Just out of curiosity, any particular reason *why* posters would prefer posting on facebook instead of here??

As with just about everything, time moves on. Facebook became the medium of choice for a lot of things.

I've deeply regretted being absent from the forums the past few years. I don't check in often since Trudy went down my throat so many years ago. I really miss the forums when they were GW and not Houzz but most of all I miss the community of gardeners as we shared our ideas/experiences/mistakes/humor/successes/photos. I also miss the format; this isn't the same or as gardener-friendly. I guess what it boils down to is I miss the camaraderie.

I don't do Facebook or LinkedIn. My TV went to the dump 8 years ago and hasn't been missed.

This'll tickle your fancy--I traveled to South Australia back the end of March to meet with a penpal I've been writing to for 45+ years. Some things DON'T change.

Thats funny. She jumped on me pretty bad too, glad I wasn't the only one 'out of line' and not cooperating with the program. Getting technical and saying that sowing seeds in late spring isn't actually winter sowing, its spring sowing but hey, I don't think it was all that bad to say so nor do I think I was guilty of 'not cooperating' & 'not being a joiner'.

This place is Deadsville. Everyone must have flown the coop, taken themselves to FB or Linked or some other hip place, I don't do those either. Maybe since the guru is gone, the loyal disciples followed her? OK, I'm probably being catty I know but really.......

One thing is obvious, they are so GONE that no one has posted to say where they went. I'm still here but post more on other forums.

I check in now and again but mostly post on other forums as Tr2 says. All forums are quieter these days. I don't do Facebook. GW is my only online posting.

I'm a newbie here, and I also joined the facebook group but don't participate. I prefer it here for similar reasons others have already mentioned. Facebook is also much more public and you can never guess what their algorithms will decide to share with your friend list, and I'm sure most of my old high school friends don't care about my petunias. It is a much smaller and quieter community here in the Wintersowing forum, and I do wish more people would "discover" it.

Well, I'll contribute a small ditty. The few precious seeds I winter sowed of penstemon Cobaea in winter of 2014 came up that spring but were so small I left them in pots all summer long in 2015 in part sun out back by the faucet I always use so I would keep an eye on them. They were a whopping 1" tall by fall and I planted them in the ground when it cooled down and we got more moisture. Here's 2 pictures of them in Spring 2016. Point is, when its perennials patience is key because its not like sowing annuals where you get instant gratification. Now they are covered in dry seed pods and should naturalize on their own.

It is summer so not much winter sowing going on. People will post if other people post. If its dead looking, no one will post.

How about a few more success stories?

I purchased these last fall from Santa Rosa Gardens, Echinacea purpura 'Magnus'. I want more and plan to winter sow seeds this year. Sometimes I buy a few or just one plant mainly to get seeds since often a plant costs about the same as a pack of seeds.

I winter sowed this one a couple years ago, I only had a couple seeds and got only one plant which finally made a small presence in the garden, puny but at least it was there and it produced a few blooms this year which means seeds. Its winding down and the seeds are on my list for this year. I just cut off a dried stalk of stickery seed heads.

ellenr22 That last one looks like sea holly. Is it? I tried that the first year I planted things here but decided it was much too prickly for my taste.

DocMom, pvick, mnwsgal - good to know you're still here. I also like/prefer the slower pace of GW as opposed to FB et al. There was a gentle pace, a rhythm here I never came across in or on other sites. Doesn't appear that the old adage, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it" was applied does it?

I also got totally ajata when my laptop got upgraded to Windows 10 a few weeks ago with me not having any say or choice. I contacted my local PC source and he walked me through getting it back to Windows 7. They've repeatedly tried (via pop-ups) to get me to convert to Windows 10 every other day since. I'm not buying it.

I will try to stop here more often, again. This forum was my favorite connection to the rest of the world for years. I'd check in every day, and there was always something new to read about or comment on. We were always trading seeds and commenting on everyone's latest project.

Let me tell you about my latest wintersowing project. I live in a yard of many oak and evergreen trees, which I love. But, I don't have much sunshine for my pollinators. My gardens have been limited to the strip along the busy, fast-moving road on the south edge of our property.

Finally, after much cajoling, my husband decided to let me take a big chunk of lawn in back, since it is on a slope and difficult to mow due to a well and trees, etc. Last fall, I covered it with leaves. Then I wintersowed a bunch of native perennials that are loved by various pollinators. I planned to get the seedlings in the ground in May, but developed a pinched nerve in my shoulder/neck. So, I'm just planting seedlings out now (vacation). Don't worry. Michigan isn't known for it's high temperatures, and the sunniest spot in my yard barely meets criteria for part sun. Most of the day is dappled shade. So, my seedlings should survive just fine. They are certainly better off in the ground than in pots. Here are a few pictures, just for fun.

My Newfoundland, Ziva, will not be allowed to be in that part of the yard, now that I have seedlings in the ground.

I think I planted about half of what is in the cart today, so far. I'll take a nap ( I am on vacation) and get back to planting when the sun isn't quite as hot. Happy gardening to all of you.

Martha

Hi docmom, I love the idea and what you are doing, those kinds of gardens are the most fun. I've discovered a lot of those pollinator plants like to self sow and they often naturalize in spots that turn out better than the ones I initially chose for them.

There is no way I'd be able to do that here. We are not only hot, we are dang hot. And dry. Heat alerts are up, I get dizzy out there in the daytime when I squat and then stand back up, everything goes black for a few seconds so I limit my gardening to late evening. A person could get heatstroke pretty easy right now.

I'm currently heavy into prairie grasses and am able to keep planting them even during this time of year which makes me a bit of a plant bore currently but the thing is, the native wildflowers look so much better growing among them. A match made in heaven. I'm rather working backwards at this since most people start with the grasses to get the % of grasses vs pollinators. This being Oklahoma where we don't have pine trees so much my garden fits right in if you don't consider the fact I'm in an urban neighborhood surrounded by bermuda grass lawns. I keep digging up volunteer bluestem plants, potting them up, setting them in the shade to root out a bit and then replanting. They don't seem to mind the transfer in the heat much at all.

At least I haven't cut off the tip of my finger yet this year with scissors using the wrong tool for the wrong job just because I was too lazy to go get the right tool. You advised me last time I did that and I really appreciated it, you being a DOCmom and all..

OK, its hard to tell whats what in the photo but I'm adding the grasses to areas like this. They really add softness. This winter I'm WS'ing echinacea for sure. I have some planted out back that I purchased from SRG and am saving seed--they are just so 'prairie'. Can't believe I've snubbed them so long.

Tr2, I have been admiring your gardens ever since I ran across them on the Native Plant forum. I just love how you have used plants that belong in the climate around you, rather than conforming to the ridiculous "traditional" lawn-scaping. I would love to join you on a seed-collecting road trip.

Are you looking for a specific species of echinacea? My front garden seems to be the perfect spot for them, because I have hundreds of seedlings pop up every year. I could easily dig up 25-30 seedlings or even larger plants and ship them to you. We could wait until the weather is cooler at your end, but I truly have more than I need. I'll trade you for some of your stray grasses. I only have one, tiny beginning of a patch of some grass that I can't remember the name of. I'll go take a few pictures of my front gardens.

Martha

Ok. My front gardens look like .... I can't type it in genteel company. We haven't had rain for much longer than we're used to, so even my most drought tolerant mint-types are wilting. It doesn't help that my soil is basically the sand that was used to construct the road I live on. But, you'll see what I'm working on. First is the garden along the road on the east side of the driveway.

Next is the garden west of the driveway.

The thicker low patch just in front of the tree, is the echinacea. Here's a close up.

All of the smaller plants in front are volunteer coneflowers, and there are even more in back, and they would be much happier in the sun. The sun gets brighter as you get closer to the road. Unfortunately, we get huge piles of snow pushed onto the edge of the garden during the winter, and even the soil gets moved at times. There isn't a curb. So, I put annuals along the edge.

Finally, here is my one patch of grass.

docmom, I'd be more than happy to send you some grasses as a trade for those echinacea but next spring would be better in zone 5 for warm season grasses especially with that kind of snow, salt and earlier onset of winter. I usually do OK with fall planted warm season grasses if I get them in while there is at least a month left of very warm summer-like weather, otherwise they sometimes don't make it even through our milder, snowless winters. I've been transplanting in the hot weather because thats when you get the good root growth, come September they really start shutting down on that. Year before last I made a late October fall order to SRG for some grasses and expected them to be fine. Come spring I found I had I lost 5 of the grasses.

Currently I am under the gun with a deadline to get some work completed by the second week in September & my garden is going to be in a state of gross neglect for the rest of the season. Maybe we can hook up on a trade next spring?

Any time that works for you. And I don't need anything in trade, really. I have plenty of clumps I can divide, plus my sister has a very similar garden that produces more volunteers than she can handle. So, I get countless donations from her.

Did I remember you wrote somewhere that your falls are cooler and more moist than your spring? I wonder if sending my echinacea in early fall would give them time to get established before they go dormant for winter. But, if you are as busy with work as it sounds, they might perish in an unopened box, too. LMK. No rush or pressure.

Martha

I wintersowed these hollyhocks last year. They flowered late last year and they're flowering again this year!

Pretty! I love hollyhocks. Frankly I prefer the single flower type like you have to the doubles, I feel that way toward many other plants that have been 'improved' as well. Here in Oklahoma they always get heavily infested with weevils, the leaves get scorched and they act like biennials. We also have those strong winds on the plains which plays havoc with them or breaks them off at ground level.

Hello friends!

It's just SO amazing + gratifying to once again read threads here on the forum-I-dare-not-name. It's also comforting to recognize folks I spent hours getting to know back when I initially stumbled upon winter sowing and GW (in 2007?).

My garden beds are designed, mulched, planted and mature but as with all gardening, there are variables and unexpected crises. This year it was gypsy moth caterpillars. They stripped all five of my 150+ year-old mature oak trees of leaves back in late May/early June and moved on to coral bells foliage. My shady garden beds were suddenly full sun just when the summer solstice rolled around.

We had NO warning they were coming unlike back when they devastated the state of Connecticut back in the late 1980's.

Arlene_82 - glad you could join us! This has been such an amazing forum over the years without the hype of FB or other social networks.

Barring unseen or unexpected criticism/objection/complaint, I hope to monitor the WS forum going forward daily as I previously did.

Gardenweed,

I'm so excited to hear you will be checking in routinely. I will also keep in touch as I can. Maybe we can build this forum back to what it was before. I'm certainly not anywhere close to finished with my gardening, and wintersowing is the best method for getting lots of healthy plants. Let's start saving seed, too. That way we can get some trading going on among our little group. We old-timers can help the newbies increase the diversity in their gardens.

Martha

Greetings Martha!

Like you I'm looking forward to (hopefully) reviving the forum to once again be as valuable a resource for gardeners.--new & old--as it was previously. Unlike you, I DO consider my gardens more or less "finished" since I had distinct & detailed plans for each bed and accomplished what I set out to do back around 2008 or so. The past years I've been in maintenance mode (i.e., pulling weeds).

While I'm no longer physically able to maintain the beds myself, I'm committed to maintaining them (read, hiring the teenager next door) in support of pollinators. This year I planted lots of annuals (in containers), pretty much for the first time ever, with pollinators in mind. I use terra cotta "plant nannies"+ 1-liter seltzer bottles to keep them hydrated.

"Let's start saving seed, too." You're right that winter sowing is the best & most economical means of filling garden beds. I've also observed that winter sown perennials are darned healthy, naturally, which works for me.

Saving seed has remained a compulsion since 2006 when I was still working full-time at an office 30+ miles west of where I live. I actually went out on my lunch break to harvest seeds. There's apparently no cure for seedaholics. I'm old but the kid who lives next door will harvest seeds if I ask him.

ALL my Siberian iris in various beds were grown from seed via winter sowing. My only consistent WS failure continues to be columbine. Bummer.

I'm hoping the forum will be revived but also be a bit different with more diversity due to the absence of moderating by one person who is in charge of the tone and content of the forum. That would allow more exchange of ideas, innovation and freedom of expression. Any seeds I sow, whether in pots or directly in the ground in late fall or winter is considered winter-sowing to me. I found by experience some seeds do much better direct sowed in fall resulting in more robust & healthier plants while others are better winter sown in the jugs + its just fun to watch & prepare the jugs during the dead of winter when little else is going on in the garden.

Snow is a factor I have never understood as being necessary for winter sowing, in fact down here we don't have much and some years none at all but we certainly have the necessary cold period which is what winter sowing is about. The many comments I've read on the forum indicating a requirement for snow to winter sow was always incomprehensible from my perspective.

I don't do a large operation with the #'s of jug like some I've seen here & I don't do the solstice date thing but I still enjoy winter sowing as much as the next gal, just on a smaller scale and sometimes with some slight variations.

I consider anyone who has discovered the unique benefits of the idea of wintersowing, a wintersower. That doesn't mean they don't use other methods of seed germination or plant propagation when it suits their fancy. I welcome discussions of different gardening techniques, because we might create a completely new method as a result of combining parts of various different techniques. And it's fun to hear what everyone is doing. Especially since the forum has slowed down so much. welcome to everyone and share whatever you'd like to share.

Martha

TX ranger, your penstemon Cobaea are lovely!

Im still planting out my WS seedlings (went a bit overboard this year!) It is my 2nd year. I'm running out of room to plant! I DO so love my blooms, tho! :) And this is the first year (3rd year of garden project to dig up as much of back yard lawn as I can to make gardens) that the flowers are really coming into their own and I"m getting more blooms...I love it!

I prefer WSing in tin foil roaster pans. We dont drink much milk, and the jugs are too much of a pain to prep, then open/close in spring. It works well for me!

I'm a dedicated juice jug gal myself. I like the clear plastic, the height, depth of soil space available and the size. I usually only sow about 4 to 6 seeds per jug.. I poke holes in the open cut end, thread in twist ties and make locks which I think are pretty nifty, easy to open and close when you leave the uncut side for a hinge. During summer they are ready to serve as jugs for rooting cuttings, they work perfect for that. Talk about inexpensive plants that are easy to do, cuttings are just as fun as winter sowing in my book and it fits my budget.

Tex, I have starred doing cuttings also after initial successes last year. I think I just like GROWING n general ;D

Wintersowed Columbine, finally flowering in year 2. Sorry Gardenweed! :)

pugetsoundgardener - no hard feelings. ;-) Columbine freely self-sows around my little green acre: between the driveway pavement & breezeway concrete, beside the driveway in my established hosta beds... pretty much wherever it chooses. I love it so I let it and have come to terms with my failure to grow it via winter sowing. Wherever it comes up, I'm just glad to see it and do what I can to ensure it has what it needs. I no longer, however, spend $$ on commercial seeds.

val, I just like free plants.

Oh most of my winter sowing seeds came from free seeds given to newbie gardeners and/or seed trades. Now I'm collecting seeds to use next year. My garden is way too big and my budget way too small to be buying anything I can get for free!

Whatever winter sowers disagree on or how different their growing conditions are there is probably one thing on which we can all agree. Cheap is good, free is even better. Its the great motivator. Heck, anyone can go fork out and buy a lot of plants at a nursery but where's the challenge in that? My fav is when people stick those commercial plant tags in the ground up next to those store-bought plants and leave them all season long-- it just screams "Hi, I came from Home Depot".

Back when I first stumbled across this forum and started thinking about winter sowing, I asked my neighbor who goes to the town landfill every Monday to bring me a truckload of recycled gallon milk jugs. I'd come home Monday evenings to find the bed of my pick-up inside the garage filled. He asked what I wanted with them (we're friends as well as neighbors and all of us garden). I told him about winter sowing and he howled with laughter. When my first sprouts showed up mid-March, I showed them to him. He stopped laughing. Later that year I found an envelope stuffed in my kitchen door when I got home from work. There were 4 apple tree seeds and 10 pear tree seeds inside with a note that read, "Please grow these for me." I WS the seeds and in May of that year gave him 4 apple tree seedlings and 10 pear tree seedlings. The trees were taller than he is a couple of years ago.

Folks that question the method can probably benefit by this post. FYI - I WS 538 milk jugs that first year.