Winter sowing (or wintersowing or WS) is a way for home gardeners to germinate seeds outdoors in mini greenhouses made from recycled containers and bottles. It’s a somewhat controlled way to mimic what nature does when seeds drop in autumn, spend winter outdoors, and germinate naturally in the spring. The technical term for this process is “cold moist stratification.”
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Winter Sowing – Part 3
Container choices Topics in Part 1 Before you start (links to section on this page):What is winter sowing?Why winter sow?Basic principlesWhat can I grow?When should I sow? Topics in Part 2WS step-by-Step (links open in new tab)Prepare containersAssemble suppliesPrepare seedsPrepare soil mixFill containersPlant seedsLabel & tapePlace outsideWatch & wait Topics in this articleContainer choices(links toContinue reading “Winter Sowing – Part 3”
Winter Sowing – Part 2
A step-by-step guide to success Topics in Part 1 Before you start(links open in new tab) What is winter sowing?Why winter sow?Basic principlesWhat can I grow? When should I sow? Topics in this articleA step-by-step guide(links jump to topic on this page) Prepare containersAssemble suppliesPrepare seedsPrepare soil mixFill containersPlant seedsLabel & tapePlace outsideWatch & waitContinue reading “Winter Sowing – Part 2”
Gardeners should care about sprawl
Ford’s pro-sprawl legislation has it’s own sordid back story involving grift, handshakes, and election promises, but while that drama festers, let’s turn to our own backyards and look at how sprawl affects gardens
Plant markers that do it all…
This year saw many changes to my garden, some small and some drastic. The drastic ones resulted from the discovery of invasive jumping worms back in late June. But more on that later. The common denominator for all these changes was soil disturbance. There was a huge increase in digging– not only my efforts toContinue reading “Plant markers that do it all…”
Memory Aids for Gardeners
This heap of horticutural hash is a tasty blend of spicy irreverance and nutritious facts. It was originally published in the June 2022 issue of Cross Pollination, the newsletter of the Halton Region Master Gardeners. By Bev Wagar, Halton Master Gardener Horticulture! It sweeps you off your feet, showers you with affection, and sheet-mulches yourContinue reading “Memory Aids for Gardeners”
List of Blog Posts
For my blog archives, click here: https://morethanaprettygarden.com/list-of-blog-posts/ (opens page in new tab)
Campanulastrum americana ID
Photos below are Campanulastrum americana / Tall Bellflower, a Carolinian native listed as “common” in Hamilton (Ontario) area in Michael Oldham’s ‘List of the Vascular Plants of Ontario’s Carolinian Zone (Ecoregion 7E)’ (link opens in new tab) . Formerly known as Campanula americana and recently assigned its own genus Campanulastrum, this is an unusual bellflower,Continue reading “Campanulastrum americana ID”
A thriving support system for birds, bugs and butterflies
For Bev Wagar, it’s a cross between a cottage garden, a collector’s garden, and a native plant garden, writes Cathy Renwald.(This article appeared in the July 2 edition of the Hamilton Spectator. Copyright: Hamilton Spectator) We are on a lazy meander in Bev Wagar’s garden. A place where an angelica plant is tall enough toContinue reading “A thriving support system for birds, bugs and butterflies”
Killing stuff in the garden
Ah Facebook. You’re a sputtering font of knowledge. A murky, shallow pool of occasional wisdom. Especially this time of year, in mid-June, when gardens really start to look like gardens and life busts out all over the place. I’m an admin for the Master Gardeners of Ontario Facebook group and also a fairly regular visitorContinue reading “Killing stuff in the garden”
More Than A Pretty Garden 