This is my sixth year WSing!
This year I'll be planting just March and April...about 6 vegetables + 6 annuals...maybe more,lol

This is my first year WSing! and I have been so excited about trying it. I have been lucky to have an experienced mentor - flwrs4ever - who lives nearby and we have become good friends. We are sharing the sowing and will share the results. Twice the bang for the buck!
Sue

This is my first year to wintersow. I just found Garden Web last Oct. and went to a plant swap in Ft.Worth listed on the Texas forum. Met some great people and found lots of information and new plants/seeds. It really energized me and I've been working on the flowerbeds and planning for the spring. I always have had flowers and a small garden, but I tend to poop out when the temperatures get miserable. I started collecting seeds from plants I have that I wanted more of and would just spread them in the beds. I'm hoping wintersowing will be more likely to produce plants. At least the rabbits will have to figure out how to get into the containers. I've planted over 110 containers--mostly lasagna flats, quart sized yoghurt containers, etc. I've planted things I never heard of before--blue flax?, indigo, aubreta etc. I have quite a few seedlings up and they have all survived going from 80s to 20s so far (except for a flat of alyssum I forgot to cover one night and I think it is recovering). I don't have any idea if I have started things too early or not. I still plan to do nicotinia, zinnias, moonflower, morning glory and other tender annuals. I love the cottage garden forum as well and plan to try to stuff my beds full of things this year and just see how it turns out. Summer is the biggest challenge here, followed closely by insects. I read wintersowing every day and am learning more and more from this great group of friendly and supportive people. I've received seeds from several veterans and appreciate those very much! Thanks to everyone! Debby

Count me in again. I've been MIA for a couple of seasons here on the boards but this will be my fifth winter surrounded by jugs and baggies! There's nothing finer than playing in the MG while it's freezing cold outside. I sold my home three years ago to move in with and care for elderly parents. Garden space is limited but I think I've got Mom talked into new lasagne beds this spring! I'm a poppy freak (or geek) and so far I have more than 10 varieties sown both annual and perennial (oh the siren song of those gorgeous orientales!). Tonight I'll be sowing Dames Rocket, Salvia Evolution, Columbine, KMOTGG, and pansies.
I raised a quiet toast to Trudi and all here, on the solstice, and thank you all for your endless insight, information and entertainment. Happy sowing!

Kathi from Grove, OK here. Grove is in the far NE corner of OK where OK, Missouri, Kansas and Arkansas come together. This area is classed 6a and has nothing but freaky weather! This is my first year WSing and as usual I went overboard as I do with everything, I think I have around 300 containers total, have several beds ready and 2 more to sod the grass out of when we have some decent weather again. This forum and the brugmansia forum have enabled me to the point that it is absolutely pathetic!!!! YEAH!!!!

Hi all,
This will be my 2cd year. Stumbled upon the site also. Ws has led me to a new way of life also. Don't remember what I used to do w/ my spare time lol.
I have learned so much about plants,seeds,seed saving. I have always gardened but on a much smaller scale. I moved w/ my mother (also loves gardening)3 years ago. We have been expanding & creating new beds. She has great ideas and now thanks to garden web we have tons of new plants to play w/.
Certainly a $$ saver.
I check the forums daily and really enjoy the camaraderie here.

Thank you all Annette

I think this is my 5 th year - I'll have to look back and see when I started.
Nice to see many new people.
I am a soil in the kitchen person. That's what brooms are for.
I garden at a community garden.
I do mostly herbs (I don't WS herbs, buy them.)
I WS flowers and I love collecting seeds and having them come back. I love saving money. And I love the sheer abundance of WS'ing. I love having to look for people to give plants to.

ellenr

Second year to WS here in Surrey, England. First year did 20 milk jugs/berry boxes/water bottles and had mixed results - I think it was Bakmemom who set me staight about waiting to sow HHA a bit later...Despite patchy results, I am definitely a big WS fan and currently have 22 containers out back -- with big ambitions to sow many more. Just checked and found the cornflowers have sprouted...I am blown away by the container counts of some of the people on this site - inspiring!

I'm here again....from our home in Colorado now! Our high altitude zone 5 is making me feel like a newbie again! Hasn't stopped me from placing more seed orders!!!

Happy sowing all!

glo

Hello everyone,
This will be my first year wsing. Never had much luck starting seeds inside so, thought I'd give this a try. I'm already hooked on collecting seeds and sowing with only my first few sprouts. LOL. Kind of getting obsessed with my seed collection.:o) Oh Well to late now I've found yall.lol
Pattie

Present!

This is my second year WSing. Two years ago, a friend took a gardening class in the UP that was on WSing, and she shared the materials and ideas with me. I've been a long-time reader on GW, so I was thrilled to find that GW had a WS forum. The WS forum gave me the push to become a GW member and start posting. :)

WSing is so nice because I can dig in some sort of dirt in the midst of a Wisconsin winter. Helps keep the cabin fever and January blues at bay.

cheers,
Nora Belle

i started gardening last summer and luckily found this forum. i did some summer and autumn sowing last year and this is my first year winter sowing.

I'm here and I started in 2001.

Alberta

Folks, there is a ton of seed available for SASBE. Do not hestitate to contact me - those seeds need to get in soil and GROW!

I'm here--a newbie, too. I added a blurb to the WS conversations because Nancy haunts me ;-)

Prof Joe

Hi All! This is my 3rd year wintersowing. I did maybe 100 things my first year, 500 things my second year (totally wacko), and am aiming to keep it under 350 this year.

I love milk jugs, and no longer bother with the flap door - just hack 'em in half and packing tape fixes it up. (Had thought that tape would be "fussy" but it isn't at all.) And of course, reuse all the jugs from prior years that haven't gone brittle.

I used to do small batches of traded seed, splitting up the jugs into 4 or 6 sections with little index card dividers. Wow, that was fussy last year. No more. Now I tend to trade for multiples of something if the trades are small, and have lots of the seed I collect, so do as many all-one-thing jugs as possible. I may do cardboard (coated kind) dividers in a few when needed.

I always, always, always use a paint pen and miniblind tags in every, every jug now. Makes planing out soooooo much easier.

I just love this stuff. I wasn't a big flower gardener before, but man, with this being so inexpensive....who wouldn't be??!!?? Watch out dirt, here I come!!

--Tina

Hi Im new to wintersowing this year.. I so far have 9 jugs and am getting ready to do 5-10 more.

Happy Winter Sowing to you all.

Tammy

2nd year winter sower here, I am lucky enough to have kids that get me potting mix for Christmas "),& I get the same joy going through my seed stash as I did with my Halloween candy stash when I was a kid. And dirt in the kitchen?? well for sure!! open the bedroom closet door & you will find more dirt & bags of jugs just waiting to be filled, there is also a box with brown paper bags, in it full of dead headed flowers just waiting patiently to be cleaned.
jan aka winter sowing junkie, tee--hee--hee

Hello;
This is my first year winter sowing. I have been gardening for at least 25 years now but not really with seed. I found this forum last summer and thought I'd give it a try. Collected all my seeds, did a lot of past post reading and dove into it.
When I saw that some folks did 200-300 containers I thought, gee that's nuts. Well, I'm up to 96 and want more!! I even have my hubby dumpster diving at the recycling center,I ran out of jugs.
I'm really interested to see what comes out of all my containers. I normally deal with perennials but will sew some annuals this year too. I've been at this house for 4 years now and started with a totally clean slate yard so have lots of space to fill.

Waiting for spring

Donna Mae

Donna Mae (and everyone) I have seeds for SASBE - Don't hesitate to email me.

This is my 3rd year of winter sowing. First year I managed about 100 containers and learned a LOT about things like zones, watering, etc. Then that summer I saw everyones garden pictures, wrote down names of things I wanted for my beds, joined a couple of round robin big swaps that fall and PLUNGED into big time WSing. Did 300 containers last year, lots more trading this year and anticipate doing at least 300 again this year (I've gotten 90+ done just in the past two weekends). Just love it, and love this community of people on line - always helpful, always funny - - I also check this forum right after I check my email. There are really only 2 months a year that I am "checked out" of the garden now that I ws and collect seed and trade and thats that winter holiday season (my other obsession.

Off to make some more labels,
Nancy

Here!

I discovered wintersowing last year but still consider myself a relative newbie. I have about 36 containers sown, with mostly spring sown things left like petunia and feverfew that I think have to wait until March to sow. I am also experimenting with direct sowing this year for things like larkspur and shirley poppies. I really enjoy the adventure of wintersowing and the really nice folks here on this forum.

Lois in PA

I'm here again too - been doing this WS thing since 2001. My garden is a 20'x6' aerie, 11 flights up. So far this year, I've done 6 containers; my "plan" this year is to grow as much food as I can up here, so most of my sowing will be done in March and April.

My plans, however, have been known to change ....

PV

Six years ago I responded to a notice in a magazine of tomato seeds being given away. Got my seeds from Trudi then began reading wintersown.org. I started slowly, 40 containers, mostly baggies. For over a year I lurked on this forum reading and learning from others' postings and the next year sowed over 100 containers. Also found a great MN wintersower mentor, julie mn. Soon it was 500+ containers. Now I have lots of perennials in holding beds so will sow fewer containers this year and move some of those perennials into other beds. All my house repairs are finally done so tomorrow I can start putting jugs out around the house.

Irisgirl here. 3rd year WS but have not started yet because our weather has just been too freaky. But come Monday, out come the jugs! - Ohhh - you know what I mean! ..the seeds that need stratifying get planted first!! Have traded out a lot of seeds this winter, too. Good to see some familiar names and so many new folks. Is this not the best way to spend winter? other than the umbrelly drinks on the beach...lol. Happy Days to All! ~Carol

My first year WSing and I noticed a couple of things;collecting seeds is addicting and 2,everything looks like a potential container to sow in.Good thing I have a wife to keep me in check.
Gene

Last winter was my first year Winter Sowing. I did 300 pots last year. I counldn't believe how much fun it was. I gave some seedlings to all my family and friends. My sister in law was a little leary about the small plants surviving, but the grew huge. Thanks for all the help and information you always share. I'm off to a slower start this year. I just started yesterday with 24 pots. I have some catching up to do.
Linda

Does anyone know, or can anyone determine, when this forum first started?
I got curious about how long I've been WS'ing, so I tried to find the first page of this forum, which appears to be P. 67, date of 2008.
Clearly the forum has been around longer, maybe that is as far back as the past pages go, or maybe I don't know how to go further back.

ellenr

First time winter sowing for me. I do like to grow trees ans shrubs which often require special preperation like vernalizing, nicking and or fall planting (oaks, buckeye).
Today I planted the yellowwood tree seeds that I nicked and soaked last night. Some already had the apical root showing from the seed coat this morning. Out they went into the snow.
The witch hazel seeds that have been in the fridge went out too.

Winter sowing since Feb 2005. Very cool way to get new tomato plants.

Linda from Oswego,
It's my fifth year WSing and I'm hoping to sow no more than 150 jugs (last year, I think it was 200, previous three it was 300+)
The year before I discovered WSing, I had an small herb bed and Impatiens in a front raised bed, all purchased plants. Since my first year WSing, I now have eight garden beds and one raised vegetable bed filled with mostly WSed plants...I even have a Bay Laurel plant indoors that I started from seed via Spring/Summer Sowing in my third year. This is phenomenal to me, considering I was previously known to as "The killer of plants". Now everyone around me thinks I'm a real gardener. I guess I am now...does the fact that I still run from bugs count??

Linda

Ellen - I think the Winter Sowing forum began in the spring-summer of 2001. May have been earlier - Trudi?? I know that I found Trudi's initial essay before the actual forum was started.

Older pages drop off after a while; you used to be able to find archived pages on the web, but can't remember the site name.

PV

This is my first year and starting out on a small scale to get my feet wet. Plus, if I had great success I wouldn't know what to do with all the seedlings. First to go out was the salvia. Flamingo feather celosia to go out mid to late February followed by mexican petunia.

Wish me luck!

{{gwi:428351}}

Dave

Vera from Rosalia, WA (Eastern WA).
This will be my 6th year, however this time around I won't be starting anything for another 2-3 weeks. Have a few that may need stratified in the fridge if I want to get them started this year, but mostly I'll be starting annuals flowers and veggies.

scarzi,
Unless you got your seeds late or something, you shouldn't have needed to stratify or scarify your seeds if wintersowing them. Also I wouldn't think allowing the radical (first root)to emerge and then subjecting them to freezing temperatures is a good thing. Once the radical emerges the growing temperature should be warm enough to continue growth (spring).

Here is a link that might be useful: Cladrastis kentukea (lutea) Yellowwood Tree

Thanks for the link Vera. Luckily, not all of them sent out the radical. Oaks and buckeyes send out the radical in the fall and do well. I have some goden rain tree seeds to go out next and I don't think that I will give them any pretreatment.
It is always amazing that the seeds know when to their thing.

Wow, Washington has a hugh variation in zones. I'm in zone 7 here.
I have to search for a link to give me the timing for winter sowing my annuals and perennials.

This is my first year wintersowing (although southern alabama barely experiences winter) and I'm afraid I may have bitten off more than I can chew. My front porch is choked with containers that are happily sprouting away and I haven't really figured out where to put everything! Having a great time, though and look forward to having a pretty garden this year.

I have been living in SE Wisconsin the past several years and started wintersowing last year in a huge way (over 400 containers). I have done 71 containers of flowers so far this year. I also do a lot of herbs and vegetables.

Lyle

FYI- It's the Way Back Machine, and the address is below. I'm running the search on another tabbie right now, but it's choking, so not sure if it'll come up with anything.

Here is a link that might be useful: Internet Archive

I live near Grove, Oklahoma which is Zone 6 and in the NE corner of the state. This is my first year to WS. I grow lots of veggies from seed, but was never patient enough for flower seed sprouting under lights, and had not had wonderful luck with direct sowing.

We had an ice storm last week and since I fell the first day, my husband kind of had me on house arrest for three days and it was driving me crazy. If I had just had my soil and pots in the house, I would probably have been OK. I am planting in nursery pots, inside flats and I only have 4 flats done so far....however, I have many more to plant. Many of you shared seeds with me during the Secret Santa swap, and seedmama (another Okie) has sent me seeds and enabled me in other ways as well. I am waiting for my Blackjack swap seeds to arrive and yesterday I found a seed sale and bought 51 packs. No joke. A few are veggies, but most are annuals so I can have blooms until all of these great perrenials get going. Nothing special in them, but at least they are flowers to practice with.

This is a great group. Keep sowing.

This is my first year winter sowing. So far I've got 40 different varities and counting. I think I might be overdoing it. It will be interesting to see how many plants are ready to be planted at the same time.

The best part about this is they just seem to sprout no matter what happens! I have sprouts already from when I first began sowing on Jan 10th.

This is my first year. I started today with 10 containers. I think I will drink a lot more milk, so as to get more jugs.
Audrey

Hi
I'm a first timer! I started reading this forum last summer, when I started gardening a little ( small backyard) I looked forward to buying seeds, as I am in Canada and I thought nobody would ship me a newbie pack anyway. I haven't even tried to get one. Well, shopping here, shopping there, I have about 40 different flower envelopes now and I am so excited! I was so excited, I sowed some in November ( and December and January) uh, luckily nothing sprouted, we're minus 20 C here it's bestially cold.

Well, wish me luck ! I can't wait to post tens of pictures of my GREAT SUCCESS WINTERSOWING ! I am so very excited to meet you !!! Thank you for being here!

My 6th year, I think. Or 7th?? Not sure anymore. :-)

Diana from Atlanta, GA here. I've been on GW for over a year now, but this is my first year WS. I'm up to 172 containers so far! I enjoy it so much that it's hard not to get distracted at work and start daydreaming about all the seeds I still want to sow!

Year 3 and going strong. Such an addictive hobby!! Lovin' it!!

Jennifer
Columbia, MD
Zone 7

This'll be my second year WSing. Last year I put out about 120 containers to fill up a big new garden bed. I spend my late fall and winter looking through seed catalogs, making lists of all the varieties I just have to have.

For this year I have four big garbage bags of milk cartons ready for sowing but I haven't had the time yet to get things started. I'm back in college taking classes for my license to teach high school English. Now that I'm settling into the semester, I'll have some free time to start my containers! Hubby is working on finishing up a brand new bed that goes around our deck! Cross your fingers that it's done by spring. I'll also be trying direct sowing for the first time of poppies, baby blue eyes, tricolor gilia and sweet alyssum.

This is my first year wintersowing. I've been saving my milk gallons all winter... I know 20 or so isn't many to you veterans, but to my poor hubby it's a lot, especially now that they're starting to line our FRONT walk (Well, it's the best winter sun! The neighbors won't mind when our yard is full of flowers!) I'm packing in 2-4 varieties per jug to make the most of my space, does anyone else do that? Does it work ok?

I am trying perennials, annuals, herbs, and some vegetables. Peppers, tomatoes, eggplant, melons, squash, and basil are going to be started inside, but most other stuff is going in the jugs. Gosh I am SOOO nervous to put all my babies that I traded for so lovingly, out in the snow and miserable cold... what if nothing comes up? What if it does and then dies in a really cold night? What if everything survives the winter only to drown in April rain???

I guess I should be reassured by all the success stories I see on GW!

Lori

Hi everyone! This is my first year doing the winter-sowing thing. The back deck of my house is littered with milk jugs and coke bottles and other recycled plastic nuke-your-food kind-of containers. I blame a member of my local garden club (Apex)for getting me into it (she really stoked the fire)!I think she is a member here but I dunno her handle. I have all sorts of stuff out there from Penstemon to Ceanothus. I was worried when the teens temps hit but all have survived. I have Ceanothus sprouts but nothing else yet. This will be a great way to get new plants for half the cost (if it works as well as I hope). That makes the hubby happy!

I live in NW GA. This is my first FULL season of WS'ing. I found the WS forum last March by fluke and was amazed, then skeptical, then open to suggestion..lol.. so I took a chance and did a few containers in late March and they made it thru some (not many) freezing temps from our late frosts.
Then my mom was diagnosed w/ cancer.. and I have to admit all seeds were forgotten as I had to care for her. Lost her to the cancer this past July. Now we've moved into 'gramma's' house, so I have a 'new-to-me' yard to landscape.. I have been saving containers since last April and they are currently filling the workshop to the ceiling in bags, patiently waiting on me to get everything together and get started! I plan on getting busy next week. My biggest obstacle seems to be tomatoes.. so they are my greatest challenge this season!

A HUGE thankyou to all you WS'ers and the knowledge you share w/ us!!

~Wendy

Newbie here! I am so excited to join in on the fun! I am Dawn from Upstate NY, I have lurked here for waaaay too long! I have been gardening for years, did a few jugs last year and now I am hooked! My husband thinks I am off my rocker ....milk jugs....dirt....seeds, but hey keeps me out of trouble, lol. I will be doing my first WS'ing this weekend I can't wait to get my hands dirty!!!