They made me create a new account and I never updated my old name (midmented). Winter sowing 2013-2014 went well. The only pepper seed that germinated were brown bell, jalapeno and Burpee Red Roaster bell. The first tomato plants to sprout were pink boar. Brandywine, Roma, Beefsteak, and stuffing tomatoes germinated well. In my opinion, heirloom varieties are better adapted for winter sowing. At least I've had better luck using heirloom or my own saved seed. As far as production, I got more produce than I needed. Winter sowing seems to give me a later crop than everyone else in my area. It seems to be 2 to 3 weeks later than everyone else. I loved the Burpee Red Roaster Bell peppers. They produce really big stuffing peppers but the downside is there are not as many peppers. The brown bells crowded against one another and I had to keep thinning them to get bigger peppers. I got over a thousand jalapeno peppers but I did have 10-12 plants. This year, I'll try to keep my blog updated on what I am doing. I've stopped posting a lot of things due to wanting to spend more time just enjoying life. L I'm always trying something new. 2013-2014, I started growing lima pole beans (really tasty). I only planted 4 plants but got around 1/2 a bushel. Stink bugs came through and took all the blooms so I never got a late crop.

Hi Kim, The link below is to a page on the Wintersown.org website that lists all of the vegetables that are good for wintersowing. If you haven't done it already, check out the offer for free seeds on that website. Trudi is very generous, and it is a lot of fun to get that package full of surprises. The only thing with some of the summer veggies like beans, canteloupe, cucumbers, etc. is that they are not frost tolerant, so if you wintersowed them, and they germinated during a warm spell, then you would have to protect them from freezing temperatures until it was time to plant them out. I spring sowed my beans and some of my cucumbers, using the WS technique, but I waited until close to our last frost date to do it, which was late May for me. The only vegetables that I direct sowed this year was carrots and some of the cucumbers. The carrots I did that way because root crops can grow crooked if tranplanted, and the cucumbers just because they germinate so easily that way. Oh, and my peppers I sowed indoors this year. They will certainly work with wintersowing, but my season is so short that they won't have time to ripen if I do them that way. Be sure to let us know how it goes this coming year, Bonnie Here is a link that might be useful: Wintersown.org - Vegetables

Well, #1, imagine you were a seed in a time before humans. Oh horrors, no human to cover and protect me. Oh no, what shall I do? I can imagine you see that plants thrived before humans..and they will continue to. Don't worry unless you planted them on a slope, in which case they may be washed down to the valley. If they need light, covering them won't work, right? I have the same issue with winter wetness, that's why I sow my seeds in a closed container. As long as I put them in a shady north facing location, they don't get too hot from sun, and being closed, the endless rain doesn't rot them (which is what would happen if I didn't usually). You may have to water them a few times during the winter, because you do need to have a cpl of holes, so some moisture will escape.

Basil from me too. Sacrifice one to do a sniff test.