OK, thanks, I think I'll give it a whirl then and WS them. Never have grown them from seed before so I wasn't sure what to do. Kmpsmom, our weather here in Zone 6B tends to be sort of similar to Zone 7, so that's great to know you had success with WS'ing them. We had a cool spring and summer here in PA too because of all that rain. Aliska12000, I think I'll hold a few pansy seeds back too, that's a good idea. Maybe I'll sow them in containers in the spring just to see how those work. Thanks again for your follow up posts! Now I just need to get more seed starting mix...

Yippee! The first sprouts are very exciting, even when you're not a newbie. This is my 4th year, and the first sprouts of the year are just starting in the last couple days too!

The other advantage to wintersowing, besides being less expensive than buying (what pathetic selection they have available) at the nursery, and also having the space to coddle seedlings all over inside--messing with supplemental lighting, etc., and that your plants will be hardier and already hardened off, is this: your plants will also be hardier through the hotter months, and more resistant to the cold at the end of season. My wintersown tomatillo survived a pretty hearty frost last year, but the indoor-start one (yes, same seed/variety) didn't make it. However, one of the drawbacks is that, for some plants, there won't be enough head start to get big enough to get some harvest. For example, if you have longer-to-ripen tomatoes, they might not be ready to go before the first frost. Also, peppers will have a later start, etc., and something that didn't occur to me until a few days ago, is that my "120-day" okra (it's not really that long to harvest since it's a continual thing) will be so far behind the 8-ball that it might be August before we get our first okra, whereas if I have indoor or nursery starts, they are usually flowering in June. This might be particularly true if your actual growing season is shorter, like Bonnie's. The other thing to remember is that not all things are suitable for true wintersowing--basil and some herbs are a little too intolerant of the cold that if they sprouted then there was a freeze, they might not make it. However, if you're starting now, I think you're good to go on just about anything from the cold-intolerant timetable. That being said, I always start some stuff inside, and try to put it outside for as much natural sun during the day as possible, then bring it in at night until the nights are warmer. I do "backup" starts for the tomatoes that I can't live without (so then, will someone please explain to me how I have over 40 starts? Oh yeah... the SWAP!), and ALL my peppers and herbs--and certainly, the cherished okra. Also, I stupidly started some cipollini onions WAY too late (but I bought the seeds, and they'll be no good next year) inside, so we'll see if those guys turn out. Of course, Trudi D will tell you that she started wintersowing as a great experiment because she was going cabin-crazy in the deep of winter and just wanted to make some mud pies in January... (My husband now wonders, since we move our tomato containers into the garage and harvest until February, if he will ever see his wife's fingernails without any dirt under them... I'm goin' with NO)

Fairydancer - My first sprouts were on March 25th. Those were the bachelor buttons and wallflower which are very early germinaters. Then in the beginning of April they really started taking off. I stopped recording sprout dates on May 31st. After that point I just marked whether or not they germinated. There was a few that germinated in June. It depends on what you are growing and the condition they are growing in. Don't panic about the headroom. Like Anne-Marie said, they don't shoot up overnight. You have time to monitor them. Mine didn't die when they hit the plastic, either. Most had sufficient headroom but there were a few that needed more. They'd just bend underneath the plastic and pop right up when you took the cover off. You can usually make the air holes bigger at this point and they will peak their heads out of the holes. I'd make the holes right above a cluster in the pot. I tried to plan ahead by giving them headroom with either a stick in the middle of the pot or a drinking straw in a cup. I made little tents over the containers. The only thing that I did have to re-cover was my spinach. That one grows fast! If you do run into a major problem, itÂs fixable! I posted a link for an idea below for you. Anne-Marie is right on track. Check out "Debbie SW OK"Âs photos. The fourth and fifth pictures will give you an easy solution. I donÂt see holes in her plastic  she must lift it to water. Notice that she tented the plastic up with some kind of poles so the plastic doesnÂt hit the cups. If you follow the post down "shoe" used sweater bags. Three hundred cups equals a lot of sweater bags, though! Perhaps you could pick up a couple of clear shower curtain liners from the dollar store and rig something up like Debbie. ThatÂs only if you run into trouble! Not to add to your worry, but do watch the rubber bands. I didn't use any but did read reports of them deteriorating over the winter in some areas. I use duct tape on everything but youÂre not going to want to recover 300 cups! You might have to replace them as the winter progresses. Let us know how they hold up in our area! IÂm glad to see so many Âneighbors winter sowing! My chief concern is the spring rains we normally get. I donÂt want to flood anything and those rainstorms can be pretty severe on little sprouts. We were lucky that we only experienced a few downpours last year. ItÂs going to be good to have people to compare notes with! Here is a link that might be useful: container pictures