Yes, I stoppoed by, not sure if I will wintersow this year. But thinking about it.

Nes

Yes, I am here.
We are all busy getting our yards ready for winter.
But I came here to see what others have done by WS.

Caroline

good morning lucknes and xaroline! Nice that you stopped by. Let's keep checking in and see if we can get some action going on this site.
I know it will be a while until actual planting, but there is planning and gathering of materials to get done.
I meant to start this summer, but it never happened. I need to get moving! :-)

Already?Aren't we supposed to start in December or January? Please tell me I'm not behind already!

Not planting yet, dianne0712, but getting prepared by gathering containers and buying the soil so that we have it in when we are ready to plant. (Don't store it outside or you will be faced with having to bring it in and wait for a few days until the bag thaws out enough to be able to fill your containers and plant your seeds). It is also fun to pour over the seeds and make plans about what we want to plant and in what order.

No specific time to start planting, but some start around the winter solstice. That being so close to Christmas can be a busy time, so lots of us leave it until January or February, just so we have the seeds that need a longer cold period or a few freeze thaw cycles in order to germinate, out in time.

You are not behind. :-)

have you read through the wintersown.org site? Tons of really good information and it should answer lots of questions, but anything you want to know, just ask.

Check-in from an "old-bie". :) I've been winter sowing for many years now and love the convenience. A big problem for me is sowing things that i have nowhere to plant... LOL

Noticed this posting when I check in every few weeks. I started last month with outdoor treatment of Gentians, Actea, Lewisia, Fritillaria. In September sowed seed of Hellebores, Dodecatheon, Lillium and Narcissus. I continue to try wintersowing every year and like Marcia find I run out of space to plant out seedlings from June to September!

I direct sowed Gentian Verna, larkspur (dwarf and tall), alyssum saxatile, siberian wallflower,for-get-me-nots and Iceland poppies.

NEWBIE here :) Where is the best place to order seeds from? Looking for trees/bushes/perennials. Thanks!

Well it seems some of you are really on top of the game this year and have already planted some. I probably won't get to my planting until after Christmas.

Love the convenience of WS, but find that yes it is sometimes TOO convenient and tend to get carried away with the planting and end up with way too many plants.

Hiccups4, glad you are going to WS this year and I hope you have lots of fun. If you contact me, and send me your address (privately), I can send you some seeds if you like. Not sure what I have but would be happy to make a pack for you to get you started.

Oldie here, but been MIA for quite some time. I used to trade here, but I'm now limited physically and can't garden like I used too. I want things that will not require to much work. Hiccup, I have seed of Amur maple for you if your interested. Small tree, the leaves turns red in the fall.

hiccups4, a good place to check out seeds is Gardensnorth (formerly of the Ottawa area and now in Nova Scotia).http://gardensnorth.com/site/ They carry a wide variety of seeds and give excellent service.

Here is a link that might be useful: Gardensnorth

Newbie. Thank you for the seeds greylady-gardener. Looking forward to getting started.

I'm a returning WSer. Haven't sown for maybe 5 years. Time to get back into it this year! Have the containers...need to sort soil and seeds :D

Oldie here---and doing winter sowing.
Gaillardia, old cleome seeds, canterbury bells and a bunch of seeds from the NARGS swap--mostly alpines.
All under snow right now!
Caroline

This is my first time winter sowing. Since Jan. I have planted over 60 containers of perennials, annuals and herbs. So far nothing is up but then it has all been frozen until the last week or so. I keep hoping! Can I start the more tender annuals yet?

welcome to wintersowing, Cath923! You have really plunged in full speed with over 60 containers. you are in zone 5b so I would imagine that you are still fairly cold and snowy. Nothing is going to sprout until it warms up a bit more, so don't worry that you don't have sprouts yet.....still lots of time.

as far as tender annuals, I usually keep an eye on the long term forecast and then put them out.....we have just had the temps go down for a few days but they are supposed to start going up again in a few days so I will be starting the more tender annuals then.

what have you planted in your 60 containers so far? I am not planting as many containers as I have in the past. mainly trying to use up some older seeds that I haven't had a chance to grow.....can't wait to see sprouts, but I know that it is unlikely for a while yet.

Keep us informed on your progress. :-)

Thanks for your reply and encouragement!
This is a list of what I have outside. I also have several more containers in my cold (very cold!) greenhouse. The beginning of this week is very chilly so I am holding off on doing any more seeding and have run out of space indoors! It will be interesting to see if anything survives in the two jugs I forgot to leave uncapped. For the information of other wintersowers in Canada - the best containers I found were the large jugs of canola oil used by restaurants. I cut around them vertically then lay them down on their side and make holes in the "new" top and bottom. They make trays of about 13 1/2 " x 9".
Centaurea Macrocephala
Delphinium
Lavendar
Rudbeckia - Cherry Brandy
Alyssum Saxatile
Blue Flax
Delphinium
Ech. White Swan
Echinacea
Gaillardia
Harebell
Helianthemum
Liatris
Maltese Cross
Oriental Poppy - Pink
Oriental Poppy - Red
Red Valerian
Snapdragon
Sweet William
Carnation
Chrysanthemum
Delphinium - Pacific Giant
Dracocephalum
Forget me not
Helenium
Primula Denticulata
Blue Poppy
Buddleia
Echinacea - Pow Wow
Foxglove - Candy Mtn
Alyssum - Oriental Nights
Marigolds
NZ Spinach
Poppy - Ooh La La
Cerinthe
Alyssum - white
Amaranthus
Aster - blue Ice
Balsam
Snapdragon
Bok Choi
Calabrese
Cleome
Romanesco
Lychnis Sikkimensis
Meadow Sweet
Penstemon Gracillis

Cath923, that is quite a list...I have some of the same things out there also...cleome, snapdragon, alyssum, Chinese forget me not and helenium. I also have some halo hollyhocks, hardy hibiscus, penstemon, scarlet gilia, cosmos, a couple of different grasses and a few other things that I just can't remember right now. :-)
Once the weather warms up your containers will probably explode with green sprouts...it is lots of fun watching them.

(I hope you did remove the tops on those containers) :-)

Now have Mache, Sweet William, Alyssum, Carnations, Broccoli, Calendula, Matthiola, Marigolds, Bok Choi, Poppy germinated. All tiny just now but at least they are up! Perhaps the weather will warm up now after this last couple of miserable days and more will decide to pop up.