this is my 2nd year too. But I'm pretty sure we just have to wait til the ground freezes, or winter equinox ( don't quote me)
I want to get a jump on things too :) as if I don't have enough garden work to do now already. LOL
:)Laura

You need to prepare the ground prior to transplanting. It means loosening the soil so that the seedling roots have something they can easily grow into.

We don't WS until winter. You could sow some shrub and tree seeds now but check the Clothier database to assure that they'll be fine with a cool sowing followed by cold temps.

Autumn is a great time to prep beds for seedlings you'll plant in the spring. Loosen the soil, then turn in some fallen leaves or grass clippings that you've caught in the catcher bag of your mower.

T

If you are feeling ansty you can always start filling containers with soil. Even if the soil freezes you can add the seeds on top then put some thawed soil over, or just let them settle in as they get rained on and thaw. I did a bunch of my cups early last year and it was helpful once I got busy. Somewhere convenient to store them is nice though.

editor: What kind of plants, specifically, are you talking about? Most perennials stay small in their first year and most don't bloom until second year. It's that sleep-creep-leap rule of thumb.

Starting now probably won't make them bigger as most probably wouldn't sprout until spring anyway. Some can be started in mid summer, though, for bigger plants and blooming next summer.

Karen

what everyone else said, but also keep in mind that this year was a hard one. plants may very well have "stopped" growing due to the weather conditions this year, and not because WS was the method used to germinate the seeds. quite a number of my seedlings - perennials and annuals - did not put on any real growth until mid-August; i've got annuals that are only now beginning to bloom!

PV

I have not started WSown. Just collected and cleaned containers. Bought soil in spring. So I am good to go, I think.
I have direct-sown extra perennials seeds and hardy annuals Forget-me-not, Larkspur, :-D

I will be cleaning up the garden, raking leaves, plant bulbs and dig up Dahlias soon.
Darn, how come it's so cold already this October? I used to enjoy planting my bulbs and raking leaves in warmer October!! Wahhhh....

editor,
I totally agree with pvick. This was a particularly slow year for starting plants because of the cool weather. I just had to yank out my cosmos because they had fallen over onto the road in a recent wind storm. It was painful, becase they had finally stated to bloom like crazy. Next year should be better. Also, if plants in the ground are anything like plants in their containers, the root system has been taking advantage of the cool temps and growing like crazy. Hopefully, that will mean nice big perennials in year 2.

Martha

I usually content myself with collecting seeds from now until december.

Editor, I planted out many WS babies late this year, because I had terrible tendonitis during peak gardening season. Both in small pots and the ground. Many of the transplanted seedlings didn't grow much at all, some even disappeared. But my experience is that many seedlings seem to focus on root growth when they are transplanted late in the season, not so much top growth.

Although I might lose some, I have marked their spots, because I expect many of them to start growing next Spring with a vengeance!

Btw, I did sow 1 container so far this year - American Fringe Tree (Chionanthus virginicus). This tree normally germinates in 2 years because it requires warm then cold stratification periods of several months. I am warm-stratifying it in the house, then it's going outside in December. This is my first attempt at WSing a tree - and hope it sprouts next Spring! :)

kqcrna - I WS'd 25 types of perennials (and some shrubs like beauty berry and privet) and 21 of them got big and bloomed this very year. I expected small plants the first year with blooms the 2nd year and was greatly surprised at the bloom ratio. Here is a link to blog post about my first-year perennial blooms. Melissa Majora gardens I had such success I can't wait to WS more perennials this winter. I'm a convert and am becoming the local enabler. LOL

Kris

Kiddo,
very nice pics and everything looks so neat and organized. I love your home made hoop house.
:)Laura

In my experience it's the "short lived perennials" like gaillardia or rud hirta that are more likely to bloom in the first year. The longer-lived ones, like butterfly weed or echinacea, are less likely to. They might make a flower or two in Sept or Oct but not too showy.

Not always the case, but often so for me.

Karen

I saw on the blog that Balloon Flower was WS. So it bloomed the first year? I bought 6 bareroot for $15 from a nursery this past spring. They all grew, and have been blooming for awhile. I have the blue and white single flowered plants. They are still blooming now. They were supposed to be shorter but a few are quite tall, probably 3 1/2 ft.

I was going to buy more this fall (bare root). Now I am thinking I will just WS them, and save money.

Has anyone tried the double varities?

Thanks,
Danielle

I bought so many snapdragon seeds and since they seem to be perennial in colder zones and I have planted purchased plants in the fall and had them survive winter to bloom the next springso I thought I'd experiment with some by sewing some now in my un-heated greenhouse. I sewed some a week ago(sprouted)and some just a couple days ago.

I received some amelandchier denticulata in trade and had them stratifying in a moist bag of vermcuilite in the frig for a while. Having grown others from seed,I thought they wouldn't come up until spring if I sewed them now. My Bad....I sewed them last week and they sprouted...OOPS!Hope they survive the winter.

Peggy

I broadcast some alyssum seed I collected today but don't dare sow anything in containers yet in case it warms up and the seeds sprout. No way would they survive our winter.

I think I'll do February again although it would be nice to ring in the new year with some jugs set out. I just think it is better not to do it too early here.