All the Dirt on Gardening

Plant containers for cuttings When taking cuttings of cold hardy perennials for rooting over the winter, you can use your bare bed space to keep them outside.  Instead of putting the containers on top of the soil where you have to keep them watered, plant the containers in the ground. The soil will keep them warmer, rain and snow will keep them moist and they can easily be covered late winter for getting jump start on growth.  Clamshells for winter sowing  I also use this method for planting seeds (in clear plastic clamshells) that need cold stratification to germinate.   In these two are Agastache and Chinese Parasol tree. Over the next couple of weeks  they will have lots of company.   If winter sowing seeds is new to you, here are a few sites  - http://wintersown.org/  - https://getbusygardening.com/winter-sowing-seeds/  - https://www.facebook.com/groups/wintersown/  - http://www.agardenforthehouse.com/2012/11/winter-s...

On a Facebook international seed swap I trade seeds with a gardener in Sweden. We exchange seeds harvested from our own gardens, usually during the winter months. For her, the goal is to get my zone 7 seeds planted before her zone 6a soil is frozen solid. Here, I winter-sow her seeds. Her semi-double purple poppies were planted in one of my gallon jug winter sown containers on 12-26-15 and they popped up last week. When they were up and starting to grow true leaves, I moved the container into our heated shed, opened the top and let them sit in warmer temperatures in the sun for several days. The next step is to gradually move them into individual cells. The cell tray on the left holds just under 100 tiny containers. Each cell was filled with sterile potting soil and then put into a bottom watering tray to soak up water over night. I used Popsicle sticks to separate the tiny seedlings and carefully put them into holes in the new soil that I made with a pencil. Then, more damp ...

Planting seeds outside during the winter is essential for success with many plants, ideal for others, and just plain convenient for some. Seeds that need cold treatment (cold stratification) include the ones with protective coatings, native wildflowers, and cold-hardy perennials. The instructions for seeds such as Pulmonaria and Achillea say to try to start them at 60-degrees but if that fails, chill the containers. Or, chill them at the beginning. Go to the website http://tomclothier.hort.net for a list of seeds’ requirements. Three cold-treatment methods that work include: 1) Plant in recycled containers that are monitored outside; 2) Pre-chill the seeds in the refrigerator; and, 3) direct sow the seeds on prepared beds that are either open to the elements or mulched. Flowers such as Poppies, Larkspur and Nigella are planted directly on top of prepared soil now. These and other deeply rooted flowers rarely do as well if they are transplanted from containers.  ...

December is a great time to finish planting the seeds, perennials and bulbs that will make spring glorious in our gardens!  You know that it's time to plant biennials, poppies, larkspur and other early spring flowers for the first bee and butterfly nectar in the neighborhood. But don't forget about the other shade garden favorites such as Columbine, also known as Granny's Bonnet. Columbine has a reputation for thriving in shade. In the early spring they enjoy the direct sun that falls on them under trees but they will not thrive in full-sun, hot, dry conditions. Plant them where you normally water or where you have added plenty of organic material such as leaves and mulch. A local gardening friend send me a baggie of seeds from her Columbine plants and it's time to get them going so the plants will be ready to plant  in early spring. Cold hardy in zones 4 to 8, perennial Aquilegias have a reputation for being easy to start from seed.  Seeds are ...

Since hollyhock are biennial sow the seeds in the winter . . . now . . . in order to have flowers next summer. This time I'm planting some in milk cartons with sterile soil. After watering, the containers will go outside for a couple of months. When they are thoroughly chilled...maybe late Feb. ..we will bring them into the shed to grow a few sets of leaves. After that, they get individuals pots until time to plant out. Last year at the Daffodil Day plant sale we sold every single one that we grew! Hopefully, the seed starting will be successful enough to offer them again next March at Daffodil Day. posted from Bloggeroid

There is still plenty of time to sow seeds outdoors, even in this weather in January. You know you can plant perennial seeds all winter - shrubs and trees, both woody and herbaceous (trunks and twigs all winter or die back to the ground in winter). Here's my Jan 2014 column about how I do it. And this one from Jan 2012 has more suggestions of seeds I started that year outside in the cold. Collected seeds for winter sowing Wow! Look at this one from Garden Tenders dot com  with a fancy vent! So far this winter I have half a dozen containers and three flats out there freezing their little seeds shells off. It's been too busy around here to do more but I have big plans for February. There are dozens of plants that are considered single-year or annual plants that would work. Green Roof Growers has a post about their success, with links for Chicago gardeners. In fact, WinterSown dot org has handy lists of what you can plant outdoors - Here is their Hardy Ann...

Seeds of last summer’s flowers have fallen onto the cold ground and if conditions are favorable, they will grow into new plants next spring. In fact, many , tree, herb, vegetable and flower seeds can be grown outside in the winter. No special equipment is needed:   no greenhouse, no cold frames, and no shelter required. New Yorker, Trudi Davidorff came up with the term Winter Sowing and has successfully educated gardeners about the wonders of using Mother Nature’s methods to plant your spring garden months ahead of schedule. Warmth loving plants such as corn, beans, and squash will prefer spring and summer temperatures but asparagus, onion, cabbage, lettuce, spinach and all the chard and Brussels sprouts family will respond well to winter seeding outdoors. Any tree, shrub, herb or ornamental plant that can take a winter freeze will also do well. This month you can winter-sow these seeds outdoors: Alyssum, asclepias (butterfly weed), calendula (pot marigold), corn flo...

Now that it is mid-December many gardeners have taken a welcome break from the demands of the soil. Not me. I am a member of a small group of people who keep on keeping on, with seeds and bulb shipments still arriving. Dividing plants continues, too. Guests yesterday suggested that a field mouse could be the cause of the lettuce seedlings losing their heads. I started a new pan of lettuce seeds and will begin anew. Yesterday, daffodils and tulips arrived from Brent and Becky's . An email came in from http://www.hardyplants.com/ that seeds are in the mail with plant tags. This company offers 100 tags for $7.75 and free shipping - a deal that cannot be passed up. Now that the seeds in the cold frames are coming up, I can't resist the temptation to try my luck with more. Most winter sowers use the clear plastic milk cartons with the tops partially removed. We have one of those now so I'll start that experiment today when I go out to plant bulbs in a 70-degree December day. Cl...