgh. I moved all of my containers onto a covered porch for the night because I didn't want to flood them so soon! I'm going to move them back out into the yard and the sun today. I had lots of condensation inside my containers so I know I did it right!

I labeled my containers by duct taping a snack sized ziploc bag with the names written on a slice of paper. I don't know if that will hold up over the next few months so I will have to check frequently! I've read about the paint pens you guys use.

BTW, making the soil was SO EASY! I'm so glad I didn't plunk down all that money for seed starting soil bags. Here they are about 4 dollars for 8 quarts, and with the amount of soil I used it would have been a small fortune. Just a big bale of peat, some compost, and the perlite and it looked almost the same as the MG stuff. I mixed it in a big bag and used the dishwashing liquid tip! Next time I think I would try the mushroom compost over the cow manure compost. Mine had a LOT of large chunks of wood and rocks and stuff. I wound up using only a very small amount. I guess I can use the leftovers out in the beds!

Happy growing!

Kara

I too plan to make my own soil in similar fashion next year. This winter I bought about $100 in soil mix for all my WS and daylily seedlings. Next year I hope to get away with around $25 and do around double what I did this year.

Mark-

Hi

This is my first year and I tried to ws. Have only had the seeds outside for 1 1/2 weeks for the first set. Haven't seen anything yet. I did use potting soil but I don't like the kind that I used. The store only had the seed starter stuff and the Hyponex. So I bought the hyponex very dark and heavy with little twigs. i am anxious to see what will transpire. I have 29 2 liter jugs and one milk bottle.

Hi Monkey,

I've been reading about different soil brands on here and I don't think very many people enjoyed using the Hyponex for exactly the reasons you describe. Oh well! Now you know for next year, right? Mixing my own soil was really super easy. I would recommend it for next year.

GUYS...I'm really worried about my poor little containers. I did everything as I was supposed to. Then I started worrying that I didn't have enough air vents. I went out and stabbed some more air vents in this morning. There is still a lot of condensation on the plastic though. Then I decided that they were in too sunny of a spot. They were getting sun most of the day. I moved them closer to the house where they will get mostly morning sun and then some shade in the afternoon.

I'm so worried that I cooked them! I'm such a worry wort but I really want the seeds to survive. I know it hasnt been nearly long enough for them to sprout yet, but i'm so impatient. I want to see it work! I'm so spoiled from my indoor sowing...sprouts in like 2 days. It hasnt been too hot here...50's maybe? But I know it sure gets a lot hotter inside the containers.

Do you think they will be ok? *FRET*

Hi:

I'm glad your sowing has gone well! Sorry I didn't see your previous question, it looks like you figured out the dish detergent thing with no problem.

Now, stop worrying! :) Full sun is GREAT, when it's not very warm outside. MAYBE if it got into the 60s, (probably higher) the full sun might be a problem on an unopened container. If you have a kitchen thermometer, (the probe with a round dial that shows a wide temp range, they cost about $3) play around with it and get an idea of how much warmer the container is than the outside air. But, to play it safe, you can keep the containers in less sun.

They definitely didn't get cooked in the temps you mentioned. It is hard to wait for sprouts, especially when so many people have them, but you'll have them soon! Don't worry about adding more vents until the weather is warmer. You can keep playing with that thermometer, and see how more vents makes it cooler inside.

And, once you have sprouts of those annuals, like sunflowers, cover them or bring them into the garage if it gets close to a frost. That's the big risk right now, not cooking them!

I hope this helped!

Hi theantikitty!
I am a newbie and I am located in Pittsburgh as well.
I thought it was too late to start this whole winter sowing so I started a thread and was asking for thoughts on that.
I hope all your hard work pays off.
I am off to the store tomorrow to start my project and maybe we can trade some plants/flowers, since we are in the same area, if everything turns out ok.
I am going to attend the pgh plant swap in frick park and there is also another one on troy hill that I hope to go to as well.
Good luck!

Awww thanks stage rat! You're the best for advice and you really made me feel less worried. And lo and behold, i went outside to check on them today and I saw the teeniest tiniest little sprouts in my statice and marigolds. Nothing else yet, but I'll take teeny tiny sprout over nothing at all!

Hi christieb! It's nice to have someone going through this in the exact same area. I think you can definitely still sow a lot of things! What are you sowing? I sowed (from memory) statice, marigolds, hollyhocks, larkspur, delphinium, 3 kinds of poppies, lupines, pastel carpet alyssum, sweet william, phlox, forget me nots, convulvulus blue enchantment, sunflowers bouquet mix, celosia cristata, asters, scabiosa, canterbury bells, snapdragons (tall and first ladies), and bachelor's buttons. Indoors under lights I have 4 kinds of zinnias, cosmos sensation and seashells, salvia, verbena, and several kinds of sweet peas which I am currently hardening off. I am sitting on 3 kinds of columbine that have been moist chilling in my fridge for like a month now that I am going to WS this week. I have William Guinness, Quetzal mix, and Harlequin Mix. How about you?