Wintersowing and other experiments

I tried the wintersowing method of seed starting this year, with what so far seems like great success. Every container I planted in January and February has sprouts! The next test is getting them to survive until I can transplant them into their garden beds. I couldn't resist the urge to get started transplanting, and a few weeks ago I went ahead with transplanting some cauliflower and broccoli to a couple of tubs that I'm experimenting with. I have some big black plastic tubs, about 2 ft. tall x 2 ft. diameter - perfect for absorbing the heat from the sun - that I have grown veggies in previously. I decided to try to use them as cold-frames (although 'hot tubs' has a better ring to it I think!) by planting in them, then covering with plastic or glass. I transplanted the broccoli and cauliflower to a couple of the tubs on March 1, and while they aren't quite as big as some of those that are still in the original wintersown containers, most of them are growing. I also direct-seeded Buttercrunch lettuce in one, Mustard-spinach in another, Swiss Chard in one, and a combination of radish, dill and cilantro in another. Those have all germinated and are growing as well.

Another experiment was a 2nd transplanting of the broccoli and cauliflower from the wintersown containers into their permanent garden beds. I did that Saturday (3/22) and today, I'm pretty sure most of those died :*( It turned too cold and windy before they could get rooted I'm afraid. I tried using some of the row cover fabric to protect them, but I didn't have enough to do a good job. Good news is, there are still several nice, healthy plants in the wintersown containers, so I'll get another shot at this in another week or so.