~ Container Count / Zone Wars ~ Zone Wars Summary: Zone 3 . . . . . . . . . . . 0 Zone 4 . . . . . . . . . 322 Zone 5 . . . . . . . . 1,524 Zone 6 . . . . . . . . 1,020 Zone 7 . . . . . . . . 1,090 Zone 8 . . . . . . . . . 429 Zone 9 . . . . . . . . . 116 Total Containers: 4,501 Good morning, winter sowing guys! Welcome to this year's count, Bookjunky, Lissatink, and Smarmyclothes! Lissatink, yes Nemo was a doozy, but about half of our 24" has melted already, although my containers are still buried. Barbe, sorry I missed a few containers, but yes once you sow over a hundred you are a member of the winter-sowing "Mile High Club" (haha). Congrats! Click the Container Count / Zone Wars Spreadsheet to see the container count in detail. ~ Happy US President's Day Everybody ~ "Too old to plant trees for my own gratification, I shall do it for my posterity"...Thomas Jefferson "I must be farmer John ... and nothing more (I hope nothing less) for the rest of my life."...John Adams âÂÂMy heart found its home long ago in the beauty, mystery, order and disorder of the flowering earth.âÂÂ...Lady Bird Johnson This post was edited by terrene on Tue, Feb 19, 13 at 10:48

Carytoo and Midmented - Great advice, thank you! I am going to get busy this week prepping more containers and start just about EVERYTHINGin the next 2-3 weeks. I'll definitely hold back some pepper and tomato seeds for indoors in case I have failures. I'll also check out the container wars forum (thanks, Carytoo). Do either of you worry about over-heating in the sun? On a warm day in Feb/Mar do you open up the jugs for a few hours or just let them be? It can get super warm in zone 7 on random days. Here is what I am going to WS: (I'll post a follow-up with results - finger's crossed! This feels really ambitious for a first try, but we really are starting the entire garden from scratch) Arugula Wild Rocket Arugula Basil Genovese Basil Thai Sweet Basil Dark Purple Opal Beans - Bush Snap Roma II Bush Bean Beet Detroit Dark Red Borage Calendula Orange King Celery Tendercrisp Celery Chamomile Chives Cilantro Cosmos Cucumber Marketmore 76 Dill Bouquet Eggplant Rosa Bianca Kale Dwarf Siberian Lamb's Ear Lavender Lettuce - Crisphead Big Boston Lettuce - Leaf Rocky Top Mix Marigolds Marjoram Mint Spearmint Oregano Greek Parsley Giant of Italy Pepper Chinese 5 Color Pepper Purple Jalapeno Pepper Golden Cal Wonder Rosemary Scallions Ishikura Spinach Bloomsdale Long Standing Squash (Summer) Early Prolific Straightneck Squash (Summer) Black Beauty Squash (Winter) Butternut - Waltham Swiss Chard 5 color Silverbeet Tarragon Russian Tomato Brandywine Tomato Goldman's Italian American Tomato Yellow Brandywine Tomato Black Cherry Tomato Big Rainbow

Bronze Fennel n the back for color, texture, butterflies and can be direct sown. Dill and Parsley also have that umbrel type flower that attracts beneficial insects. Parsley is Biennial but starts easily from seed with patience, you just have to wait until the second year for bloom. I planted seed every year for awhile, so I always have some seedlings getting ready for the next year and bloom for that year. I use mine mid border. Try wintersowing Hollyhocks when your house is finished. I gave up on Hollyhocks due to rust. Maybe you'll have better luck. They are gorgeous. Delphiniums are a great cottage garden plant, but not easy to start from seed and germination is low. The newer Millennium varieties are the best, and if you find seedlings for sale somewhere, you would probably be better off. I am talking about the perennial. Not sure if there is an annual? I grow my 4 oclocks in pots rather than the ground because they produce tubers that can keep coming back and I'm overly cautious about anything that can become a pest. They are very fragrant but open around dinner time not during the day. On a warm summer night the fragrance can really travel. I wouldn't be without them. Calendula is very easy and good for front of border. And easy to save the seed from year to year. Cosmos 'Double Click', I had this briefly, but it didn't stay upright Other single cosmos are great and do reseed in a mannerly way. I found that once I planted them, I was never without them again without any need for me to start more. Love Verbascum, but have not tried to grow hybrids from seed. It can be front of the border or mid border Achillea will spread a lot and quickly. Echinacea is a wonderful perennial addition and some varieties will reseed for you once established. I have a lot of seedlings this year. Some people find Verbena bonariensis a pest eventually. I have been growing it for about 3 years and this year I am starting to see it pops up in a lot of area that requires my attention. Still liking it though. Columbines are very easy but they reseed a little too vigorously for me. I still like them, but I deadhead carefully now. Dianthus is easy from seed, but I have only winter sown them not direct sown. I think they may need a cold period? They are a nice cottage garden plant for the front of the border and will give a good period of bloom if you don't mind deadheading them. They are another plant whose seed are very easy to save and start for year to year. Wintersowing them is as easy as it gets. There are perennial and annual versions. Some are fragrant. Four years, your Butterfly Bush should be performing well. Is it growing in full sun?

What you are looking for is a cover crop rather than a groundcover - two different sets of plants grown for two different sets of purposes :-)) There are many different types of cover crops available and pretty much any of them will return nutrients to the soil, protect against erosion and suppress weeds. What may work best for you may depend on where you are located - some are better in some areas than others, depending on winter temps. Cornell University has a pretty good summation on types of cover crops and how they are best used. My personal choice is a mixed blend that includes Austrian field peas, crimson clover, hairy vetch and annual and winter rye. Pretty much covers the gamut of what is needed and what is provided. Planted in mid-fall after harvest) and allowed to grow until early the following season.