Try calendula, cosmos, 4 o'clocks, nasturtiums. Nasturtiums are edible to and have a peppery taste. You can eat calendula petals but I've tried them and didn't think to much of them. The shorter varieties of cosmos, i.e. Polidor, would be nice. You could also choose some herbs, especially anise which has a nice licorice flavor. If you go with an herb, choose one that kids will like the taste of. I almost forgot borage with it's sky blue flowers. Be careful though with that one because it can become invasive. Lettuce would be nice and they could make their own salads or add it to sandwiches. These are just some choices. I'm sure you will get lots more. Marg

Not trying to get into the wintersow vs. not wintersow debate here but....... The only time it makes sense to wintersow is when you are sowing seeds needing cold stratification and I know some of the ones you listed do not need it. I sowed the Asceplsis incarnata in early August and plan to put them in the ground under mulch all winter. I am winter sowing some native shrub seeds needing a couple months of cold strat. in pots outdoors and three others that are perennials that specifically need it. There are no hard fast rules to this. To each his own. I rather enjoy sowing indoors in winter and have had very good results and it gives me an uplift in winter to do that. I have had good head starts on healthy plants this way and have sowed many SW shrubs, perennials, ornamental grasses, cactus, etc. I always have something indoors in winter I am sowing. I usually start them in October or November in a large sunny S. exposure window and grow them very cool in the coldest dark months sort of in a wait pattern, then let them get warm again in late Feb when the sun comes stronger. I use lights sometimes if necessary but usually they just sit there in the cold. I am not a wintersower to the degree popularized to a hobby level of lots of containers with holes, lids etc craze with every seed I get being done that way. I just use regular pots in the shade under the carport for the seeds specifically needing a cold period. For penstemons its good, they come up when its still very cold. Some seeds needing cold I direct sow. Sometimes I experiment and try all different ways to see what does best with a backup supply to resow in spring. Look up your different varieties and see what they need and go from there. I have sowed seeds as early as October and had established plugs to put into the ground come spring. Other times I put the late summer sown seedlings in the ground in late fall and cover them with leaf mulch and had good well rooted starts that way in spring. Look at nature, she does that all the time with seeds that have fallen. Mostly, make it fun for yourself and do what you want. Save extra seeds for insurance, or try multiple ways and experiment. Do a test in a damp paper towel with a few seeds to see if they sprout in a few days. Often that will tell you want you need to know.

Carla, I do both direct sow and Winter Sow. I direct sow seeds if I have a huge collection of them. I Winter Sow those seeds that I don't have too many to waste in the rain or snow. I like Winter Sowing because of its ease and it does not require as much care and expense as indoor sowing. I also have a lot of success with it. I am able to grow a lot of seeds that I failed to grow indoors. Please check out the link below. It's still not too late to start. The seedlings are healthy and grow very fast and well. They cost a lot less than those seedlings from garden centers or nurseries. Have fun. Here is a link that might be useful: Winter Sowing FAQ

Good Morning, Kathy - My WS list from last year is on 'my page'. It's in alpha order. I believe I started most of my veggies later in the season Feb/March because I spent a good part of the early winter planting all those flowers. Unfortunately, I didn't yield a high rate of fruit because the trees around my veggie garden have grown considerably! The rabbit-loving lettuce and spinach went on the deck in full sun and just thrived. From all the advice I've read over in WS'ing, as a rule of thumb, it's best to start your annuals later in the season. I'm not sure what to make of this crazy weather we have been having!! I've read a lot of reports about sprouts already that I don't recall reading last year. I recorded the plant date and what did/did not germinate. When I went though it, it appeared that the things that I sowed in Dec had a lower success rate. However, when I compared my data to other folks' lists, there didn't seem to be any correlation to the plant date. I held off through the holiday season and just started putting my pots out now. IÂm doing my perennials first.