new in zone 7b

14 years ago

so after spending a few weeks reading through this forum, following links, reading some more I have started my first winter sowing containers. Thanks for all of the posted info, I haven't any questions (yet) as it seems they've all been asked.

I have spreadsheets with germination requirements, ordered seeds from suppliers recommended here, neighbors saving milk jugs, seeds organized by germination needs, tagging items and even a soldering iron to poke drain holes in plastic.

Yesterday I seeded 25 milk jugs with a slew more to do over the next few weeks. They are in a protected area with decent mid-day sun, not too much...Of course while implementing my well studied winter sowing strategy I got beginners angst - do I have enough drainage holes? Are my containers too venty? I used the twist tie method due to hot spells we get so would be a lot of covering & uncovering. I decided to stop over thinking. Most of the plants I have selected are easy to grow natives so there shouldn't be problems.

But I did want to say thanks for all of the info. Even the seed types I was looking at seem to have been mentioned someplace - it changed my sowing order, talked me out of things and talked me into things. I'm having a blast.

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Comments (10)

token28001
14 years ago
Welcome! Be sure to jointhe container count fun by adding your daily sowing totals to the thread. Zone 7 needs all the help we can get at the moment. Lynda's trying to rustle us out of a win this season, again. But I have my secrets in the basement. ;)

What part of zone 7b do you come from? I'm in NC, about 30 miles north of the border in the Piedmont. Wintersowing is fantastic. We're glad you joined us!
gardenweed_z6a
14 years ago
Greetings karyls!! I'll second Token's welcome from here in the deep freeze Zone 6 northern CT. This is my first year winter sowing too. You'll find you've got quite a bit of company. I was going to start out small and just sow 12 half gallon milk jugs. Thanks to all the enablers on this forum my total is now 73 and I've got a couple dozen more in the works. More seeds arrived in today's mail. It's fun having something constructive to do this time of year. Maybe by the time my WS flowers start blooming I'll have figured out how to post pictures of them on here for others to enjoy.
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conniemcghee
14 years ago
Hi Karyls. I'm new at this too, and like gardenweed I was only going to do one thing...really...

It is so easy to spiral out of control. :)

I have had all the same anxieties as you: Did I poke too many holes? Not enough? Is this container too small? And oh my gosh, when they start sprouting in the spring I'm sure I'm going to have an anxiety attack trying to figure out what to do! LOL

But like you, I am sowing a lot of easy natives, so I'm sure I'm getting all worked up over nothing. It will be the most interesting spring on record for me, that's for sure!
karyls
Original Author
14 years ago
token28001 - I am in GA about an hour south of the TN border. I'll add to the count but was really hoping I could practice a bit of denial and not actually count the containers I am doing even while looking out at a sea of milk jugs. The reason I stopped is because I ran out of jugs. Posted on Freecylce that I am looking for more.

gardenweed - ordered more seeds today myself. It is fun having something constructive to do this time of year. I just got busier than I am in summer.

connietn - I began this out of control. I'm okay with that. It's harmless...I think...and when things sprout we'll be having anxiety attacks together, nice to know I will be in good company.
token28001
14 years ago
There is no denial. Just don't keep a running total. Just post every time you add jugs to the pile. At the end, Brandy will surprise you by citing the total number you've sown this year. Don't bother counting them yourself. It's too painful.
gardenweed_z6a
14 years ago
I'm keeping a running tally of how many containers I've got of each type of seed because I'm growing certain types of perennials for neighbors and their families who don't have a lot in their gardens yet. I'm sowing multiples of BES, Shasta daisy, stokesia, Echinacea and a few other "hard to kill" varieties for newbie gardening friends. Next door neighbor will want one of everything for his garden too. It's a friendly neighborhood.
gardenluv
14 years ago
If you are short on containers, Starbucks always has a great supply. As long as they are not super busy, they will usually load up a couple large trash bags for me. Just make sure you rinse them out a.s.a.p. or they get very stinky. Welcome to the addiction!
laylaa
14 years ago
gardenluv - believe it or not, I live in a town with no Starbucks. There is one about 40 minutes away but in a direction I never go. May be worth a trip though! Perhaps I can get brave (am shy) & phone before I go and ask. That's a good tip, thank you. Yesterday I posted in Freecycle and got one local response, it's a start!

gardenweed - ours is a friendly neighborhood as well, although I don't know a lot of people here. Hopefully I'll get good at WS and be able to give away plants like yourself but can't count my seeds before they sprout. Echinacea is one I started several cultivars of. Know they are easy to germinate and am hoping for a successful start, it will keep me addicted. What is BES? You'll answer and I'll think, "oh yeah, I knew that..."

token - denial is my friend. It's a highly underrated coping skill.
kqcrna
14 years ago
karyls: Welcome to the forum and wintersowing.

Karen
gardenweed_z6a
14 years ago
BES = Black-eyed Susans. KMOTGG = Kiss Me Over the Garden Gate. Lots of buzz words are used on this forum.

new in zone 7b

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