Hi JD! My only concern with your covered area is that it may be *too* sheltered. Your containers will need moisture from the weather (rain, snow, etc.). As far as sun, my containers are in pretty much full sun, but I know others who keep them in shadier conditions. I don't think it matters much until the weather warms, and then it matters as far as temps and moisture. The more sun they are in the faster they dry out, and you'd have to be careful of too much warmth, especially if the containers are too closed up. But it's not a big deal - just takes a bit more observation. Bulbs - well, you can't winter-sow the bulbs themselves, but you can wintersow seeds that will grow into bulbs. I've never done it, but I know others have. Best of luck to you! I love your enthusiasm! (And the fact that you shred those darn credit card offers too! I always feel that I've taken a bit of revenge on them as I shred!) :) Dee

Make a note because between now and spring you're going to see this question a lot! My answers are this: Tomatoes; like someone else said if you want early tomatoes you need to plant the ones that produce fruit earlier. I did almost all WSed toms. last year and the rest of my plants came from seeds that planted themselves, I assume that these would be the same as direct sowing, and both of them produced fruit at about the same time. As for annuals I did most of my plants in a mix meaning that I wanted that immediate color but I still wanted to use my WSed plants so in a lot of areas I mixed the two together. This experiment really convinced me that WSing is awesome because the WSed plants not only caught up in a hurry but they practically ran over the plants that I bought. This was especially true for the Cosmos, Marigolds, Salvia and Sweet Alyssum. In fact the Sweet Alyssum that I bought never caught up with the seeds that I WSed! I have some photos and when I get a chance I'll get them posted because this plant alone will make you a believer! Wow I almost forgot Morning Glories, Sweet Peas and Verbena these plants also way out performed the ones that I bought from the store. But once again if you want that instant color mix the best idea is to plant 1/2 of your WSed plants with 1/2 of your store bought because this will allow you to get the best of both worlds. You'll get that instant color with the store bought plants and at the same time you'll get those stronger bigger plants that you'll by WSing. It's kind of the best of both worlds at 1/2 price. Oh wow I almost forgot the other reason to WS & that's to get the plants that you just can't find around your area. I've got seeds for at least 10 plants from other people on this forum that I just can't find around here so WSing gives me a great chance to grow things that I couldn't find otherwise. Strouper

Thanks all for the compliments on my pics. love all the others too. WS is the way to go. Just so you don't think that's all I had WS. Here's a list of 5 years of WS, soon to start #6. All of these are growing in my yard as perennials, though the annuals are gone now from the hard freeze. Snow will be falling soon here in MA. I'm zone 5 and go down as low as below zero, about 20 minute drive to the NH border. So here's the list columbine dianthus cleome candylily blackberry lily leapord lily hardy hibiscus annual hibiscus disco belle lupin perennial foxglove annual foxglove daylilies but the hybrids will not come true to the parent plant balsam impatiens malvas hardy geranium annual poppies perennial poppies toadflax blue thimble gillia forget me nots chinese forget me nots scabiosa dahlias zinnias gazania scalpilosis bachelor buttons petunias snapdragons cosmos money flower lobelia livingston daisy portulacca nicandra nigella viola pansy babies breath 4 o'clocks nasturtium salvia coleus easter egg plant sunflowers tomatoes cucumbers snowpeas peas beans squash both winter and summer basil all kinds dill parsely chives garlic chives morning glory tomatoes hardy iceplant coreopsis queen anne's lace balloon plant dwarf balloon plant aster mums Any seed can go out there and be WS. Good luck Newbies, don't be afraid to start, unless you are afraid of getting addicted. Fran

Tom - what they said. Plus, I like to let my WS perennials get some size to them before planting out. They didn't sprout late. I was planning to enlarge the free-form butterfly bed but didn't get to dig the sod until mid-September. Hurricane Irene and it's aftermath got in the way of garden chores, followed by Storm Alfred. You saw the photos of what that did to my little green acre. I spent today on clean-up same as I have the past 14. As I was picking up branches, I saw a spot where I could plant something so I grabbed my spading fork, gloves & trowel et voila! One less pot to overwinter inside the garage. It's not the spot I had planned but it's in the ground where it belongs and I can move it next year. As I mentioned on docmom's thread, the soil is still workable this time of year, the sun is lower in the sky and the temperature is cooler. The plants are naturally going dormant with the fewer hours of daylight so planting them now isn't going to trigger a sudden growth spurt. One other advantage to planting out this time of year is no bugs--no gnats, no mosquitoes, no bees or flies. Also, there's no need to wear a hat or only work where there's shade. As trudi said, "...the perennials will wait." If Santa Rosa Gardens is still shipping plants this far north, that's another vote for planting late in the season.