Oh no! We have a bit of snow here, too. Hope you can get out there soon.

This is my first year winter sowing, and gardening, for that matter. Yesterday I was able to start my 5 x 10 lasagna garden (only two layers).

With a baby sitter lined up for January 15, I'm hoping I can get my already cleaned and poked containers done and seeds sown in one day. Speed sowing. Yikes!

One worry I have, after the obvious -- that no seeds will germinate -- is success! Is it OK to continuously prepare beds when you have time, and let seedlings stay put until you have that time?

I spent all day Friday getting a new bed ready. All I managed to do was remove the leaves, till the ground about 12" deep and sit down. I was tired. I hate the rocks we have here holding our clay together. But I did pick up enough to finish outlining my perennial bed by the driveway.

Washed and cleaned 79 two liter containers last night. Got some more seeds cleaned and sorted too. Planning to spend this afternoon chopping up my neighbor's leaves and dumping them on the new bed before hauling in 2 loads of leaf mulch from the landfill this week. It takes so long to get all this done. I did one huge garden plot this past summer. I've never seen so many pill bugs and earthworms in my life. :)

I made a big dent in the leaf clean-up yesterday, and was hoping to finish today, but we got about two inches of snow last night. It won't last long, I think, but obviously I won't be raking leaves today.

I had big plans to extend my cutting garden, but the weather did not cooperate. It got very cold here very fast (literally overnight) about month ago - much earlier than usual. We've had some warm days here and there, but it always seems to rain (which is fine by me - I'd rather have precipitation when it's 50 degrees instead of 30!). I do only lasagna beds now, and I use my half-finished compost as the bottom layer. Unfortunately my compost was frozen in the bins for the longest time (probably still is) so that delayed my plans. I may have to wait till spring, when I will have no time at all to do that kind of thing.

But, I don't usually start WSing till mid to late January anyway, so all this doesn't impact that. I like to get through the holidays first, and I also pretend that I will get some home improvement projects done in the winter.

I've been inventorying my seeds the last few days so I don't buy doubles, and so I *do* buy what I need. I'm rather impressed with my little burst of organization, lol!

:)
Dee

I have very busy doing home improvements since late August! I am looking forward to those winding down, getting thru holidays, and then doing the more relaxing winter activites like bird watching & counts, taking photos, and thinking about gardens. And of course winter-sowing! And looking forward to Spring getting closer and closer.

Will probably start sowing a few seeds that need a long cold stratification period in early January (maybe even December). I've got lots of containers ready to go, bags of potting soil, some seeds collected, and the first seed order has arrived. I'll probably order a few more, maybe do a couple seed trades too and will probably offer seeds for SASBEs again this year. But I feel a lot more prepared and relaxed about WSing this year.

What I like about the concept of winter sowing is that I don't need to plan lol. Whenever I have extra time in the long dreary months of January and February, I intend to winter sow. I'll be doing my bed prep in spring as usual. Maybe one day I'll be organized enough to do it in fall lol.

Well I intended to get my beds ready during the fall, but then I spent way too much time on-line, looking at all the gardening and seed sites, well naturally, that lead to ordering way too many seeds and the thought that my intended bed will be way too small!

I think come spring I better stay off the gardening sites? Uh... yeah right! lol I'll be here trying to keep up with everyone who has sprouts!

Game plan? Hah - I haven't even cleaned up the terrace from this past season's efforts. So for now, I guess that's my game plan - get my "beds" cleaned and prepped! LOL!

PV

I expanded the garden beds in the fall. Trades are done and my seed list is all organized so I know what I've got. I've got some good seed starting mix at hand and plenty more scheduled for pick up in January.

For now, the "work" is thinking about all of the goodies on my seed list and falling asleep each night thinking about my garden and how it might look next year.

Then in January I'll sow the hardy perennials over the course of about 10 days.

In February I watch for a day with a big snow coming in followed by a week of cold temps and when I get one of those I direct sow perennial and hardy annual seed out in the hills in goatland.

Not quite sure on when to do my WS hardy annuals. I guess late Feb, early March and keep an eye on when Bakemom does hers.

March/April, watch the garden beds and wheel hoe them up once the soil is thawed enough to work it. Relocate some perennials from last year.

On April 15th I'll start watching the extended forecast and sow tenderish annuals whenever the 10 day forecast is starting to look like freeze risk is very low. No problem if I have to end up holding off until May 1 for the tenders if the forecast looks like serious cold or frosts in late April.

If it looks like April will be warm and wet I'll start plunking and running with any perennials that look like they are ready to graduate to the garden bed. If it's cold and dry, that might wait until May.

Early May, watch weather for incoming rains followed by 10 days of warmish temps and direct sow tenderish annual seed out in the hills of goatland.

May to June - plunk and run like a crazy lady. Start pawning off over abundant plants on the mail carrier and on the neighbor up the hill. Consider selling plants to the strangers that pull into our driveway to ask if we are a garden center that sells plants. Hoe hoe hoe the gardens a bit each day to aerate the soil and let the intentionals grow while keeping weed levels down.

June - check T&M site daily for their end of season half price sale. Hoe hoe hoeing continues.

June to August - run around the garden with a watering can like a crazy lady.

July on - run around the garden with seed collecting containers like a crazy lady. Try to eat, can or freeze produce as fast as we can harvest it.

August - start planning end of season humongous trades with other WSers.

September- start checking Value Seed website daily for the day when they go from 2 pages of seeds to 13 or 14 pages. Watch the oak tree and stop hoeing before the acorns start to fall. Let garden paths get packed down so I can maybe just sweep up acorns this year instead of picking up each by hand.

October - clean thousands and thousands of acorns out of the garden. Make more acorn wine and some nutty acorn bread. Wait for the massive leaf fall to start.

November - ugh. Leaves leaves leaves.

December - hunting season. Confine goats and cow and toss edible annuals over the fence for them to snack on. Use spare time to huddle over seed list and get ready for January.

Of course, I hope to also have a bit of time in there to sit on the porch and enjoy my gardens.

Lynda

Lynda, I thought I was the only one that went to sleep at night thinking about my gardens. That's how I came up with the idea of a moon garden outside my bedroom window. One night, the moon was shining on the bare dirt I had tilled up that afternoon. I went to sleep thinking, who needs tomatoes? :)

But now I've got a whole new bed for the veggies almost done. And I hope to have time to actually sit and watch the bees, butterflies, and hummers this summer. Last year I worked all summer, and not in the garden.

I'm at the age where naps sometimes become a necessity but find myself thinking about my gardens and not napping. I tell myself that relaxing and being quiet is just as good as a nap. Wish my real gardens were as lovely as the ones that keep me awake.

I'm hoping no one minds me bumping this, I've just spent the day in the yard and I am whupped. It's 66 degrees and mostly sunny.

I finally got the beds in the back of the house done. These are my veggie and moon garden beds. I'm hoping to get a small patio built in the grass area this spring. Looking for some reclaimed patio blocks or bricks to make it look old from day 1.

Took me 3 loads of leaf mulch from the landfill. After last week's rain, it was soaking wet. It's an improvised lasagna method that's worked well for me. I'll top it off in the spring with bark mulch. Helps to keep my water bill low since this area gets full sun in the hot dry summer.

The city vacuums up all the leaves each fall that people rake out to the curb. They prefer we don't bag them. Then, that take them to the landfill, let them smolder all summer, and give it away for free during the winter. You just have to come and get it. There's a reason I bought a truck instead of a hatchback.

garden2008 album

All the pictures of what I've done since June 2008 when I started working on the yard. This summer, I get to plant. And plant, I shall. Now, I need to head to the basement to prepare more 2 liter bottles for winter sowing next month.

66 degrees I wish!
Here it's finally back into the 20's after a week or so of single digits days and below 0 nights! After a few frozen pipes (none broke thank goodness) and record snowfall (16" overnight/last night and still falling) I've just finished planning out my veggie and order from Pinetree Seeds and am currently baking Chocolate Crackle Cookies LOL! Smells heavenly :)

It's 39 here in Northern Calif. and dropping. We had 4 inches snow in my area last Sunday. Weatherman says we can expect rain today and tomorrow... it's now 3:15pm, a light shower just stared about 10 minutes ago. Don't think it is going to stay rain though, sure it will be snow again very soon. Just took a closer look and yep...am seeing the beginnings of snow. First year of Winter Sowing so will probably wait till January after holidays are finished. I'll have alot more time then to buy soil and figure out what I'm going to plant in my awaiting seed stash!

Cindy

I went to bed with temperatures around 44 last night. Got up this morning to 63 degrees at 8am. The fog has been hanging around for 3 days now. I'm sick of it. I need some Vitamin D. 57 now, supposed to be much warmer tomorrow and possibly somewhat sunny. Better than all this semi-indirect shade we've been having. You guys in the lower zones are brave souls. I can't take the cold, but a one day snow storm would be nice.

I have lots of milk jugs under my back porch, more seeds then I know what to do with and bags of seeds that I collected from my garden that I have not had time to clean and package. Fall comes late here and I am still collecting seeds. I have two big bags of good potting soil and paint pens for labels(those labels don't fade). When do people find the time to clean and package their seeds? Last year, I ended up just sowing somethings just as I picked them off the plants. I have received several orders of seeds. My hubby wants to know if I am landscaping the whole county since I have so many seeds. Seeds that need the cold I will try to get WS early in Jan because we don't get a lot of cold here in CA.

Bed prep? What a hoot, here we are covered in snow with ice ontop, have to get the ice chipper out so I can even open the back door fully.

I have my work cut out for me this Spring, I planted veggies late, never again will I do that..everything ripened in August! I was a mad canner, then school started, then the fair, now the hoildays..now winter.
I don't see how ANYONE can say they are bored when you garden!