I only sow seeds in spring so I'm pondering how different your climate is from my own.

Rosa is just doing a little early what has been labelled "winter sowing" on these forums. Many hardy plants can be sown now and left outside over winter, even if you have cold winters (with protection from animals.) You should see germination in spring. If not in autumn. After all, hardy plants drop their seed in late summer, not spring.

Interesting, I've confined my winter sowing to things like milkweed that need stratification.

rp, not annoying but very interesting and informative 👍🏽

debra

I am sowing something practically every month of the year, Cecily. I did biennials back in June - a bit late but I was behind with April/May vegetables. July is the least likely month for sowing, but this year, I did a couple of mediterraneans and SA perennials which I thought worth sowing as soon as I got them. Then I also got a bunch of alpines which are fast germinators from fresh seed, (edraianthus, pulsatilla,) so did them too. I do Hardy annuals in August because I Like them to make tough little plants which then just sit, doing nothing above ground, but growing a rootmass underground all winter. Not only are these hardy annuals up early, they make extraordinarily vigorous plants. September, it's bulbs and the start of a lot of planting out. As soon as I start to empty the greenhouse of last years seedlings and this years tomatoes, I start winter sowing, which goes on all winter and on into spring. My climate is temperate to allow for plants to be raised all year round. I don't use heat or lights - I would be utterly inundated if I did that...although I have used both when I was growing long season vegetables such as peppers and onions. I try to keep it fairly effortless and simple - my winter stratification is very haphazard and I have never paid much attention to germination temperatures so I do accept a few fails every year. I do have a large(ish) greenhouse but I also sacrifice every spare inch of space because I love raising plants, especially from seed. It just never wears off, for me. Every single germination is a minor miracle.