Winter Garden Experiments
This is, in some ways, a sequel to my post "Determined To Grow Beets". These little seedlings are from the beet seed that I crushed, didn't think I saw much of any seed inside the pods and had almost decided to throw the seed away. But after some of them began to germinate, I just could not throw them away. Yes, I know, it's 'way too early, and they probably won't live, but what other garden tasks do I have to do right now? It's still just a little too early to start my tomato and pepper seed germinating. I have all this empty space on the light table. It's not a waste of my time when that's one thing I already have plenty of. I like to experiment. So call me silly if you want to, it's OK. There are worse things I could be doing for entertainment, like sticking my nose into what my adult kids and millennial-aged grandkids are doing or dancing naked in the back yard. haha only kidding about the second option but not so sure about the first.
I even planted some of the seed that didn't show any signs of being a seed, too. If you look closely, there are a few very short seedlings in the front parts of the cell-pack. There were 10 "pods" to begin with and so far I have counted 14 seedlings of wide-ranging sizes. Not a really good yield for compound seeds, and I imagine that the seedlings that are just now beginning to show would probably not have survived long enough to germinate out in an open garden in the spring. But maybe, who knows?
This is my "onion experiment". My Candy onions from last year began to show "storage rot", and so I had to put on my shop goggles, clean them up and chop them for storage in the freezer. I didn't think of saving the bottoms till I had already buried a lot of them in the garden with the rest of the contents of my kitchen compost bucket. As you can see, today I have discovered a little green onion. I think there are probably 12 onion bottoms in this tray.
These are my sweet-potato slips.
Beauregard
Ruby
A purple-skinned variety that I purchased at "Sprouts", a health-food store in nearby Owasso.
There are a few rules that have to be observed when sprouting things in water, one of which is to stir the water every day so as to oxygenate it, thus keeping it from becoming stagnate and stinky, which then causes the parts of the cuttings that are under the water to soften and turn to slime. Not a pretty sight or a pleasant odor. I have read where some people put a baby aspirin in the water to increase rooting chances, but sweet potato will root easily so I didn't bother with that. Yes, this is early, too, as they will not be set out into the garden until early May, but my mother always had a sweet potato in a pot of water on top of the refrigerator during the winter, a reminder of the garden to come. She always said her eyes hungered to look at something green in the winter and she was not good with typical houseplants, nor did she have patience with growing anything that did not end up as food or flower.
I may grow them in tubs this year, as I had my sweet potato crop severely damaged last year by grubworms. I had applied Milky Spore without observable results a couple of years ago, also whenever I find them where I'm digging I collect them and put them where the birds, hungry for protein in the spring, will devour them. When Junebugs start to fly into the early spring morning patio lights, I have been gathering them into an empty milk jug, which I dump into the burn barrel when next I have something to burn. I can't think of another thing to do to remedy this situation, unless it is to start growing my roots in tubs and not in the ground.
Do you do any garden experiments in the winter, and if so, how is that going for you?
--ilene
Comments (8)
dbarron
5 years ago
beth_b_kodiak
5 years agoRelated Discussions
Experiences winter sowing peppers?
Comments (8)Tomatoes and peppers are so durned easy to sow, and the plants are so big (thus limiting the numbers that you will want to grow), that I don't see any advantage to winter sowing them. Plus, they are quite frost-tender, so it would be more prudent to start them under far more controlled conditions. The only extra work that is really justifiable with pepper plants is overwintering mature plants. Peppers are actually a tender perennial, so each fall when the hard frost threatens, I dig up and pot each of my pepper plants. Then when you set them out in the spring they already have a monstrous root system and you get big peppers weeks earlier than if you had started from seedings. Some of my pepper plants are five years old. I may have erred this fall by not devoting enough energy to properly potting my peppers--I was distracted trying to harvest green tomatoes. In a couple months I'll be able to tell if any peppers survived my poor handling. It will be a shame if I lost the five-year-olds......See MoreWhat is your experience with Agave ovatifolia in winter?
Comments (4)Mine got tons of water this winter and it got down to 12 degrees outside and it did not blink an eye, not a mar, black spot, rot, dry crinkly foliage. It is perfect. As I look around the nurseries, I see a lot of agave being sold as A. ovatifolia that are different in appearance than mine. I have a very light silvery broad leafed model. There are many that are called A. ovatifolia that are darker grey and the leaves are not as broad but wavey. They look like A. Mr. Ripple. If yours is like that one, I could not say because my Mr. ripple showed a bit of damage but nothing it can't live through....See MoreFirst winter in Ohio--garden winterizing tips needed
Comments (8)I just hang my hoses in the garage and purchase a foam rubber cover for my spigots. My parents do nothing and that works fine too for them. I don't know what an older home needs - mine was built in 1964. In January or February, we sometimes get a warm spell here. That's when I cut down the grasses and some perennials. I'm in the process of yanking annuals and running them under a mulching blade or throwing them in the compost pile. Last year I staked my new raspberry canes in the fall and I lost a few. I'm going to wait until spring. Your perennials should be fine. I leave some leaves and stuff in there for insulation - it's not this sterile clean bed my neighbors favor. On to milk jugs and winter sowing. See you guys over there! We're already having fun and the solstice is just a month or so away!!!!!...See MoreWinter Sowing is a great experience...........let's count the ways
Comments (0)The list below was taken from an actual forum post, the comments are the replies to that post. I've left them anonymous with respect to the privacy of the posters. My thanks to all the wonderful gardeners who shared their thoughts. There's nothing quite so nice as unsolicited comment! Trudi 1- I am a conservationist and environmentalist, and Winter Sowing fits right into my philosophy base, scrounging about for the containers, organic methods, etc. 2- We didn't have to baby them though the Winter like indoor grown. 3- I get inspired to do and try things I never would have before. 4- Unlike direct sowing, I don't have to guess which is the seedling and which is the weed. 5. Growing through tough, natural conditions, Winter Sown seedlings will become tougher plants! No need for hardening off. 6. It allows me to get my hands in the dirt and do some gardening in the month of January! 7. It's a way for me to fill my garden with plants I could never afford to purchase. 8. It gives you enough to share with your neighbors, garden club, friends at work (even strangers) and still have more than enough for yourself (while at the same time making Winter Sow converts as you explain just HOW you are able to be so generous)!! 9. It means I was still able to start seeds, despite the fact that the basement has been unusable for the last 6 months, while work is being done in there. 10. Winter sowing has allowed me to "grow my own" this year, especially some herbs that I was planning to buy from a nursery. When I found this forum I sent my order to Artistic Gardens for seed instead of plants, and saved a LOT of money. LOVE it. 11. I enjoy explaining it to my non-believing gardening friends that indeed it really does work, and being patient pays off. I have thousands of plants to share, but not sure I will do it with these friends until they too BELIEVE. 12. Having a much better understanding about the "tough love" that mother nature hands out, and believing in the natural order of things. 13. A lot less fungus gnats in the house, and a lot less damping off disease with the baby sprouts. 14. Bye, bye white fly! 15. It got me through the February blues! 16. Next year I'll be better organized and grow more and more and more!!! 17. Part of the greatest, must supportive, team oriented family on GardenWeb. 18. No watering chores. Here in the Pacific NW, Mother Nature takes care of it for me! 19. Lots of successes and new things to try or an opportunity to try something that you have failed at before and succeed. 20. I started Winter Sowing believing that the cold weather was the seeds and seedlings adversary, now I understand it's the heat....See Morerockwhisperer OK zone 6A
5 years agorockwhisperer OK zone 6A
5 years ago
Bruce (Vancouver Island)
5 years ago
treenoflane
5 years agozen_man
4 years agolast modified: 4 years agoHello Ilene,
Well, it's not Winter now, but I hope you will do some more Winter Garden Experiments this coming winter. As a zinnia hobbyist and amateur zinnia breeder, I enjoy an indoor Zinnia garden each Winter. Despite obvious space limitations in our basement utility room, I manage to grow enough indoor zinnias to make it interesting. I have used Chrome-Wire Steel Shelving and T8 fluorescent lighting to construct my plant stands.
That brass tube is a capped Propane line. I think that one time there was a propane stove down here. We have a big propane tank that we use for heating the house and the hot water tank. We are in a rural area.
That is a partially used sand pile in the background. Our Kansas native soil here is dark sedimentary, and sand improves its texture to something approximating sandy loam. My indoor zinnia experiences tend to "teach me" more about indoor zinnia gardening. I have a liking for new zinnia flower forms, and I have had some success at achieving them.
I am gardening in East Central Kansas now, but as a kid I "grew up" on a farm in Oklahoma. Your Oklahoma winds, the South ones, become Kansas winds when they cross the state line. And your Winter blizzards come from here. Turn about is fair play. I think that "rock whisperer" thing is a good idea. People don't spend enough time talking to rocks.
ZM
Bruce (Vancouver Island)