(Originally posted January 3, 2011; now updated and revised)
YOU MIGHT BE WONDERING WHEN, exactly, to winter-sow your perennials, annuals, herbs and veggies outdoors. The easiest answer is "now." However, to save work later on, I find it pays to plant certain seeds ahead of others. The following schedule has worked well for me: Read more » Winter-Sowing
What to Winter-Sow…And When
January 21, 2012
(Originally posted January 3, 2011; now updated and revised)
YOU MIGHT BE WONDERING WHEN, exactly, to winter-sow your perennials, annuals, herbs and veggies outdoors. The easiest answer is "now." However, to save work later on, I find it pays to plant certain seeds ahead of others. The following schedule has worked well for me: Read more » Seeds to Winter-Sow: Platycodon ‘Sentimental Blue’
January 17, 2012
IF I didn't already have Platycodon 'Sentimental Blue' in my garden, I'd certainly obtain it. In early July, this amusing creature puffs up its flower buds as if to announce "I'm here at last ...do you still love me?" And love it I do, because after these hot-air balloons (which make a loud "pop" if you squeeze them) open, they reveal the most dazzling, violet-blue stars you can imagine. Have a look: Read more » Winter-Sowing Reminders & a Hot Tip
January 5, 2012
MY 2012 WINTER SOWING ADVENTURE is well under way, starting (but by no means ending) with the 8 miniature greenhouses you see pictured above. What I've planted in these jugs, along with a few helpful reminders and one very nifty trick for increasing your own winter-sowing success: Read more » My Favorite Seed-Suppliers…& Yours (2012 Edition)
January 4, 2012
AS I’VE SAID BEFORE, I rarely buy annual, perennial or vegetable seeds from local vendors. Why? Because their selections are limited to what will fit on a rack. Take, for example, petunia seeds. The local big-box store might sell 3 basic varieties (if you’re lucky). But visit an on-line seed specialist like Summerhill, and you will find 61 petunia varieties, including the delightful ‘Shock Wave Rose,’ pictured above. The following seed-sellers get most of my business: Read more » Who’s Winter-Sowing this Year?
December 21, 2011
THE WINTER SOLSTICE, which this year arrives on December 22, is my cue to start collecting milk and water jugs. Why? Because it is in these free recyclables that I winter-sow my summer garden. Who else is a fan of this fascinating method of outdoor seed-germination? Read more » Winter-Sowing 101
November 27, 2011
BELIEVE IT OR NOT, I start my summer garden in December and January, using a neat trick called “Winter-Sowing.” Winter-sowing is an outdoor method of seed germination (invented by Trudi Davidoff) which requires just two things: miniature greenhouses (made from recycled milk jugs) and Mother Nature. You can winter-sow your way to a beautiful garden, too...for pennies. Read more » How'd Your Winter-Sown Seeds Do?
April 25, 2011
HOW’D YOUR WINTER-SOWING GO? I hope you’ll tell us what you planted in milk-jugs over the winter, and what glories (or not) the jugs revealed for you this spring. Here are my successes (among them, ‘Bloomsdale Long-Standing’ spinach, above) and failures: My successes: Lupin, Hollyhock, Hardy Candytuft, Larkspur, Columbine, Forget-Me-Not, Bachelor’s Button, Spinach, Swiss Chard… Read more »
