wintersowing – WhatTheCraft

May 8, 2013October 18, 2018Blog, Garden

Another Garden Update

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.

Winter sowing tutorial

Yeah, it’s February. There’s snow on the ground. But I’m gardening. GARDENING!

I stumbled across this article about winter sowing a few months ago, and I was instantly fascinated. I’ve started seeds the traditional way before, both sowing indoors under lights and direct sowing outside once it gets warmer. Both methods worked okay for me, but the idea of winter sowing appealed to me for two reasons.

1. Being able to do a lot of garden prep work when I start getting cabin fever in the dead of winter is awesome, and

2. I don’t have to find space in my house for the seedlings, nor do I have to invest in shelving, lights, etc… that means I can start lots and lots and lots of plants for cheap/free.

Cheap and free is good because I have big plans for my yard. I hate grass. Mowing blows, it turns brown when it gets too hot and dry, and it’s not pretty! I do not understand lawn-people. I would be much happier to look out into my yard and see something like this:

Though I suppose I’d still like to have somewhere to walk, and also somewhere to grow veggies, so maybe something a little more like this:

See more of my garden inspiration photos on Pinterest!

In either case, you get the point. Out with the grass, in with the plants!Read more…