I will use only milk jugs.Starting to save right now.
cAROL

I won't be wintersowing alyssum again. I had great germination early in March and then a few cold nights killed off the seedlings. I had much better luck direct sowing them in late April. They were easy to sow on the surface, easy to keep watered with all this cloudy weather and in 3 days some of them were already germinating.

Not sow so many. Elevate. I'm not sure I like milk jugs, maybe a couple for tough stuff, but not expensive seeds. I like sowing in 2-liter bottles, slashing the top and squeezing it in, works great, easy to label and no tape. Somebody on this forum tipped me off about that. Drainage is easy because I burn the holes.

And early spring sow again because it has worked well for me.

two seeds per container,lol,I dont care if they are the size of a stick-pin head,and paint pen,paint pen,paint pen.....

1. Jugs only with Aluminum pans to transplant.
2. No Daylilies, Hostas, Bells of Ireland, and Marigolds
3. Sow the seed on top/not deeply.
4. Bottom watering only
5. No so many jugs. I'm overwhelmed.
6. Sow Tomatoes, pepper in May
7. Hopefully, move to a non-drought prone area.(wishful thinking)

Starting December 21, 2011, I will sow less and sew more! This WS season was so successful that I will not need as many. I love the 16 oz. plastic cups and will use them for everything next year - easy to puncture, fit nicely in an underbed storage container, the contents can be planted in one "plunk" and they are reusable! I also will plant in alpha order. My spread sheet(s) were sorted several different ways this year but by alpha and date seems more managable when outside in the spring on hands and knees making notes as to what germinated and where it is to be planted.

FULL DISCLOSURE - still wearing a sweater in the evening outdoors so I am still sowing!

Above all I plan to have as much if not more fun next year!

Dorothy (Meadows)

"two seeds per container,lol,I dont care if they are the size of a stick-pin head,and paint pen,paint pen,paint pen.."

Yes, I got some way I could count out smaller ones but too small, no. No patience for that.

The context is that some of the seeds were costly, large enough to sow individually, went around once with one, then if any left over two or three.

I bought one packet of about 10 Delphinium seeds for $8; they looked gorgeous. I did watch them as long as I could, think one did germinate but died on me.

The best germinating Delphinium seeds which weren't very expensive were from that place in Santa Rosa, CA, swallowtail something. Just about every cell or cup germinated.

I am disappointed I got no (recognizable) prairie smoke, but Prairie Moon is where I got those JIP and Virginia bluebell seeds. Two packets of 10 each JIP, 20, with what? seven out there in my photo, not bad for me. I had one germinate but it died before winter unless it was a stray.

And my 10-cent Walmart seeds of Sweet William outdid themselves, germinated very fast. Tomorrow I'll try to post about those, not sure that's what I have out there but about 11 count.

Several different poppies didn't germinate, was surprised because I had good luck prior years, easy. I knew a lot what I had before the tree limb came down.

I think I have some Celadine poppies from Prairie Moon, lots out there but have to wait to make sure. So I had pretty good luck that company overall. And I'll never look down my nose at cheap seeds again! And grateful for trades, thought that might be a hassle.

I did let two people down when I ran out of steam and stressed out, but I did dig out some old ditch lilies for a person who badly wanted some in Utah, spent a fortune on postage, figured I didn't mind if it made her happy. Would you believe she reimbursed me for the postage and was thrilled to get them? Bless her, I emailed a thank you to her.

A HUGE disappointment was I got no Ultima Morpho pansies like Tiffy, got some seeds from two different vendors. What did come up didn't get smashed and bloomed in the milk jug. Looked like regular old johnny jump ups, maybe I planted one pkt of those.

If I could get at my old email I'd know who sent me seeds, the raspberries, currants (don't think I got any), can't remember if any others.

I won't be pregnant! I'm sure that will make a world of difference! Currently struggling to get all my little WS sprouts out. :o/

I won't get the green paint pen, although it worked okay, it was kind of hard to read. I'll just stick with black. I'll make more mini blind labels ahead of time. I will not plant a thousand tomato seeds. I have well over a hundred in the garden now, and will end up with probably about 150 because I don't want to waste them and have the garden space - I have thrown out some of the smaller sprouts. Same goes for peppers, already have about 50 peppers, have quite a few more. Will do more brocolli and cauliflower next year. I will only use gallon milk jugs for certain types of plants. I really like the ease and convenience of using cups in clear storage totes. I want to do a lot more perennials next year. I will collect a zillion free seeds from my grandma and uncle's vast gardens. I would also like to try WSing more shrubs and trees next year. I also will keep my jugs/totes right next to my garage so I can check and care for them more easily. I will use promix again next year because it worked so well this year. I will try to be more organized in planning the layout of my gardens.

bookjunky - that is toooooo funny on the tomato plants, I STILL have over 300 individually in large styrofoam cups and over 100 still 3/4 in a cup to transplant.. and I'm with you, got to get them in the ground, can't let them die... no way - using neighbors yards now. haha!!!

I plan on watching for paint markers on sale and stocking up on a few dark colors

I plan on asking friends now about old blinds, and making more labels

I plan on journaling/logging ALL events. From sowing, sprouting, transplanting, wet/dry, etc...

I plan on preparing lots of seed tape, so seed spacing is appropriate / plant

I plan on blogging or clogging. haha - whichever....

I plan on enabling others...

oh, and More perennials and native plants

I plan on sowing less per container. I will be pickier about what I sow now that I have my perennial bed full. I plan on actually taking pictures not just thinking about it. I too am overwhelmed! After planting hos I am now potting up the remainder individually and they are growing much faster than the hos. My deck has a thousand pots on it and what I saved in plants I am spending on potting soil! (not really I hope). This was my first year ws and it has been one of the most satisfying gardening experiences of my life. I love it and will definately do it again. And if what the experienced gardeners are saying is true- I will probably plant way too much next year! Linda in Raleigh

I will wintersow again. This has been a long hard winter what with doctor's orders for NO gardening of any kind from November to the end of April. I am already planning my seed orders for next winter. This year I'm having to buy those pricey little annual starts, and doing a lot of crying and moaning about it, too.

I will continue sowing in large Styrofoam cups (placed in sweater boxes) - the seedlings will slide right out of the cup for easy planting.

An optimum nr of (echinacea-size) seeds per cup for me is 5. Easy to separate later with a small spoon.

TP-rolls folded twice, so that they are square-shaped, worked well for tomatoes, nasturtiums and sweet peas. Before planting I peel off the cardboard and compost it.

I give up trying to ws eryngium, allium hollandicum and boston ivy - absolutely no luck with these.

Oooh! Thank you for the idea of making seed tape! I think I'll do that next year for plants like beets, carrots and lettuce. :o)

Carolyn, you and I are thinking alike. I was thinking about posting same or similar message the other day.

I will keep doing the method I've developed that suits me over the years - simple. BUT I will not sow foxglove. Too too many.
I did finally throw some out. gasp.
now that I have my lovely seed-sower, perhaps I can sow foxglove - but very very carefully.
Otherwise everything worked out well.
Gave a lot a way. Had a lot for myself.

I'll sow more containers and fill the entire container with just one type of flower seed. I split pots this year and my marking system didn't make sense to me months later when the plants sprouted. I'm still not sure I got them all sorted out, but if they bloom next year, who cares what they are called?

Like Linda Jo..I am going to be real picky about what seeds I plant in 2012..will not start seeds until mid Jan. or early Feb. If all my seedlings survive this summer/winter, my beds will be full so will only need to fill in the gaps. I will need to do some transplanting this Fall or early Spring to get the plants more organized as to height and color combinations. Will need to divide some of the plants I had in the flowerbeds already. Some I purchased in previous years. I'd like to dig up my bulbs and transplant them into groups of all one color. I will not and please remind me not to plant over my goal. I planted 83 jugs this year and it became overwhelming, where I was going to put them all so they got planted anywhere I could find a bare spot! I need to add in more blue/purples.

I think I'm going to have to quit WSing. :( I filled up my whole front yard and there isn't room for anything else.

I'll just have to spend my time enjoying the bazillions of plants I already have. :)

Lynda

Lynda, please let us know how that plan (no ws) works out!

Linda in Raleigh

Next year I will have beds ready for the green wave.

I will do all one type of container, less seeds in the container.

I will move my bulbs to one big area and plant HOS in a huge designated area.

Next year I will have my indoor projects done before the sprouts arrive.

Last, which should be first, have an easier more efficient recordkeeping system. Needs to be ready for the tidal wave of sproutage.

idsluder-how do you fix seed tape?

I should:

Stop buying and trading seeds.
Stop trying to do fussy germinators, and stick with easy things.
Invest money in making new garden beds and amending soil, rather than trying desperately to find homes for seedlings, even if it means the middle of the lawn.

I probably won't do any of it.

I will use a china marker/grease pencil to label all my containers. Even those containers that I labeled on top did not fade. Anything labeled with a sharpie, even on duct tape out of the sun or underneath, either faded or fell of from all the water.

I will not bother to WS allysum or most annuals, but instead will direct sow in April. The cosmos I direct sowed are already over 2 feet tall. The ones I WS are only about 3 inches.

I will label the plants when I plant them out! Which means I will use labels in my containers that can easily be transferred to the ground, in addition to writing on the tops of the containers.

I will also label where I sprinkled seeds for direct sowing.

I will take more pictures at regular intervals, and note how large the plants will be at maturity. Last year's plants are so big already!

And I already told my husband he will be losing about a portion of the lawn to more flowers, because I'm running out of room to plant.

"I will take more pictures at regular intervals, and note how large the plants will be at maturity. Last year's plants are so big already! "

Last Fall I started what I call "The Monday Morning Photo Project". Every Monday morning, I go out with my camera and photograph my whole yard and gardens. I take full views of the different gardens, but close up of what is budding, what is in full bloom, and what is dieing off. Fall was an odd time to start, but it did get me in the habit and I did photograph every Monday, even throughout the whole winter.

I like the commitment I made to weekly photos. In the past I would just go out when things looked pretty, I didn't always get an accurate date of when flowers were in full bloom, and I never got the whole sense of how long the blossoms lasted. I could always tell you when my first daffodil bloomed. But I could never tell you when the last one died off.

Having the record for the full year will really help me next Fall when I want to plant more bulbs - I have made a point to photograph areas that were lacking in certain bulbs - so now I'll know where to plant them. And as I continue to photograph over the summer, I should have a great record of where I'm lacking color or blossoms at any time, and thus will help me with planting next spring.

I'll hopefully re-use all my milk jugs from this year so I won't have to slice so many! I nearly gave myself carpal tunnel syndrome wielding the knife so often.

Also, DON'T water just because it's hot out. I watered some because we had a couple of 80 degree days and there was no visible condensation inside. Mistake. I ended up with some pretty soggy seedlings and lost a few. Next year I'll go by whether the container feels light or not.

I'll plant more annuals for containers too. This year I spent my money on perennials, but should've thought more about what's going to replace the pansies in my porch pots.

Finally, I'll label only with fabric paint pens, NOT Sharpie paint pens. Only the fabric paint held up.

All in all, though, it was a fantastic first-time WS effort! I planted 211 milk jugs/salad containers, and only 9 had no sprouts (mostly sweet violets).

To add to mine.

No lasagna pans. I just found they are frying the roots. Some lived, some did not.

I will only water from the bottom. I thought a fine mist spray wouldn't cause any harm, but a great deal of seeds got washed down the sides and didn't sprout.

I'll be more selective about my containers, and not use ones that go wider at the bottom. Trying to get the seedlings out of the bottles was a nightmare!

Only do perennials, or things that self-seed readily. As much fun as winter sowing can be, I don't want to have to do it every year. I want to build a garden that is more self-sufficient and permanent in this way.

It is very interesting to read what worked for people and what not. I especially liked the Photographic Monday idea from Pixie!