I see you are in zone 4. Outdoor winter sowing techniques would be my suggestion. Check the winter sowing forum for more on that.

FataMorgana

Thanks for the tip, but as I mentioned, I would like to start seedlings and not direct sow for the seeds I'm looking for help with.

I have not heard about using sand. I would use slightly moist perlite I've also used paper towel in a baggy in the manner Deno described in his seed germination books.

Winter sowing can be done in containers rather than direct-sown. I tried winter sowing in that manner for the first time last winter and started a number of native plants. When the seedlings were big enough, I transplanted them to garden locations.

FataMorgana

I've had good luck for several years Winter Sowing natives. I just finished WS'ing these natives: Cardinal flower, Downy Lobelia, Firepink, and Red Ring Milkweed.

This is what I've ended up doing for the seedlings. I spoke with Prairie Moon today where I got most of my seeds and this is similar to the method that they use though they actually sow directly to seedling flats. I am doing three seedlings each of the various flowers, so put some seeds in a marked baggie along with a teaspoon or so of moist sand. Then they went into the fridge.

Here's a photo so the setup for the seeds I just started that need 60 days of stratifying.

After 60 days, I'll transfer these to seedling trays and mix the sand with soil-less seedling mix and start the germination process on a heat mat. Then they go under the lights (with my tomatoes etc) until mid-may when I'll start hardening.

I'll post an update on how things are going.

I have used moist sand in ziploc bags. I used the sand out of the bag of tube sand that I use to weigh down the back of my pick up truck in the winter.

After the seed/sand mix has been in the refrigerator for a couple weeks, I spread the seed/sand mixture out on top of an inch or two of potting soil in a flat tray. (I have reused plastic fruit containers for trays - like the ones strawberries come in) Under a grow light.

After the seeds have germinated, and developed a strong root, I carefully transfer the seedlings to paper dixie cups full of potting soil - about two seedling per cup. Then I let them grow, keep the soil moist. After they get tall and the weather is right, I plant them, cup and all. The cup will disintegrate.

I had some pictures of my shelf unit with the grow lights and seed trays, but I can't find them.

Though I haven't done the trays for a few years, I've just been direct sowing or winter sowing lately. I'm not as picky as I once was...

I'll do some direct sowing next year. I'm rehabilitating a few areas and one of them needs some weed suppression so I'll be using mulch to keep that down this year along with direct plantings of the various natives and some sunflowers. I'm also doing a bunch of the natives in a flower bed so would like more control over where I am putting specific things, and in my woods there is a section that I am dealing with garlic mustard so I'd like controlled plantings for the shade natives to help keep that down and it's easier to keep track of things when I plant and mark seedlings that just sowing.

I have been slowly setting up my light shelf over the last few months and just finished it. I'll post a photo when I get the tomatoes and other things set.

Another user over in the veggie forum pointed me to a great resource for seedling trays -

http://www.novoselenterprises.com

They carry those star plug trays that last forever and promote deep root structures. It's actually the same style (possibly brand) that Prairie Moon is shipping their seedlings in. Very cheap compared to a lot of the nursery sites.

I'll post back how my seedlings are doing later this spring.

Oh Mister Patrick, you have so much to learn in the next 10 years or so. You have started on a very exciting and rewarding journey. Wonder what your technique will be a decade later for germination. I've been there and this is how I'm tackling it this year(year 11).
I started all my prairie seeds as warm(30)-cold(90)-warm in ziploc snack bags with soiless mixture, about 3 weeks ago.
I already had some germination going on and they went into the fridge as it is a disaster to try and pot them now.
Of course some will germinate like crazy in the fridge which is another problem altogether. After the 90 day period is up, it will be warm enough so any new seedlings can go outside in the daytime. (Wait until you experience seedling die off.)
Then there are those seeds that still do not germinate after all the pampering has gone on. Those guys get the dry out method and the bags stored until the following January and get to do it all over again. Already had 3 of those tardy guys germinate now and they have gone into the fridge.
I could go on a lot longer about what happens to the seedling in year 1, etc, but you will find that out yourself.
Please keep us posted as to how your method is working as I for one want to know everything there is to getting this right. And oh, WS's I am totally not interested in your methods.
And please check my seed list for trades. I made two purchases to Prairie Moon but still missed things I want.
Lotsa luck to you.

Here is a link that might be useful: Dandy_line trade list

Although I am a big proponent of WS, I did some different things recently: seeds in moist vermiculite in a baggy, originally with the idea of just "saving them" and keeping them moist until I could WS. Imagine my surprise when, in less than two weeks, I had seedlings. This has occurred twice this winter. I moved one bag to a container, still inside, but I am thinking of moving it outside now since we are in a warm period for another week...let it acclimate before the cold returns.

Fun to play with seeds...have some inside in moss for another new technique right now, and this also shows promise. I WS'ed half of these, so I can experiment with the other ones.

I am glad to read all of the different experiences people have had. Deno's books are good, but I prefer some of the less complicated ones.

It's been so warm here in Minnesota that I actually mixed up a bunch of my seeds yesterday with some sand and went out and sowed them in some areas where I am looking to do some native plantings. Not sure how well that will work, but I'm figuring they'll melt down through the thin layer of snow we have left and get some protection and start germinating when it warms up. Or nothing will happen. I'm fine with either and thought it'd be a good experiment.

I winter sow because it is to much work to pack it here and then repot, heat and light and then plant out. Everything I have is be born in the cold and I had great germination rates. My winter sown tomatoes faired my better than my mothers hot house ones and they were planted next to each other. Prairie moon is great for seeds I started 210 milk jugs from their seeds last winter which was my second season. Watch out this habit is addicitive.

I've started somewhere around 100 native species from seed, and for seeds that require cold stratification, it is easiest to start the seeds in containers or pots outside and let mother nature provide the cold and moisture that the seeds need to germinate. The winter-sowing method, in recycled containers with a protective cover, is very easy, but you could also use a cold frame or hoop house, etc. Someone once explained to me they use a cold frame with a screen top, because the screening gently filtered the snow melt/rain water into the pots (while at the same time, keeping out rodents).

Actually the very easiest way to start seedlings, is to let the plants do it for you! Once you have established gardens, many will reseed on their own. Or sometimes I scatter seed in the fall over some open ground, and will usually get little seedlings in the spring. I have 4 or 5 large patches of Lobelia cardinalis now, most of the plants were self-sown seedlings that pop up in odd places, and along the garden paths. It's fun to poke around the gardens and find sweet little seedlings, learn to id them, and transplant them around.

I also do stuff inside too, like house plants, Amaryllis or other bulbs, and occasionally something special under lights. It helps pass the winter! But for me it's too fussy to deal with baggies or lights on a large scale.

Yes, Mother Nature germinates plants, for me, out in paths and in disturbed areas, so I can easily pop them out and replant where I want them. This works fine for all except the pink lady slippers, which recently have reseeded out at the edge of a field. I am afraid to move them! The man who comes twice a month to mow in the summer just has to go around the stakes I put out there to protect the plants.

I have successfully transplanted lady slippers in a rescue, but the odds are against long term survival.