Winter sowing!

Again for all you gardeners or wannabees. Here is the images of some of my wintersown seeds. Wintersowing is where you sow your seeds outside as the title says in winter and cover it over with plastic. The next step is just wait, when temperatures warm up then make sure the soil stays moist and the seeds will sprout when they know it is time for them to do so.

I kill every thing that I have ever started indoors so this is a foolproof method. No more damping off and the seedlings are much more hardier with no need to introducing them to the outdoors as you naturally do this as the plastic cover is gradually pulled back.

As you notice the seedlings are really close together as this was my first year and I wasn't sure it was going to work so I sowed heavy and they did too well. Not every seed of everytype germinated and some of the empty spaces in the crates are of the seedlings I have already planted out.

I had germinate this year,
-Stachys, Lambs ears (purple and yellow flowered)
-Livingston Daisy, Ice Plant must be 100% germination
-Painted Daisy
-Rudbekia Hirta, yellow coneflower
-Echinacia, purple coneflower
-Purple Mallow
-Amaranthus purple
-Calendula
-Zinnias
-California Poppies
-Raspberry Spinach
-Birds foot trefoil?
-Portulaca, Moss rose
-Marigolds
-White Nicotania
-Helychrism, Strawflower
-Dahlia
-Yucca

Since the weather was crazy around January/February, I did notice that the ones planted out in Feb/March did better than the ones planted in January.

The crates were free from a local garden center that sells grapes for wine. So once they press the grapes the crates are no longer needed. I lined the bottom with plastic with holes cut for drainage. The plastic was kept in place with thumtacs(just press into the wood with thumb).