I want to sow seeds but we're fighting bad fire weather, so I don't know if I'll get it done today or tomorrow. I hope to though. I haven't even sown pea seeds yet although I had sowing them on my list of things to do for this week. I feel behind, but I'm also having a really hard time believing this weather is going to last, so part of it is that I'm being cautious.

I planted parsnips, Hamburg parsley, salsify and in between each row or those (across the width of the bed) are salad turnips which will come out in 30-60 days. I have 2.5 feet I can plant more in, but I ran out of steam. I'm debating another tray of seeds tonight, but I think I'll wait another day.

I got lots of seeds started today. Tomatoes, cat grass, morning glory, cosmos, lavendar, zinnias. Lots more on deck for tomorrow, too. All WS style. I have both lettuce and spinach coming up that must have overwintered in the containers. Planted a couple new asiatic lily bulbs. And, ripped out a few things I hadn't yet ripped out. Progress!

Progress is good. I hope there's enough winter weather left for winter sowing to work.

No kidding! I'm totally lost on it. Haven't sown a thing. Maybe I should get some seeds in the frig.

I have some amendments to put in the raised beds before I plant. . . hopefully will get a lot of that done tomorrow. I am so tickled that I see two wee little catmints that have popped up in my inside seedlings. Woo-hoo! And equally tickled that all my test pots 4 tomatoes in seed starter, 4 in seed starter plus aged chicken poo, all popped up at the same time and 3 days later are looking good. . . gives me hope--Dawn, you spoke of bioassaying--do you think this is a good enough test or do you think I should try a bit more?

Bon, The cold temperatures likely are only really needed for any biennials or perennials that require cold stratification, or for a few picky cool-season veggies that won't sprout if the soil already is too hot. I'd say there isn't likely to be any snow cover this year to insulate seeded jugs of wintersown stuff though.

Nancy, For bioassays of any growing medium, you need to watch the plants for 2-3 weeks. Maybe only for 10 days, but I like to wait 2-3 weeks before I decide if an amendment will be safe. If no issues pop up within that time frame, the growing medium likely isn't contaminated with herbicide residue. Often the seeds sprout and grow fine initially, but then as their roots absorb more herbicide residue, you start seeing obvious signs like misshapen, twisted foliage or dying foliage. So, it pays to allow 10 days to 3 weeks to be sure.

Dawn

Thank you, Dawn--I'll wait. Think I'll pot up using same method on a few things I have a lot of (tomatoes). And am following all of your leads on planting times, so appreciate your post, mulberryknob!