Welcome Poetmama, I have some hosta seeds if you are interested in them Carol....I could use those Hostas for my charity plant sale if you are dying to get them a new home I assume I'd plant them now for a good 2011 plant, ( i also need sweet and hot peppers eggplant and artichoke.) Poetmama... Zone 5 here. Southern MA. The only thing you really need to buy to WS is paint pens and soil to start the seeds in. You will drown in the kindness of this bunch of enablers

Michelle, I received my seeds today !! What a wonderful treat it is to find such an awesome collection of seeds waiting for me in the mailbox after a long day at work ... I just sat down and went thru them all, one by one (drooling) and now I really can't wait for spring, there are so many great seeds here ! Thank you so much ! ~Iris

Many thanks to "drippy" for providing us with this important and valuable timetable. A Winter Sower's Calendar, or No Time For a Job September - Harvest many veggies & herbs (for fresh use). Harvest seeds from flowers and package for trade. Sow pansies early if not done in August. October - For cooler zones, final harvest of warm season veggies - save some seeds for sowing or trading. Pick herbs for drying or freezing. Freeze or can extra veggies (or give them away). Harvest more seeds and start trading. November - Garden bed cleanup time. Seed trade at a frantic pace. Get containers for winter sowing together, clean those that are re-used from last year (if not already done so). Make sure potting soil supply is adequate. December - Winter sowing begins! Seed trading continues. Seed catalogs start coming in - spend multiple hours going over them for "gotta haves". If you're not completely iced in, more garden cleanup ensues. January - Winter sow daily. Check December's winter sown containers daily. Order more seeds. February - Winter sow daily. Check December's and January's containers daily. Order more seeds, sell car to pay for them. Late February, look for signs of spring in early bulbs (crocus, e.g.). March - Do the happy dance when first winter sown containers show life. Survey what needs to be done to prepare gardens even after all the fall work, go have a drink. Sow more seeds. April - Check seed racks in stores for deals, new stuff to sow. Watch for spring blooming bulbs as they come up in your garden. Keep winter sowing. Start venting containers that are germinating. File taxes, pray for large return to pay for bad winter-sowing habit. May - might be time to start listing all those germinating containers - eek, what was in container number 476? Plant out any plants that are ready - lettuce for sure! and other winter sow successes. Exercise patience as majority of containers are waiting or just beginning to show life. June - Plant out. Daily. Hourly. Every minute. Ask yourself what you were thinking as there are still 345 containers to be planted. Survey half acre lot, vow to get a 10 acre plot by next year. Spring/summer sowing in full swing - good time to start perennials. July - arm-wrestle neighbors, cashiers, even family into taking last of plants. Consider calling Seedaholics Anonymous. Look around at beautiful garden, decide SA can wait. Very important - deadhead to keep garden blooming. August - enjoy fruits of your labor - flowers & veggies at their best! Stop deadheading as much, start collecting and packaging seeds for winter and trades. Consider getting a job to pay for bad winter-sowing habit. Scrap that idea, obviously not enough time to work! Thanks again drippy!

Happy New Year to you, too! To take more pictures. There really is something to having an annual video diary of the garden. The Juniperus scopulorum I planted as 6 inch seedlings in 09 are now 5 - 6 feet tall. I have an apricot I planted as a 2 ft whip 2 years ago that's now approaching 8 ft. These are wins I should celebrate more! Last night I downloaded a couple of maps of champion tree tours in nearby towns. I plan to visit them over time. I'm hoping that will help me learn to work smarter, not harder by choosing trees that will grow here. And yes, worry less! I think that's on my list every year. Barb