Most warm-season veggie seeds like warmth to germinate but can grow on in cooler conditions. But I think 50F may be pushing it for tomatoes and such. When the natural gas prices went up last year, I dropped the thermostat down. I've started seeds for years in the basement, and I did notice that last year, when the temps were down in the mid 50s, stuff grew, but it grew a lot slower--and some of the tomatoes looked a little purplish and chilled. (The perennials were fine with the cooler temps.) However, I didn't attempt to germinate warm-season veggies down there--for that I use the radiators (flats are first tucked into tall kitchen garbage bags with a couple of sticks to keep the plastic off of the soil). I don't think you necessarily need a heat mat, but you probably do need a source of (ideally bottom) heat, at least for germination.

Hi, I think they will be fine to sow later or you can plant them in pot and place them in your garage when cold weather comes. I have Grandpa Ott's that have self-sown and one is flowering now! Of course we haven't had very cold weather here. I also noticed that Emma's gift is popping up on the lawn.

I would go ahead and plant them. I don't know a lot about them, but I think they should be fairly fast growers.

Mowing will control the poppies over time. Heather, it's not too late to plant grass. It takes about 10 days to germinate. And this time of year you never have to water. I like to sow grass seed with perennial rye. The rye germinates immediately becoming a cover crop to hold the soil for the grass. Over time the rye dies as you mow and the grass takes over. The mulched rye and dead roots become nutrients for the lawn. Regards, Jim