Hi Donald, welcome to the Winter Sowing Forum. *It's recommended to basically make flats of somekind out of materials at hand, put soil in them -> sow your seeds --> set flats outside in a "safe" area --> wait till spring to see what comes up.* Yep, that's basically what it is, and the nicest aspect, I think, of the method is that you get to do it your way with what you have and within the size of your own wallet. *Wouldnt it be easier to just direct sow in the soil where you want the future plants to be?* All seeds that can be WinterSown can also be Direct Sown, but they should be sown heavily because Mother Nature takes the vast majority of direct sown seeds to feed her critters and biota. Direct Sowing, also called Direct Seeding, is a traditional method for sowing seeds outdoors. It involves preparing the soil bed, sowing the seeds, and keeping them moist throughout germination. The Winter Sowing Method is better because the seeds are protected in their mini-greenhouses. When you direct sow in the ground the seeds are at the mercy of Mother Nature....they can get washed out in downpours, be eaten by critters and bug and birds, desiccate in the wind, or can rot in the soil. In a WS mini-greenhouse the seeds are in a protected environment. They get the same weather as the seeds in the ground...same temperatures, and the little slits in the lids allow both rain and melting snows to keep the soil moist and the flats watered. But they areprotected so more of the seeds will survive to germinate in Spring. The germination counts are generally astonishingly high. *My reasoning is that, if the seeds had dropped from a parent plant already in the garden, that successful germination is just as likely from "semi-natural" re-seeding as it would be if I used the recommended winter sowing method suggested in the FAQ's.* Plants which reseed in temperate climates are those recommended for Winter Sowing. *I guess to me it just seems like the recommended method over complicates the process and just adds more work, after I've spent the growing season pruning, deadheading, weeding, mulching, topdressing etc.* Just sow the flat and stash it outside on the picnic table or wherever your dog won't grab it or your snowblower won't hit it. *Again those are just my thoughts on the winter sowing process and in now way am I trying to gainsay the method recommended by others.* Don't worry about it, WS is very incredulous when you hear about it--you like to direct seed in your garden. I do both. I have a veggie garden and direct sow many of my leafy greens. Many posters do any or all of WS, DS or GUL. *I just have a terrible time trying to start seed indoors, and so I've amassed, what I consider a ALOT of seed packets, that are waiting to be planted but due to my iffy results starting seeds indoors "6 weeks before the last frost", which here in central OH could be as late as the end of April.* You've come to the right forum. Winter Sowing removes a lot of the frustration that comes with indoor germination, it's a big relief and gives you a gazillion seedlings. Nice plant list, it can all be WSed. Your yard will be a butterfly party. T PS, Did anyone tell you that Winter Sowing can be addicting?

Thank you for responding, Ginny. I found out how to save my heucheras from the lady runs the garden center at our local Ace Hardware store. She said the the deer actually watch her when she plants something new in the garden and just have to taste it. She found that if she sprayed liquid fence at the time of planting, it lasted long enough for the deer to forget that they were new plants and the deer left them alone long after the Liquid Fence wore off. She taught me how to save my new plants and the are starting to fill out quite well. When they are a little bigger, I'll give them the deer test again using Liquid Fence. If it works, I'll go ahead and put them in the ground. Smiles, Lyn

Your Felco pruners are on page 12 of this year's Lee Valley Garden Tools catalog - you might as well order another pair, if only to stop wasting valuable garden time searching for them. Within a week after the new pruners arrive, the original "lost" pair will turn up - and then you'll have a permanent spare for the NEXT time you lose them. Trust me: I've been gardening for too many years and these baffling "events" just seem to be part of the scheme of things. Example: a couple of summers back, I came in for a glass of cold water and laid my Felco pruners on the kitchen counter while doing so. . .but they did NOT return to the garden with me! Later still, when I came in for lunch, I first put away the dishes in the drainer and some odds and ends on the counter - including my pruners. They lay there in that utensil drawer until mid-winter, with me using that drawer dozens of times a week - but I never saw them 'cause I wasn't expecting them there. . . Now your DOG sounds like the answer: if you could just tie a bone to the pruners, he could always find them for you. Carl

Thanks for your replies everyone. That is great that you got to have Casey around for over 2 years, Nancy. Tso has truly been a family pet. When Tso was about 10 months old, he was given to my oldest son by a friend. She gave him to my son because his original owners were being mean to him. I think they just did not know how to deal with a Shar pei. They do tend to have attitudes, but to us that is part of the appeal. Then in 2006, my oldest son moved to Thailand. So my youngest son took his apartment and General Tso. When both boys lived with Tso we would watch him when they would go out of town. In August of 2007, Tso came to stay with us while my son went away for a weekend and basically never left, (my idea) lol. When we first took him to our current vet, I told him this story. He said at least you claim him. Some people still refer to them as their son or daughter's pet. I told him, I claim him, pay for him & am the one who mostly takes care of him but if he could speak he would tell you that he belongs to my daughter & she is the queen in his world, lol. So when the time comes he will be missed greatly by everyone. My son is already telling me I will have to get another puppy so that Smokey (our other dog, 5yrs) will have company. I am not so sure about that, but you never know. He is really doing very well this week. He is drinking just fine but isn't too interested in the dry food. The last time he had an ear infection he did the same thing. My thinking is that it hurts his ears to crunch the dry food. So I am putting some dry food in the bowl with a little bit of water to soften it. Then I add some canned food to that. He really likes it and gobbles it down. I am just keeping an eye on him and will do what I can to make him comfortable if he has a bad day. I will keep everyone posted on any changes. Once again, thank you.