I should probably start this post by apologizing for taking a little hiatus from writing this month. I had initially planned this specific post for mid-April but life sometimes gets in the way. Anyway, I am really excited to share the results of my little winter sowing experiment. If you missed the first post, click here to read about why and how I did it. Keep reading to see my initial results!
Overall, I would call this experiment a great success! Out of 18 containers, 17 sprouted. Here is a list of what I grew:
- Black Bachelors Button
- Ultraviolet Bachelors Button
- Summer Fruits Scabiosa
- Love-in-a-Mist (Nigella)
- Cherry Brandy Rudbeckia
- Red Milkweed
- Orange Milkweed
- Pandora Poppy
- Hungarian Blue Poppy
- Falling in Love Poppy
- Prairie Smoke (Geum Triflorum)
- Paradiso Mix Echinacea
- Elderberry
- Golden Currant
- Onion Surprise (a mix of different onions that I saved seed from)
- Ishikura Onion (a variety of bunching onion)
- Ruby Port Columbine
- Rattlesnake Master (Eryngium Yuccifolium)
What germinated first? The Black Bachelors Button was definitely the first to germinate. I had lots of fun checking the containers before work each morning and I was so excited every time I observed a new little sprout. This particular photo was taken on February 26 and I was pretty surprised to see any germination after a little less than a month.
Shortly after the Black Bachelors Buttons germinated, the Ultraviolet Bachelors Button popped up, followed by Falling in Love poppy and the Nigella.
Whatever had germinated in February stayed pretty small until mid-March when the Bachelor Buttons started to put out some leaves.
On March 23 I finally saw a tiny speck of green in my Golden Currant container! I had read that currants were difficult to grow and my seeds were already a few years old so naturally I didn’t have very high expectations.
Within a few days of the currants germinating, the other poppies came up and the Nigella really started to take off. There was also a very tiny little sprout in the Ishikura Onions.
Despite some initial success, I was still a little worried since there wasn’t much going on with the other containers. Here in Northeastern Ohio our early spring temperatures are really inconsistent. One day it could be 55 and sunny and the next day you’re digging your car out of 2 feet of snow. I was convinced that whatever had already germinated was probably going to die and the experiment would be a failure.
Luckily that was not the case and, with the exception of one container, the rest germinated by the second week of April and were totally unharmed by any temperature swings.
I was fairly impressed by the rapid growth of my onions. I can’t confirm what specific variety these are (hence calling them ‘Onion Surprise’) but by April 30th, they were almost the same size as the onions that I started indoors in January. In the next few days, I will plant these onions alongside the ones I started indoors and see what does the best.
Wondering what failed? It was the Elderberry. I’ve wanted to grow this shrub for a few years and I always had trouble finding a healthy plant locally. I was pretty excited to find seeds and would have been thrilled to get some germination. The Elderberry container is still sitting in my yard so I am not totally giving up hope but I was able to find a great looking plant at Mulberry Creek Herb Farm a few weeks ago. I doubt I’ll get any fruit for a few years but it looks really happy after planting it.
So what would I do differently next time? Honestly, not a whole lot! Maybe it was beginners luck but I think this little project was a big success and I am already thinking of what I am going to plant next year!
