Congratulations Karen!!! Cincinnati isn't exactly walking distance but I'm happy for you!! Have you named your lonely calendula sprout yet?
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Congratulations! Karen.

So true,
I got my first sprouts last week, gilia bird's eyes, and over the weekend some annual poppies, maltese cross and malva sprouted as well. Happy spring! Time to get sowing some more . . .

weebay

It's getting CLOSER to ME!! (NE OHIO are) YIPEE!!

Congrats to ya!!

I have sprouts in 18 containers!! I am so excited but now I am thinking of the times I had germination indoors under lights and things didn't turn out so well- over-water, under-water, not enough light or damping off. Reassure me that WS will not turn out this way. This is my first year. Everyone is so encouraging here.

Well linda I just went outside and had another container knocked over. I opened it up and those seedlings are some heavy duty little boogers. I replanted my hollyhocks that got knocked over and then I just replanted my lupine. The seedlings are so much different. They are even more different than just regular spring sowing. They are tough!!

If your container is lite water it, if your container is heavy then lay off the watering!!

No damp off, no hardening off with winter sowing!! It is going to be A-O-K!!

Congrats Karen on the sprouts!!

linda_jo -

"Reassure me that WS will not turn out this way."

Rest assured, WS will NOT turn out the same way. First of all, your sprouts are tough as nails as opposed to those indoor sprouts that were coddled by warm, dry conditions & artificial light. If you followed the instructions for sowing seeds in containers, they should be fine. If they look dry and are very lightweight, set them in a kiddie pool or storage bin and let them soak up some water through the drainage holes in the container bottoms. They won't soak up more than the pottting mix can hold. As for not enough light, they'll get all the daylight Mother Nature has to offer this time of year and that's plenty. There are more minutes of natural daylight every day unlike inside where they get only artificial light for a certain number of hours per day. The only thing you need to be careful of is making sure they don't fry in the hot midday sun where you are. I kept my containers on my shaded breezeway so there was no risk they'd cook in the hot sun. If you haven't seen my WS sprout pictures, let me know and I'll be glad to share them with you.

Linda Jo
I agre with all said, and to add:
the advice I got re watering that was helpful is- do it by weight.
Know what a container which has just been heavily watered feels like when you pick it up.
You will quickly identify when a container is very dry- it will be very light.
I guess this might not be so useful, for those who sow hundreds of containers, I only do about 30--
ok, so maybe 40--- lol
for me it is easy cuz I'm always picking them up to look for sprouts.

You (and your sprouts) will be fine.

Thank you all for the encouragement! I am calm now and will not let on to my little sprouts I was worried at all.

I will figure how to post pics and show off a little!

Linda Jo

Linda, isn't WS in jugs a lot easier than indoors? So happy..now what are the ones that are sprouting? I meant to check today but it's been raining so I haven't been able to get to mine..I did pull the ones on the breezeway out a bit so they'd get some rain. Those are some of the first I sowed and they're just sitting on top of the potting mix. I was thinking of bringing them inside the garage and using my finger or my wooden tart tamper to make sure they have contact with potting mix..maybe the rain will have done that for me.

ellenrr - even though I WS a few hundred containers, I still pick them up to look for sprouts. I group them all by seed type [oh, yeah--I honestly do, but not alphabetically] and early on only pick up one of each type to check for sprouts. Once that seed type has sprouts in one jug, they ALL get picked up and checked. When the weather is lousy or I can't go walkabout the garden in the afternoons, I keep my mind off my worries by checking WS containers for sprouts.

linda_jo - it's true what everyone says about WS sprouts being tougher than nails. They have the most amazing roots and they're stronger than anything I've ever seen before. We had an extended drought last year where I live--not a single drop of rain fell from June 1 'til mid-October, not so much as a thunderstorm. All my WS sprouts grew, thrived and some bloomed as though they were growing in ideal conditions. This wandflower (gaura) bloomed non-stop from July to November growing in lousy soil under a broiling hot sun:

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After I planted it, it got watered this many ( ) times. I sure hope it comes through the winter but it's dodgy where I am on the line between 5b & 6a.