This is exciting news :) This is my first year too and I don't see any yet..... Hopefully soon. It'll be interesting to see if we get some new colors unlike the parent plants. Congratulations, I hope you get some awesome plants.

Congrats smokey! this is my first year also. like vafloernut , no sprouts yet :( i too am checking on them daily now. hoping I did everything right and just a matter of time. what zone are you??

Congratulations! This is my second year and am as excited this year as I was the first. I check my containers daily and every time I notice new sprouts I feel like a little kid in a candy store.

I have added vegetables this year and am amazed at my seedlings, especially the zuccini sprouts. They are huge. Little tomatoes are also coming up.

:-) It sure is a great thing. Checking on my containers is one of the first things I do every day when I get home, so always something to look forward to.

Smokey's in zone 7 as is southerngardening. In Zone 5, I didn't have sprouts until April 7 last year. That was the worst winter here on record though---hoping for some action before March ends this time.

This is my first year. I totally freaked when my first sprouts came up a while ago because I thought it was *way* too early. They're all still alive though, so I guess those seeds know what they're doing. About 1/4 of my 70 pots have sprouted and I'm still way too excited every time a new pot sprouts. I planted out my first set of baby plants yesterday. We'll see if they survive...

I only planted about a dozen containers back in late December, early January. All the cold weather vegies have sprouted: cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, onions, spinach and one squash (can't read the label). The tomatoes, peppers and melons aren't sprouted yet, even tho' we've had a really mild winter and early spring here in Idaho. I tried to plant only a few seeds in each bottle, but it looks like I have lots of sprouts. Should I be transplanting them into bigger containers at some point, or should I just wait for them to get big and put them in the ground in early May?

The cole veggies -- cabbage, broccoli -- can go in the ground as soon as it can be worked. They're a fall crop here because by May it usually gets too warm for them. I'd get sprouts, plant them out and then when the warm weather hits they just don't form heads.

And yes, it's still a thrill every time I see sprouts even though I've been doing this for probably 7 or 8 years now. The first time I did two containers, one marigold and one petunia, then forgot about them. While doing spring cleanup in May I saw the jugs, opened them to find nice, big, thriving seedlings and immediately rushed over to show them to my husband, who was equally amazed. I've been a believer ever since and do almost everything with this method now.

Congratulations!

Congratulations to all the newbies! Yes, I still get a thrill. I went picture crazy the first two years. I love seeing sprouts. I still have to wait.

Even after nine years of winter sowing it is still a thrill to see those first, second, third, fourth , fifth....containers with seedlings! And yes, I still check the containers several times a day. For the old timers, I do the happy dance in my head.

PVick and mnwsgal - nice to see some "old-timers". mnwsgal- since you are in zone 4 do you know any perenniels that survive the winter. Things that used to be perenniel in my zone no longer are. So - since the brutal winters here are going to be the rule, not the exception, I'm trying to find things to plant that are perennial in colder zones. thanks.

Ellenr22, What type of perennials are you looking for? What died over winter that used to survive? If we know what you lost, maybe we can help you find something similar, but hardy. I'm in zone 5, so anything that survives my winters should do fine for you. What kind of gardening do you like? I grow lots of native plants, since they generally require less care, and are good for the pollinators. I also grow certain non-invasive annuals that provide nectar for insects and hummingbirds. Actually, why don't I just lost what I have sprouting, since that's what I picked up my iPad for anyway. I have:

Anise hyssop, foxglove, Jacob's Ladder, several penstemon varieties, White Snake Root, Wild Blue Lupine, Royal Catchfly, Liatris ligualistylis and spicata, Monarda citriodora and punctata, Vervain hastata and another I can't remember, Mountain Mint, and that's what I could remember off the top of my head.

I also have Trillium popping up, including several seedlings. I love to see the miracle of nature just doing it's thing. My daffodils are up and blooming. My lilacs have leaf buds and blossom buds. My Virginia Bluebells are blooming, and the pulmonaria, also. All of those would be great options for your climate.

I'll stop rambling. I just wanted to check in with everyone and see exactly what is sprouting for everyone. Happy sprouting. Next comes the chore of getting them in the ground before snow flies next winter. We have to pay the price for our over-enthusiasm. Or give them away.

Martha

Ellenr22, most anything that is hardy to zone 4 survives in my gardens as well as some zone 5 plants. The Frequently Asked Questions, FAQ, have a long list of seeds that may be successfully sown in Zone 4. winter-sowingthe-frigid-zones-2-3-and-4. Keep in mind that I live in a large suburban area so may have it a bit warmer than some more open areas.

Most of the plants Martha listed are growing in my gardens, they just apear later and bloom later for me. Daffodils are just starting to bloom, v. Bluebells are just poking out of the soil, Some plumeria are blooming, primrose are budded, lilacs have leaf buds, about a third of the perennials are up and growing while others will be soon. We have had very warm weather this past week so many are early this year.

Over the years I have winter sown seeds and have plants growing from hundreds of varieties of plants. The ones that don't survive are usually those that are zone 5 hardy but many of those do well for me in different zone areas of my yard. There are also plants that seem to survive for everyone else in my zone but don't for me, ie hens and chicks, and ones I have no problem with that others find difficult, ie butterfly bush.

thanks Martha and mnwsgal ! both very helpful posts. to answer yr questions, Martha, I also like native plants. what died- 3 of my favorites died! 2 Gaillardia and one Salvia. I can't remember the name of the Salvia, but I was in love with it. These 3 were planted last year, which I think is part of the problem. In a brutal winter, if they had the advantage of having been well-established, maybe they would have survived.

I like plants that attract bees, which salvia does. And easy plants. :) not fussy ones.

mnswsgal, I will go look at that list in FAQ, I figured there must be a list somewhere, but was too lazy too look for it. lol.

Hi everyone, this is my first year too. I have planting everything I had , mostly everything has sprouted but they are still tiny , I expected much bigger plants by now , planted them out the middle of January, the tomatoes just started sprouting,but the peppers have not sprouted yet ?? I planted several different types of peppers, so I know it's not the seed but I guess it's still not warm enough here in Florida for them to sprout ...I'm told it has to be about 80 degrees , we are in the 70's. I guess they have awhile until they can go in the ground in May .

Can someone please remind us all when to lift or remove the hinged tops of our milk jugs?

The tops can be removed whenever fear of frost is over, or even sooner for hardy plants. You definitely want to have tops off if the weather is going to be warm and sunny. If the tops are on and the sun shines, it will heat up like a car left in the sun, and the little plants will get baked to death.