Two of my favorite flowers are blooming right now: lupine and columbine.
I started both plants as seeds in my first Winter Sowing experiment a few years ago. I didn’t get any blooms the first year, as expected. Last year, the columbines bloomed almost all summer, but the lupines looked like such pathetic weaklings, I’d pretty much written them off. I think I got three scrawny blooms between four plants.Read more…
It jumped to hot weather here so fast, my little winter sown containers are growing fast! Usually you’d start taking the tops off during the day and replacing them at night when it got fairly cool, but it’s been so warm that it’s barely even dipped into the 40s at night which means replacing the tops was unnecessary.
I think I lost a flat of Maltese Cross due to not removing the top (or not making the aeration holes bigger) soon enough… the seedlings were teeny tiny and look like they got cooked. Oops. Lesson learned!
And I have 3 small flats that I think I forgot to drill holes in because they have no germination and seem very waterlogged. And I sowed 2 or 3 flats of pink profusion zinnias that I got in a trade that just didn’t germinate for me. I don’t know if it was me or the seeds. In either case, I’ve got dozens and dozens and DOZENS of flats that germinated perfectly, so 5 or 6 losses is pretty damn good! Plus, there’s still time to resow containers and try again!
Speaking of zinnias, here are some liliput zinnias that are doing just fine!
The lupines that were my first seeds to germinate are starting to get pretty tall. I think that’s foxglove sandwiched between the flats of lupine.
After weeks of almost non-stop rain and even some snow (EW!), I think it’s finally really spring! It was 65 degrees today, and I took advantage of the nice weather by finishing up the first raised bed for my vegetable garden. (More on that in a few days.)
I thought I’d post my progress with my winter sowing project. I have lots of sprouts and seedlings now, which makes me do the happy garden dance. I’ve sown 86 containers so far! Here’s a picture of my so-called “pot ghetto”.
Not the most attractive set up, but there’s no way I’d have enough space to start that many seedlings indoors. I’ll trade form for function any day.
Of the 50 or so containers I sowed in February and March, I’d say about 60% have sprouts now. I did a giant batch of containers a few days ago, including the first of my veggies!
Here’s a little sample of the progression my Russell Lupines have made, which were my first seeds to germinate:
So the verdict? Winter sowing totally works, and it is AWESOME. I’ve sown enough flower seeds to fill a 250 square foot bed. If I’d tried to buy plants to fill that, I’d have to spend over $1000.
With winter sowing, I got over half of the seeds for free in a seed exchange. The other half I bought and paid about $30. Add in the cost of potting mix, and I’m still only at maybe $50 total! The containers are free. The lighting is free. The space on my patio is free!