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?

My understanding of the water, sun, and roots deal is as follows. Hosta leaves transpire a lot of water. In direct sun this increases exponentially. If they don't replace that water the leaves scorch and eventually wilt. The plant will go into survival mode shedding leaves. To grow hosta in full sun there are a lot of variables. 1. The intensity and duration of the direct sun. 2. The genetics of the Hosta. Hostas related to Plantaginea with white flowers will fare better. Perhaps their root systems are better adapted to absorb more water. 3. The amount of water you give it. 4. The ability of the root system to absorb that water. A young plant with an underdeveloped root system will fry no matter how much water you provide because it can't take it in. As for how much water you need to give in your situation, you are going to have to play it by ear. If you have drip irrigation or soaker hoses that would be helpful. Right now I'm growing a S&S and Fried Bananas in full sun from 11:00 a.m. to sundown at the 41st parallel. I was hand watering the S&S every other day, but it got a little scorching. So I've upped the frequency to daily. Today I gave that S&S about 8 gallons slowly delivered. Once it gets to the 90s, (today and tomorrow), I will probably water those two Hosta twice a day. If the root systems can absorb that much, they may be fine. Here's the S&S today. There is a little bit of scorching on the top leaf. Here's a closer look. Basically, you've got to establish your watering schedule and adjust it as you observe your plants. I hope this helps. Steve

Barb, Mother lives in a 'blended' community, where 3/4 of the residents are independant. She only has had assisted living for the past month because she pulled something in her back when she tried to move furniture (!). She was in pain, and needed help around her apartment and getting to the dining room. And I want the staff to check on her more often so she doesn't do stupid things like that again. She's perfectly capable of taking her own meds, which is only Miacalcin, Actonel (weekly) and plendil, plus the aspirin, which her doctor has recommended, and tylenol for pain. That's it. Shes healthy. I plan to talk to her doctor next Monday about either getting mother to see a mental health specialist or putting her on medications. I am leery of having her take an anti-depressant because she's very sensitive to medications, and I also don't want to cause a balance problem. But I'll talk to the doctor. Yes, she is depressed. But medications for that are not for everyone. Thanks for the ideas, gang. I'll go over this afternoon and see about the pills. And tomorrow I can talk to the assisted living director. I need to really reduce the services that Mother is getting, because she doesn't need them, but I want to keep it because she needs more contact with the staff. Problem is that she is a very private person, and she is upset with the staff being around so much. But there has to be an acceptable level of service, I think. I hope that this week, with the new walker (whenever it comes), we can lose the wheelchair transport to the diring room. Maybe that will help.

LOL! okay, I laugh not at you, but only because I feel you pain. I probably spent months on picking paint colors. I still got a couple wrong. not horrible wrong, but just too light or just not exactly perfect. I think it's a very important decision, not the end of the world, because in "theory" you can always paint over (but who are we kidding, really...we need to get it right the first time!). Unfortunately I think you must embrace the lighting you are given. even though I loved a few colors, the lighting simply was not right. I don't know if the reflective film could be causing it, but even if it is, does that mean you would take it off? if not, then see if you can find the perfect white that won't look beige to you. remember that the most subtle changes will effect color (different floor, lightbulbs!!!, etc.) I love paint color! so much fun since I don't have to make the decision for myself anymore :) so here's some ideas, depending on how light/dark you want to go: berber white white swan revere pewter (I have this is all main areas - but it's a bit chameleon in that it waffles between gray and beige, so might not work for your lighting, but seems to have that touch more gray to it than the elmira) pepple rock hazy skies grey mist (I have it in my son's bathroom)