Well, I was a gardener in Zone 3 for most of my life, and have been a Zone 7 gardener for about 4 years now, so I'm not an expert. But I do believe that delphiniums will not grow here, it's way too hot for them in the summer--larkspur is the substitute for them. You could put the larkspur seeds outside now, do a direct sow into your garden. And I do know that sweet peas are usually planted when it's pretty cold out, and they bloom in early spring, also direct sowed into the soil.

Sorry but I did not know what w/s flats mean. But I will tell you what I am doing.

1) Like yourself I am starting seeds in a growing system on my deck. I keep the plastic lid on until I start to see sprouts. I then take the lids off during the day and put them back on at night.

2) I am only sowing seeds now which state I can "sow in early spring". So I don't know exactly what will and won't work on your list but check the seed packets.

3) As the temperature warm over the next month, I will sow seeds in trays which state to "sow after last frost date" I personally don't direct sow a lot of items in the ground because I like the control of sowing in flats and transplanting. I just have better germination rates.

4) *** The most important thing for me is using one of the growing trays which let you water from the bottom. Generally you set your tray on cloth which soaks up the water and ensure your soil stays moist.

5) I do use a heating pad to start pepper seeds.

Best of luck...

I believe that w/s stands for winter sowing. We are now into Spring and it doesn't look like we will have any more hard freezes so you can just plant seeds where you want them.

The beauty of winter sowing is that you don't do a whole lot of caregiving, you sow the seeds late in the year, let the flats or containers sit outside someplace out of the way and in the spring they should sprout. A lot of the common garden bloomers require a bit of cool weather to get the seeds to break dormancy, without the chilly nights they don't sprout (some seeds have to go through two winter cycles and two spring warming periods before they sprout!!!)

All that being said - I don't like to place my babies into direct sunlight until after they have real leaves (not the first pair when they sprout). Bright shade will do just fine for tiny seedlings.

The problem with winter sowing is that you end up with a bajillion baby plants that all need transplanting on the same weekend. If they stay too long in the tiny cell packs of a seed flat or small container it can stunt their roots and cause problems later on. This ends up being a lot of work - you sort of make up for spending an entire winter without taking care of them. You can simply pick out the strongest of the seedlings and focus your care on them and let the other weaker babies struggle or die.

Some of the plants on your seed sown list need a lot more winter then we've experienced since late February. Some of them are better to just sow on the ground because they hate being transplanted.

Our nights right now are fine for most seedlings - I have all my flats outside all the time now. I try to keep them where they won't get a ton of wind or hot sunshine (not always easy).

Larkspur sprouts better for me if I cover the seed flat in a black plastic bag for total darkness for at least a month and then set it outside for the winter. That being said, most of the time they do better just sown on the ground where I want them in the fall. You have to rake the leaves away from them all winter long (they need the sunlight to sprout). When I have sown them in flats they bloomed later than the ground sown seeds (not necessarily a bad thing).

To get the super tall bloom spikes on Delphiniums you have to start the seeds in late summer and over winter them in the ground. They are very hard to start from seed. They are also very hard to manage while tiny seedlings. The problem with growing them here is that few garden centers offer them as seedlings in the fall which is the best time of year to plant them (this is the same with strawberry plants). I have had better luck growing them from store bought seedlings. I have never been able to keep them over the summer but I grow them every year and on years I can get the seeds to sprout in late August I have had massive tall flower spikes. It also helps to drive down to Charleston SC around November, the garden centers down there understand when Delphs need to...

I agree with John. It's too warm for things that need stratification such as many perennial seeds. On the other hand, you can still sow outside in covered flats for most annuals and they will sprout fine with our current temp swings from day to night. The trick is to have good ventilation holes on the flats, not allow them to get direct sunlight (dappled as under pines is fine) and to make sure the media does not completely dry out (check weekly and spray the top of the media to keep evenly moist - a light hand is necessary and a mister helps). I did some annuals to fill in holes in my yard as I am restoring the garden and tearing up the beds and some are already sprouting after just 10 days. It's quick once it warms up.

Do a search on "hunk of seedlings" for tips on how to transplant. Personally I don't bother growing on. I take a "chunk" of media with some seedlings, cut back all but 2 or 3 with scissors, and plant the chunk directly on the ground. Since the flat has been sitting outside the seedlings are pretty hardy as long as the ground you plant them in is evenly moist and free of competing weeds.

Good luck.