Herbs are pretty easy. I had basil oregano and cilantro sprout in just few days on top of my fridge

I may have one kind of herb seed that was sent to me free. What I would really like is something hard to sprout. I did see some parsnip seeds today, I have read they are hard to start, but I dont know anything about them. I have never grown or eaten them.

Larry,

To try winter sowing, don't start the seeds inside. Start them outside the way that wintersown.org says to do it. Giving them artificial heat and then moving them outside would not be in the seeds best interest and wouldn't be true wintersowing. In wintersowing, the seeds germinate at the best time for them but not if you interfere by putting them on a heat mat.

If you want to start parsnips, they are a better candidate for wintersowing than for sowing inside. Unless your germination mat is in an incredibly cold room, the germination mat will heat up the container with the parsnip seeds too much. That's a clue that parsnip seeds need some cold. Also, parsnip seed germinates best if it is fresh seed. Parsnip seed over a year old may not germinate well, if at all.

In order to chose the vegetable you want to test-sow, if you want to make it hard, choose some kind of small, hard seed like carrots or celery because they tend to be the hardest and/or slowest to germination. If you want to try an easy one first, choose a large, fleshy seed like beans or corn because they are really easy to start indoors. Does that help any?

Other things to consider: Different seeds have different needs. One reason people who are new to seed-starting often have trouble is because they do not understand what each type of seed needs. So consider what seeds need in order to germinate: they need a good soil mix, they need the right temperature for them, they need the right amount of moisture for them, some of them need to be surface sown and not covered/barely covered because they need light in order to germinate and some of them need cold to germinate.

If you have seed packets, they will give you some clue about that particular veggie, herb or flowers' specific needs. Or, you can Google and find out. Or, you can ask here. Or, you can guess.

Hope this info helps.

Dawn

Larry, I think you need a Chia pet. LOL

I don't know if parsnips are difficult seeds to start, or if it has to do with starting them at the right time. Maxmex may know the answer to this - isn't it him who grows the parsnips?

I would think that about your only choices would be something that can be grown indoors right now. And for an extended period of time since you won't be able to put them out for some time yet.

Do you have any Mesclun mixes? You might be sble to sow some seeds to grow indoors - kind of an "eat as they grow" food.

Susan

Have you been to the winter sowing forum? I put potting mix in milk jugs, label, plant and put them outside. In my climate it gets warm and cold again (50 to -2 in a week)so I usually do things like parsley; mostly I have winter sown flowers. Trudi offers free tomato seeds for a SASE. With my small brain it took me a while to find the way to print the form. You have to take the quiz and print out the form with the date. She made it a little harder to find because She has had trouble with people just going there to get free seeds. But you asked about winter sowing. Go to that forum and read the FAQ. It isn't a risky way to plant. Some seeds come up better being winter sown but my experience is with flowers.

Here is a link that might be useful: Trudi's list

If I were going to start anything right now, it would be spinach, but it is still a little early, and it germinates cool, not cold (or heated).

I usually do Sugar Snap Peas, spinach, and lettuce first for outside growth.

Why not sprout some seeds for eating as sprouts. Alfalfa is probably the most common one, but I'm sure I have a half dozen or more sprouting seeds. You can do those on your kitchen counter.

Well, I lost my big long reply, but I have been to winter sow and it is a great link with lots of info.

I also looked at the rope light. I really liked that idea but I could only find an 18' rope light in Greenwood. I felt that was too large for the small station I am sitting up in the bathroom. The unit I did build will go from an ambient of 60 degrees up to 105 degrees. I feel that is more range than I need and will try to run it at 75 degrees by dropping the voltage with a dimmer switch. If this works like I think it will I will be going larger next year. I already have the material in the shed.

You ladies have been great and the info you have supplied will give me a bigger an brighter gardening year.

And, Yes, Susan, I do need a Chia pet, but I have a yorky that womt share his home with any pet, he would eat the grass off of it anyway.

I will try to experiment with chinese cabbage michihili (was hopping for chinese caggabe napa type, still may find some) broccli and western cabbage. I will never plant every thing I have, I may need to send some to Diane, I have a few things on her list.

Larry

Larry, you can sow parsnips any time, after the new year, when you can work the soil. I suppose that "winter sowing" is the only method which works for them. They simply sit there until they like the conditions, then they germinate. They are slow growers, but they absolutely tolerate freezing temps. It's important to thin them to about 6" apart (the hardest thing for me to do) so that they develop nice roots.

They are sweet, though it's hard to describe their flavor. They're wonderful in soups and stews. I like to bake them with a little butter and eat them as a side dish. They are as much a starch as a vegetable.

George

I once saw someone make "parsnip french fries" for kids on the Food Network. She cut them into strips like french fries, used a little cooking oil spray on the pan and baked them in the oven. You can season them with whatever you like. Her kids loved them as an alternative to french fried potatoes.

Susan

Cool season seeds are a great way to start winter sowing. I focus on flowers, but early spring veggies would work well too.

I start sowing my cool season stuff first and work my way down to warm season (like zinnias).

Lisa

I heard little about cool season vegetables for winter sowing (Greens, Peas, some tubers crops).

But none or not aware of any cool season flowers for winter sowing. I appreciate if anyone of you recommend very few flowers/ornamental for winter sowing, require little care and little water... I would prefer native and xeric types who likes to grow in our red clay soil and full sunlight. Ours is very new neighborhood, no trees, no animals...

Lisa, I was glad to hear about the zinnias. DW wants me to make more beds and plant flowers this year. Zinnias are one of the kinds she wanted.

Suzan and George, I just talked with madge and we are going to buy some parsnips and see if we like them. We both feel we need to do a better job at growing and using our crops.

I can address cool season flowers, here's a few: dianthus, poppies, larkspur, columbines, bachelor buttons. In Oklahoma, these are early spring flowers...and you will notice that some people might, gasp!, call them weeds :)

Rudbeckias are good too.

As for low water...hmmm. Russian Sage, catmint/nepeta both come to mind right away. Susan can probably give you a better list on that.

The people over at the Wintersowing Forum are VERY helpful. Ask them what flowers bloom first (those will mostly likely be cool season varieties). There's probably a list already made there.

There are different methods people use, I just like the cool to warm season method for choosing which to sow first. Some of the WSers sow alphabetically!

It's good to sow perennials early too, many of them need the cold/warm/cold cycles.

Lisa