You can sow them outdoors in covered containers right now -it is a method called wintersowing - I have been doing it since January - no need to try and find places in the house and chase the sun and it works GREAT - many gardeners in your zone are planting right out in the garden now with wintersown hardy annuals. There is a forum here on GW devoted to it. Read the FAQ first to get an idea of what we are talking about - then ask all the questions you want - these are very helpful gardeners and eager to share - it will change your whole way of thinking.... Lynne Here is a link that might be useful: WinterSowing

Daniellalell, It looks like you've just discovered our Forum, and if that is the case, a big Welcome! I also need to warn you that you are about to embark on a wondrous adventure of year round gardening which will drive your family and friends to think you are a certified wacko gardener... You will experience pure joy in the coming months if you participate in this thing called winter sowing. (Some folks at this time would write 'but I digress', yet I will not since I have never digressed at the thought of filling gardens with all the plants I want. I garden in a similar zone as yours and start winter sowing in the deep cold of February - also know as Valentine's Day. Only once in five years have I lost a couple of containers to a deep cold frost and these were tender annuals which were sown too early. You see, we start with perennials, then we move on to biennials, half hardy perennials, then it's the reseeding or 'tough' annuals, and then as the season winds down, we sow our tender annuals. I have also learned in the last few years that most seeds which germinate early are tough and will make it through. I've had Bachelor Button Sprouts covered with 1.5 inches of ice pellets and after the ice thawed, they were still there growing as strong as could be! I've posted a link to the FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions) page so you can peruse and read at your leisure. Do read them, and then come back and we will answer any question you have. Here is a link that might be useful: Winter Sowing FAQs

Good question but the answer depends on your local winter conditions. It would be best to get someone in z6 and your region to respond but here is a general response. When direct sowing some of your seeds may germinate now, others may need winter freeze & moisture to break dormancy so you would see them in the spring. If the seedlings are northern hardy they should make it through the winter even if they germinate now so long as they have enough time to get good roots established before freezing weather sets in. That is also a dependency on your local region. Since it can take several weeks for seedlings to sprout & then to develop true roots you need to calculate if you have enough time before frost would drive them into dormancy. In my area, winter is our driest season with very little moisture but too cold to use a hose to water. Because of that I would only direct sow after freezing weather sets in so they won't sprout until spring or else sow in the spring to make sure the seedlings have plenty of root developed before they have to go through their first cold/dry winter.

Finding Your Last Spring Freeze Day To find your "Week 0" when frost is unlikely on your area, see USDA map below. For example, I live in PNW near Seattle. I'm choosing to use "March 15th" for my calendar. ____________________ Finding Your Plant Hardiness Zone Number You can also find your growth zone by this USDA ARS link to help you select seeds/plants hardy in your area. USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map http://planthardiness.ars.usda.gov/PHZMWeb/Default.aspx ____________________ Example Farmer's Almanac of USDA Guide for vegetable crops that can be found online for your zone. This one generated for z8b. For you zone on such sites, just plug in your zipcode or growth zone, as requested and they generate a graph or list of general Seed Sowing, Plant Growing, and Harvest Times. Example Urban Farmer Vegetable Planting Schedule by Zone and Map Details by State Vegetable Planting Schedules http://www.ufseeds.com/Vegetable-Planting-Schedules.html For instance, when z8 is viewed, z8b would be earlier and z8a later in the range. If having an unusually warm or cold season, one might choose to adjust the date range shown by a half week. week, or maybe two, as appropriate. ____________________ Hope this helps!