Star Wars Garden Gnome A Fourth Dimension To Sow

So many hopes in addition to dreams inwards these packets...

After months of drought, the rains convey in conclusion arrived.

With pelting inwards the forecast, I rushed to sow the wildflower seeds - to a greater extent than or less bought, others gathered on my ain belongings - that I had been squirreling away.

I'm taking a multifaceted approach to seed starting this year.

For those seeds that require months of mutual depression temperature stratification, I sowed many outdoors yesterday. After all, I figure that's how these plants propagate themselves inwards the wild - they driblet their seeds, which undergo freezes in addition to thaws all winter, in addition to and so they sprout inwards the spring.

Of course, at that spot are drawbacks to sowing seeds exterior so early on inwards the yr in addition to letting them fend for themselves. Some seeds may larn washed away. Others volition likely larn eaten. Still others may rot or dessicate. But amongst thousands of seeds sowed, presumably to a greater extent than or less volition uncovering the 'just right' atmospheric condition that allow them to germinate.

As a control, I'm holding other seeds inwards mutual depression temperature storage (the refrigerator) all winter. In Feb in addition to beyond, I'll start taking activeness amongst those seeds - sowing to a greater extent than or less outdoors, transferring to a greater extent than or less into bags of moisture sand (that I'll nevertheless concur inwards the fridge), eventually trying to start to a greater extent than or less seeds inwards eggshells that I'm already saving, etc.

I'll proceed y'all all posted on the success (or not) of these diverse experiments.

For now, here's a listing of the seeds that convey been sown outdoors:

- Allium tuberosum, garlic chives (gathered from my ain plant)

- Anemone virginiana, thimbleweed, native (from Missouri Wildflowers Nursery - these seeds are amazingly fluffy! I idea I'd been shipped a slice of wool when I looked into the seed packet!)

- Asclepias tuberosa, butterflyweed, native (from Sow True Seed)

- Chamaecrista fasciculata, partridge pea, native (gathered from my ain plants)

- Desmanthus illinoensis, Illinois bundleflower, native (from Missouri Wildflowers Nursery)

- Echinacea simulata, glade coneflower, native (from Missouri Wildflowers Nursery)

- Gaillardia x grandiflora, blanketflower, 1/2 native (the G. pulchella parent is native across the Southern U.S., although rarely acquaint inwards Tennessee) (gathered from my ain plants)

- Heliopsis helianthoides, imitation sunflower, native (gathered from my ain plants)

- Parthenium integrifolium, wild quinine, native (from Missouri Wildflowers Nursery)

- Polanisia dodecandara, redwhisker clammyweed, native (gathered from my ain plant)

- Rudbeckia hirta, black-eyed Susan, native (from Sow True Seeds)

- Senna marilandica, wild senna, native (gathered from my ain plant)


All of the seeds purchased from nurseries (i.e., all seeds other than those gathered from my ain plants) correspond my offset attempts to grow these species inwards my garden.

Incidentally, for the offset time, I tried mixing the seeds amongst sand earlier sowing. As I'd hoped, the sand helped me larn improve coverage in addition to allowed me to come across where seeds had already been sowed.

In colder climates, I've read that to a greater extent than or less people volition hold back until it snows in addition to and so scatter seeds (sample image). That way, they tin sack easily come across where the seeds convey been scattered in addition to when the snowfall melts, the seeds volition gently sink into the the world amongst a create provide of water.

I don't sow all species exterior indiscriminately. Even though zinnias (Z. elegans), for example, produce lightly self sow here, I suspect/hope that I'll convey improve germination waiting until jump to sow those seeds. And I'm besides holding off on another species I've purchased (like Monarda fistulosa, wild bergamot, from Missouri Wildflowers Nursery) where my query indicates that mutual depression temperature stratification does non improve germination. If the seeds volition germinate but every bit good from a jump sowing, I'd rather scatter them in addition to so on the reasoning that fewer seeds volition live on lost, washed away, buried or eaten than amongst a wintertime sowing.

Dear Readers -- Do y'all sow whatsoever seeds outdoors inwards the winter? If so, produce y'all scatter the seeds every bit I produce or role a to a greater extent than controlled sowing method (e.g., something similar this)?