Winter Sowing for 2023

YessicaHaircut · December 2022

Thought I'd start a Winter Sowing thread for 2023. I'm not at all organised this year. I have a 'short list' (way too long list) of seeds I'd like to grow this year, but have been quite overwhelmed with everyday life and caring responsibilities these last few months and really unmotivated to do anything gardening related - sadly lots of seedlings were neglected and never planted in the ground. But I am definitely going to winter sow - it might just take me till later in January to get it together this year.

So I will come back to the thread and post when I've got my act together. One thing I know I'll definitely do is sow seeds I saved from some of this year's winter sown plants. I found I really loved that process, having never harvested seeds before. The cyclical process is very appealing to me.

Are any of you planning any winter sowing in the coming weeks? Here's a quick intro to the method if it's unfamiliar.
https://extension.psu.edu/starting-seeds-in-winter

And last year's thread:
https://forum.gardenersworld.com/discussion/1061345/winter-sowing-for-2022/p1

Joyce Goldenlily · December 2022

I always try to sow my onion seed on New Year's Day.
Sweet peas and Broad beans will be next month.

chicky · December 2022

I’m about to start my sweet peas and pickling onions 🧅. Makes January go faster if there are shoots to look forward to 🌱

borgadr · January 2023

I already sowed some of my snapdragons last month. They germinated quickly on a windowsill (quite a cool one) and are now in the greenhouse.

I'm going to try sowing some Cosmos and Salvia later this month (something to do on a rainy day!) though I know there's a chance the Cosmos will grow leggy that early. I'll sow another batch of both a month or two later to see if there's a difference.

kippsattacks · January 2023

I'm giving it another try. Last week of December I've planted a good few perennial flowers, such as astrantia, Agastache, roman chamomile and wild annuals saved a couple of years ago. So far germination is very good on most annuals. I just have to move them to the shade as soon as they all fully sprout, think my seedlings were overheated last year.

Joyce Goldenlily · February 2023

I had a problem with Astrantias a few years ago. I planted a white one and a red one. They were fine for a couple of years, then the red one disappeared and the white one spread via seld sown seeds all over the garden. They are still appearing in random places and if left are hard work to remove as the root base gets very hard and woody. I like the flowers but not the huge spread of foliage they make.

WAMS · February 2023

Pink astrantias grow for me, but none of the red ones bloomed last year.

YessicaHaircut · February 2023

Took me a while to get back to the thread. Whoops.

I should have been clearer in my first post - I was specifically referring to the Winter Sowing Method of sowing seeds outdoors in winter in ventilated plastic containers (i.e. recycling). I did it for the first time last year and got the bug. I've sown 52 types of seed already this year and haven't finished yet!

I wanted to do astrantias this year, @kippsattacks, but I think I've left it a bit late as we may not get another freeze now. Did you have any successes last year or did they all get cooked? I was very excited to see a single aquilegia seedling this year as I didn't get any germination from those at all last year. Just the one so far though, so not quite a resounding success on those just yet.

@borgadr, if you do fancy giving outdoor winter sowing a go, cosmos do brilliantly with this method and legginess isn't a factor. I also had good success with salvia viridis last year.

Blue Onion · February 2023

I gave it a try one year (in Utah), with no real success. I did milk jugs split in half and then taped back together. Some germination, but sort of leggy weak plants. I found the sun really heated up the gallon container, causing large fluctuations in temperature.. but full shade was too dark for good growth. Never tried it again. I've found greater success just sowing direct earlier, when the weeds start growing. I don't have a green house.. so cucumbers and such other 'tender' things get planted early and then resown as/if needed. I used to grow some on the windowsill as well, but found the direct sown consistently does much better for me than the careful nurturing, hardened off, etc seedlings. But I don't have slugs and snails to contend with.

YessicaHaircut · February 2023

Oh that's a shame it didn't work out for you. Yes it's the slugs and snails that mean direct sowing is a waste of time for most things here, so the winter sowing method has been a god send. But without the molluscs to worry about it sounds like the simplest solution is the best for you.

kippsattacks · February 2023

Wow! @YessicaHaircut 52 varieties

! I’ve done around 30 but ran out of containers. Did you try any tender types of veg or flowers?

I’m very pleased with winter sowing progress this year, majority of seeds have germinated well and some hardy annuals, like corncockle and cornflowers, are ready to be planted out -they are huge and roots growing out from the bottom of containers. Half-hardy plants like zinnia and cosmos germinated despite a week of harsh freeze in January but are still tiny. I’ve saved a few more containers this month so will be doing more veg sowing over the weekend.

I envy you @Blue Onion in a good way

, planting directly is impossible for me for the same reason, slugs will devour everything.

Winter Sowing for 2023

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