I start all most of my seeds inside anyway. This is the first year I've got any winter sewing (wow, for a seamstress that looks really funny!) pots out and they are going to do whatever they will. I am a bit glad for the cold actually, as I'd just put out some poppy seeds and they need a bit of a chill before they'll happily sprout. This is not an abnormal occurrence...

-Marie

I am considering this "The Divine Test" of my winter sowing. When I tried previously, I had poor results due to my fretting and moving the flats everytime the temp changed. (Ended up dumping 1 flat on the ground, another some unknown critter scratched up). So this year, I resisted temptation and will not move or peak at them until the snow that fell yesterday is melted. 12 degrees last night. The only flowers that had sprouted were sweet peas. I am hoping that I can trust Mother Nature. Let us know how yours do.

Andie

I have wintersown for a few years now- and have had great results just leaving the sprouts to their own devises.
I keep the covers on till they MUST come off- it protects them from rain and snow and wind and critters and my inattentive watering. It provides the seeds with a moist protected environment they THRIVE in! None of my containers receive full all day sun- so I do not worry about them frying till the weather gets real hot during the day.
I will be putting more out today in this COLD weather- my first of the annuals too, as I am guessing this will be the last of the sustained freezing cold- and as things warm up from here- the seeds will figure out when they want to sprout.
I will worry more about the late frosts when there is more top growth exposed on these not hardy annuals- and have a set of shelves on the exterior of the garage with a handy roll down clear plastic sheet that will help a bit to protect them- thermal mass from the garage wall- and wind blocking- but these will feel the bite of the later cold snaps- usually all will come out ok- except for the tender tropicals. Those are the only ones I really futz with. I like to start them indoors early- and then do the indoor outdoor dance a couple of times a day till I get tired of it or the night temps stay above 50.
Following the suggestions of Winter Sowing seeds that are hardy to your zone- or re-seeders and waiting a bit to spring sow annuals in containers is really an easy and very safe and worry free way to start so very many healthy plants- Although you do have to research which ones are safe bets for Winter Sowing- and what you should wait on to Spring Sow- or start early indoors.
With a little planning- proper seeds- Proper placement, not on south facing full sun black top- not frozen solid into a puddle- just the right amount of drainage and transpiration/condensation holes- old Ma Nature will do a fantastic job at taking care of the rest! Honest!
Best of luck to you- and your seedlings!
Julie

I planted a couple of flats of WS right after the first blizzard in March. In the last week or so, I have sprouts of malva, lavatera, amaranthus, forget-me-not, cosmos, portulaca, flax and allysum. Granted, these all could have been direct sown, but they have been outside and the only extra work is because of my own curiosity and inability to leave them alone. It will be quite awhile before I can direct sow (still have a few patches of snow on the ground), so if I am lucky enough to get these transplanted, I feel I am way ahead of the game. Did yours make it through that frigid spell?

After the cold the only thing I lost completely--that I know of anyway, was double click cosmos. They had just come up and were toasted. Other than that just a few rough around the edges, but have lots that aren't up yet. Seems like I have a couple new ones sprouting every day now. I moved mine into more sun and had to water them today. Darn wind
Cheryl

OOPS I forgot to mention that I grouped them up put them on the east side of the house covered with 2 layers of builders plastic for the week of Brrrrrrrrr. I just didn't trust the jugs on their own.

For what it is worth department.
I suck at winter sowing cause I didn't follow the rules albeit I only had a dozen or so containers. I left the containers in the wrong spots. All shade would have been best. Live and learn.

I had a round plastic container with a nice plastic top. May have had a large jello mold or salad in it originally.

I put slits, drainage holes, etc in it but left it where the sun got it on those few March days of sixties temps and some of the spinach seeds I had planted in it began to sprout. Well then we got 10 days of temps in the teens at night and I watched the several leaves of each plant freeze and turn to a mushy leaf. Frozen solid in their frozen wet container. So I left them. They are toast I thought.

Late March when the temps warmed I noticed they weren't decomposing, rather turning more green. Not new leaves but the ones I saw as mush were coming back. So, I uncovered them and kept them in the sun as the temps of April got into the sixities, fortyish at night. I have 4 healthy sprouts out of about 6 that sprouted. This weekend I will transplant them to their permanent home. Old Ma Nature always amazes me.

This is the first year I tried it. All I have to show so far is some woodside columbine. I think I lost everything else and probably won't try it again,

Lynn

Don't give up so easily. I know what I did wrong and can correct it for next year. Experimenting is the fun part of gardening and failure is not failure unless you give up.
Some spinach I thought was long dead came back from a frozen state and are now healthy plants in a raised bed.