I got one of these for everybody (cept Token, that is)

hee!!!

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Guess maybe I had better check for sprouts this week. The ground was so saturated from the melting snow and it rained all day today making it worst. I moved the crates around one day earlier this week and ended up dragging mug in on the beige carpet. Yikes! Going to have to buy myself some garden clogs.

shemeows, stock was my first bloomer last year. Didn't sow any this year.

No zone envy here. I'm zone 5, but I'm pretty sure I'll have sprouts in about 5 more weeks. That's the beauty of being a mile closer to the sun : )

Doris, I saw those snow ball throwers...I almost posted them.

We could all just wish for snow to hit NC.

Karen

Yep, about mid Jan I start to hate you Token!!Hehehe!
-B

He he he - had to check the weather for my area...we're about 10-15 degrees lower for the entire week than you Token. But I'm actually happy to see 30's...much better than the teens! ;)

Tom, you're getting a lot of razing today..good thing you have broad shoulders. I hope it is all in fun!

Doris, I saw those snow ball throwers...I almost posted them.
Heck, I was wondering what it was and thought it was some sort of a zany seed sower for direct sowing.

Tom, I read where you are CDO...well when things sprout, do you then pull the sprouted containers out of the (perfect) line-up and start a new (perfect) line-up of alphabetically sorted containers? Just wondrin.

Sue

I've never seen a snowball throwing thingamajig. We don't get that much snow. We make brown snowmen with muddy snow. Our snowballs have rocks in them.

Yes Sue. I do pull aside those that have sprouted and arrange them separately from those that haven't. Isn't that what everyone does?

Talk about zone envy!! We have several feet of snow outside and it will be there for at least three more months. I am still trading seeds, haven't put in my catalogue order yet, and haven't even thought about sowing yet, and you have sprouts!!! Arrgghh!!!

A snowball thrower? Geez, my baby is 29 now so I'm pretty out of touch with toys. Can't kids even have snowball fights anymore without buying equipement?

Don't worry, pippi, Token is good at dishing out the crap to he's prepared for backlash. He's had a year of practice now. He knows we love him.

Karen

Shoot I'm in zone 4 so there won't be any sprouts here for a while either, so lots of zone envy. The snow is still several feet deep in the yard but might melt a bit this week when we break freezing.

I've been told I throw a mean snowball, maybe I'll practice today and see if I can toss one down to Tom, or maybe we can pass it down to each other until someone closer can take better aim!!

Sandy

I am soooo glad I have found this forum, I was just laughing out loud and my daughter asked if everything was okay and I said I'm laughing at the winter sowing website and she thought I was nuts.(Gardening isn't that funny!)

Thank you for being so educational and entertaining. Since I have learned so much from token, I won't hit him with a snowball.

I am feeling sorry for Token. It is no wonder he has to gulp down gallons of coffee and sow like a mad man. 200 or 300 containers per day. He does not have enough winter! While we all sit up here (north) and leisurely sow for 3 or 4 months. How sad. Maybe you should come up here with us Token! LOL
Glenna

Tom, Simply AMAZING. You report that you have a WEED sprout and you get nearly 40 responses to your post. Please let us know when the next exciting event happens in NC. Just Kiddin.

Luke

Luke, sprouts are a thing that causes envy wherever they happen. Even if it's a weed.

Glenna...no thanks. We only have about 3 weeks of really cold weather in the typical year where the lows are in the teens and the highs are in the 30s. So I have to get all my stuff done quickly. It's only 60 more days til spring after all.

At the store, fruit and spring flowering trees arrive this week. Bulbs will be in and so will fruit (blueberries, blackberries, etc) by Friday.

Um, just checked in the hoophouse again. I have honest to goodness sprouts today. Several, not just one container either. Doing the happy dance!

Rudbeckia hirta

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Dianthus - unknown pinks.

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Pak Choy

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And in the driveway, Siberian wall flower seeds are just starting to send out roots. I should see some green in a day or two.

Awwww, Token's a proud papa. Congratulations on your new babies!!!

wow, those are sprouts... Maybe this summer we will actually get warm. Last summer it really was not warm here.

If your sprouts are happening then maybe spring will be on time?

Karen

Seriously, congratulations Token, that's really cool. But you are cheating with that hoophouse.

So last night at dinner I said to my husband "some guy on my forum has a sprout today. Of course, it IS in a hoophouse". He said sincerely "In his poophouse???". I guess he thought you were growing plants in an outhouse.

Karen

Big belly laugh on that one Karen!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Thanks!

Not a seed sown yet in Mattituck, Long Island, so I can't believe we are talking sprouts here already. We just got the christmas stuff put away yesterday! Token, you obviously have no need for sleep and way too much time!!!

Ok, yes, your babies are adorable. Yes they are.

I did update my seed lists! Who wants to trade? Now to get some in containers...... next weekend I think.

Nancy

oh pfffbbbt...and just this last week dh and I were commenting on how nice it was to be having a "warm spell" in the mid-30s!

congrats! and I second Karen on the hopes that we will have an actual summer this year!

Well, El Capitoken, you're beating everybody. What an exciting day and I'm so very happy for your bundles of joy. Congratulations! Just remember, the key to successful parenting is consistent follow through. CONGRATS ON YOUR BABIES!!!

I will admit, however, as a former zone 8 and 7 resident, that sprouts today mean blazing hot humidity later, the kind that melts, and too many summer days where your choices are rising at 4 a.m. or losing 5 lbs in sweat because the garden needs work. I'm loving my zone 5/4, and I told all my relatives I gardened in long sleeves last August (admittedly, a cooler than normal August). Yea!

So, I will LOVE seeing all of Token's wonderful pix, I'm excited along with you, and I'll voraciously seek out all your posts so I'll know what to expect when I finally get sprouts, but I am happy to enjoy my restful winter and watch Token's fatherhood progress while I sip my hot cup of cocoa.

Hear's to zone love for everyone!

Deanna

Yes Sue. I do pull aside those that have sprouted and arrange them separately from those that haven't. Isn't that what everyone does?
Being a newbie, I don't really know. What I really wanted to know though was "Do you also alphabetize the sprouted containers?" Do you then adjust the rows in the unsprouted ones, so there aren't any 'blank spaces?"
Do others do it like that too?

He said sincerely "In his poophouse???".
That sounds like something bf would say in all sincerity, as he is a tad hard of hearing. I learned long ago though that he doesn't have much interest in anything much that I say about plants, or gardening, unless it is about my veggie garden or some little annuals I will provide for one little bed at 'his' house.

Sue

Um ... no, Sue, most of us don't alphabetize containers, whether they are sprouted, or unsprouted, LOL. I will admit to grouping sprouted containers together, to make it easier to spot a newly sprouted container. Also, they will tend to need more frequent watering than the unsprouted containers, so it speeds things up a little, if they are all grouped together.

Okay, I do put my tomato plants together too, LOL, but that's only because they are in a crate. That way if we get a severe cold snap after they've sprouted, I can easily move them to the unheated garage overnight.

But I am NOT OCD ... really!

Bonnie

Sue, I don't alphabetize on purpose. What I do is when I create the labels and choose the seeds, they come out of the file box in groups from A, B, C, etc. Within those groups, they aren't in any specific order. Once the sprouts come on heavy, I do pull them aside like Bonnie said, to keep a better eye on them and to know what I have to get planted or keep watered. If I don't plant immediately, hardy seedlings will get their tops removed and those go into another pile so I can cover them with a plastic sheet in case of severe cold/snow/ice. But the ordering is in whatever randomness I happen to grab first.

I'm really not that OCD. I just happen to like 2-liters and they stack nicely in groups. The rest is pretty much happenstance.

I am glad to see there is another poor soul in Zone 4.

I'm hoping some of my WS things will sprout this week, too - at least the stuff in the coldframes. Don't worry, i've got the lids cracked open!

EG

I knew it would only be a matter of time before he started in with the pictures!!LOL!!
-B (going to put a load of long johns in the dryer)

Hey, don't make fun of Alphabet placement! After two years of saying "I thought I had 4 containers of poppies, where did those other two go to? Last year I DID set up a loose alpha system for my containers!

I put my WS containers on shelving outside. Its a long narrow space and I can fit about six , 5 shelf units. Last year I had one A-C (cause there are a lot of "A"s), one D-G, one H-L, one M-P, one Q-U, one V-Z. I try not to move them around too much, which means not combining into sprouted/unsprouted, which means keeping a careful eye on things. I did find that it made planting out WAY easier. I could be in the bed and think, here's a good spot for a zinnia and go back and grab one easy peasy instead of hunting through everything.

Nancy

Cheezeeeeeeee,my trade list isn't even alphabetized,
**************SMACK!)))))))))))))))))))))))
Igotcha Token,can't any of you pack a nice snow ball, come on, join in the fun.
cAROL

I too will group my sprouted containers together away from my unsprouted ones. That is mostly so I can check every day to see if there are new containers that have sprouted. I am excited for you token! May the green wave head my way please? Maybe it will push the snow away with it!

Token,

I am looking forward to you telling us how much you hate the blazing summer heat. I am bookmarking this post. I'll remind you of how "gloaty" you were this time of year. 8-D

(BTW, I am so ready for summer!)

30 Days until pitchers and catchers report!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Wahh...I'm in zone 7 too and have a grand total of zero sprouts. Jealous!! :)

I love the summer heat. Last year, I used my A/C a total of two weeks. At night, the smell of brugmansia and datura wafting through the open windows was intoxicating.

I have sprouts too!! (Don't hate me, this is the first year I am attempting this on my own!) I saw my first ones on January 7th when we had a big northern come through. I had to chase some lids all over the yard, and move my containers to a safer location. The temps got down to 10 (unheard of in this area), and stayed below freezing for 3-4 days, and the little seedlings are still trucking along. Yay!

Yep. They'll do that. Congratulations! Feels good, don't it?

I couldn't concentrate much after I read "poophouse". ROTFL***

Congrats txcass! The first year is always the most exciting just because inside you are thinking "YES, this actually works!!!!"

Congrats token - you beat me this year... but with this warm spell, I am checking containers everyday....

Wow - hope this weather continues!

Carrie

Hey, us zone 4 Iowa folk had a warm spell this week - it got up to 25 degrees with clouds and freezing fog during the day and stayed above 10 degrees with clouds and fog at nite!!!! Yippee

Somehow I think everyone in zones 5 and above need to close their eyes and get a visual of a skinny path cut out of 4 foot of "flat" snow (sprinkled with a few 5 foot drifts just for fun--who said Iowa was flat!); carefully carrying milk jugs out the back door and around the house and garage to place them snuggly on snow trampled down to a measily 1 foot height; quickly following the skinny path back to the house so the wind doesn't blow the path shut.....

HUM, remind me again about warm spells and seeing green!!!!! LOL

Today, I have sprouts in my 2-liters at the end of the driveway, so no claims of cheating, okay? It was 64 today.

Siberian Wallflower
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Golden Marguerite

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Blackberries. Wasn't sure this one would work. Of course it will. They're all over the backyard.

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Congrats, token. No jokes or jabs.

Karen

Cool, Token!

I haven't sown my Siberian wallflower yet, it's in the next batch I'm planning to do though. Tried it last year and had great germination, but all of the sprouts died when I planted them out. I wonder if they are similar to poppies, and tricky to transplant? Anyway, I'm giving them another try, and think I'll plant them out earlier this time. The English wallflower I did last year survived being transplanted, so I should get to see them bloom this spring, if they make it through the winter.

I WS Golden Marguerite a couple weeks ago, and can't wait to see what that one looks like in bloom. Hoping it's a softer yellow than the Coreopsis grandiflora.

Bonnie

Bonnie, GM is a very nice pale yellow. It's similar in form to coreopsis, but doesn't POP quite as much. It's color reminds me of Coreopsis moonbeam.

Congratulation Token on those sprouts! How early do you get started wintersowing? I just wintersowed 4 more jugs today - black false hellebores (2) and bergenia (2). I'm going to jump up and down when I see sprouts.

These were started on New Year's Day. I swear I'm getting sprouts earlier outside than inside under lights and with heat. I'm going to seriously consider giving up my light rack next year, including cuttings. It's just too much hassle and work to keep things going all winter long.

Thanks, Token, that's good to know. I'm hoping the grasshoppers like the Golden Marguerite less than the Coreopsis. They ate it down to nubs last year : (

Awww....they're so cute.
I want sprouts.