I dabble in website work too...hove you vistied WinterSown.Org?

Here is a link that might be useful: My site...

I have indeed trudy! That's partly what got me started on this...what if We had something like that, but with more specifics on the plants themselves as well.

That and thinking to myself this morning that I need to put something together for my own reference that will remind me what plants to plant together, and when and how I want to try to plant the various seeds I have. There are sites out there that explain what benefits there are to some plants. There are sites that give the hardiness ratings, and basic horticultural info, and some that give loads of scientific info on the plants, but, other than traditional ways to grow the plants, they don't really give specifics on winter sowing, etc...

Maybe I'm being silly thinking about all this.

I think it would be helpful. Trudi's site is extremely helpful, but it would be nice if there was a list compiled (similar to the database, but different) that listed the seed type, zone done, date sown, and success rate. That way when we are trying to figure out what we can sow in January for zone 5 we can check our list against whatever list is compiled.

What plants go together? I hope it won't be creating a defined set of aesthtics because what works for someone doesn't work for another.

For me, a living plant next to another living plant works well.

put your heart and soul into it and it will be wonderful.

Plants that go together or don't as far as companion planting works. I suspect WSing and companion planting work well hand in hand.

Some herbs, for instance are beneficial to some vegetables, while they stunt other veggies...and vice versa.

Having someplace that ties these alternative (but not really alternative, as they are getting closer to the natural cycle of the plants) gardening techniques would be cool I think.

Trudi, does your site have database access?

actually, yes your site does support that.
MySQL and PHP

that would be cool! cuz i'm a dunce when it comes to putting flower.plants together, although i do have a list of veges and flowers that help each other out. but thats as far as i got! LOL not how to grow it or anything else. whether it needs to be cold stratisfied or anything else. LOL

This is a good idea. The seeds name, hardiness zone (perennial for zone X, but annual for zone X,Y,Z, half-hardy etc.), date to be sown in zone X,Y,Z, according with rate of success, how many days to germinate, viability of seeds, etc.
I check too many different sites, old posts, seed catalogues with good informations, but nothing related with winter-sowing for each individual plant. I know, in a few years I will have some experience with winter-sowing, but as a newbie it's seems to be a lot of searching, trying to plant the seeds at the right time. There are so many people here that can help with this kind of informations, they are winter-sowing for years, many have their little database with what they sowed, like I will have one soon for this year.

Mariana, that's what I was thinking. Ultimately, I'm lazy. I'd love to be able to setup the forms, let other people enter their plants after searching the database of plants, then enter their personal experiences wintersowing. All I or someone else would need to do is periodically review their submissions and approve them, or remove them.

Still, setting it up would be quite a lot of work, depending on how complicated it got.

Not to be a wet blanket or anything, but it sounds like too much thinking to me. I garden like I'm playing splat ball.
If it's drooping, water it, if it doesn't like the sun (despite what the packet says) I move it to part shade.

I've seen quite a few lists on Companion Planting on the web. I printed out one very extensive one a couple years ago (but can't find it to give the link...we're remodeling and things are kinda out of sorts here). But there's a few I found just from doing a Google Search (one from one of my fav seed sources, Seeds of Change).

L

Here is a link that might be useful: Companion Planting List

It seems to me that you guys are making this too complicated. The beauty of winter sowing is in its simplicity. The time to sow is now - the winter. Some of us wait and do tender annuals in late winter, but that's really all there is to it. The seeds germinate when they are ready and it comes in waves depending on the plant. Also remember, zone information isn't a rule plants live by - it's just a general guide for us. A lot depends on your conditions.

Now perhaps I can say that because I have been winter sowing a number of years and know what is going to happen when given what conditions. My personal database is simple and is really used more to let folks know that their seeds that I planted germinated so I can thank them. So...

Alison and I and others in the Columbus area have compared notes and it's amazing what works for some and not for others.

On the WinterSown website, all the FAQs have links to extenions, govt resources, etc for your further exploration.

I never set this up so I would have to do all the thinking for you--I have no interest in that whatsoever and will always be strongly against the concept of me being the know-all, do-all for any of you. WS is meant to be an inspiration to self-gathered knowledge. It's an educational method, not a "you do this and then do that" method.

When I first started WS last year, I was confused at first, as to what to sow when. Once I understood the reason for waiting until March or April to start sowing most annuals in my zone, it made things much simpler.

I have noticed a lot of posts where newbies will have a list of things that they are not sure when to WS (tender annuals vs. hardy ones), so I know I'm not the only one that has had this confusion. The Wintersown.org database is very useful for understanding what can be wintersown in each zone, but a lot of the plants just have a yes or no, with no dates, so I can see why Zengeos came up with this idea.

Of course, plants don't know about hardiness zones, LOL! I have had things that were supposed to be hardy to my zone, not come back in the spring, and had things survive that weren't supposed to, so if it is something you really want to grow, it's worth it to experiment. Especially when you are WS, since frowing from seed is way cheaper than buying the plants from a nursery.

Bonnie

Seeds I winter sow late are:

Marigolds
Cosmos
Zinnias
Morning glories.

That doesn't mean I can't winter sow them right now and have success, it just means that I prefer to sow them in March because of the warm spells and subsequent freezes. I don't want to have to cover them or mess with them, so I just do it later.

Last year, I got a big lesson in never give up.
Things I sowed the previous three years that I had no germination on proceeded to germinate like crazy for me last year. I don't know why-- always had purchased seed, and the seeds from the first year were probably fresher than the seed from last year, for all I know.

Then things that were always dependable were either slow to germ or a no-go (Petunias, most notably). Never had a year where WSed Petunias weren't germinating and growing out my pitutees, until last year. Can't explain it.

What I usually do if I have a question as to whether it's the "right" time to WS them, is hold some seed back to sow later. That way, if I get nothing from the first container I put out, I have a good chance of getting some from the second.

But don't take first year failure of something as "it won't work". Ask others for advice, yes, but try try again...you'd be surprised what can happen :-)

Linda

"frowing from seed" ??? I really should proof read better, LOL.

Yes, Bakemon, that is exactly the reason I was referring to : )

Bonnie