Not all seed need a cold treatment... Seed can best be stored in a cool, dry location. But even if properly stored each year the % germination decreases.... Shelf life on a few seed is six months... But others are 3-50 years.....
as for winter sowing... this is natures way & has been going on for many thousands of years..... If desire sow seed that have a cold treatment requirement & others sow in spring. Lastly do not assume seed has already had a cold treatment before sales....

Last winter was my first for winter sowing, once you try it you will be hooked. I can't answer your questions but you can find answers at theWinter Sowing Forum (be sure and read the FAQ's) and at Trudi's Winter Sowing site.

...you will find objections here from the above referral....

You should assume that store seed has not received any cold treatment. Any cold treated seed that is stored dry for any length of time will need to be cold treated again for good germination. If you don't have detailed instructions for a particular seed, expect that hardy trees and shrubs, spring bulbs, alpines, and very hardy perennials are likely to need cold stratification.

Don't worry yourself with all that you hear about seeds needing a cold spell,it is simply untrue.I start seed in winter under lights,also grow my perennials and shrubs in the GH through the summer,the seeds are never chilled.Be more concerned about the planting depth of your seed, that is why most seeds don't germinate they are planted too deep.

...sorry we can't refer you to the FAQs here....

...I am in agreement with the posts of george and shrubs...One should deeply weigh in standards from written cultural notes... We are living in a changing world with the emergence of other nations operating in the industrial state and all that comes along with "Mother Nature."

i don't get it ... what does "sorry, we can't refer you to the FAQS here" mean????? i don't know enough about all this to read between the lines ... but i'd really like to know.....

hello:for examples: have you read Tom Clothiers articles on seed staring(i.e.seedling fertilizers- U Mass; NCSU); Schumacher's articles; Dr. Thomas Landis>Handbook 674 vol 5 Tables and Figures);T&M articles: The Seed Site articles for a start??

mother nature's behaviour should be reviewed because,for an example, some of us are having difficulty stratifying and are experiencing unusual untimely heat, precipitaion, or droughts...(i.e.)I don't think I would rely on that version of "Spring WS" whatever that means...based on last year's "spring"
( min./max thermometers are useful)....

phly:that version of ws may be the place for you. Whatever they propose,proclaim, and carry about is of no concern of mine....

Another advantages of harvesting your seeds and planting them,

1. You can hand select the biggest and bestest heads and cut the miner heads off so all the juices go to the preselected heads.

2. If it's a production crop they will start to adapt to your mirco climate. I am about to start my nineth generation of Ech. purpuria.

To those of you who snicker at the wintersowing forum, there is an old saying "don't knock it if you haven't tried it."
Those of us that have will never go back to the grow light set up and indoor seed starting.

Pickwick, I wouldn't worry about last years spring rains. I had over 20 inches of rain fall in my yard last spring in New England. Below is a link to my photobucket album summer 2006 WS and spring sown gardens. not bad for all the rain we had.
give it a try before you knock the natural science of mother nature.

Also these pics from this year's winter and spring sowing
{{gwi:245800}}


{{gwi:245805}}


{{gwi:245808}}


{{gwi:245814}}


{{gwi:245817}}


{{gwi:245820}}


{{gwi:245824}}


{{gwi:245828}}


{{gwi:245832}}


{{gwi:245835}}

hard to knock those results isn't it?

Here is a link that might be useful: summer 2006 gardens results of winter sowing and spring sowing

Most of us don't snicker at winter sowing... we laugh so hard that we wet ourselves. Sowing seeds in containers in winter is hardly a new idea. Or is using recylables to start seeds in. Those of us who have been around the block a few times with the GW have seen a lot of back peddling with the WS faq's.

...and deleted threads...

Really? On what? It seems like a pretty simple method, with a fair amount of success.

Altho' you're right, happyhoe: "There's nothing new under the sun"!