I checked the list you posted over on the WS thread, CT, and the only things I see over there that would need protection are the cosmos, zinnias, and marigolds.

Anything that hasnÂt come up yet will be fineÂannuals, veggies, perennials, anything. You donÂt need to worry about them. And all the things you listed here would be fine even if they had come up already. TheyÂre all hardy perennials and know how to take care of themselves. Well, if your sea oats are Northern Sea Oats (Chasmanthium latifolium), theyÂd be fine. There are hardy and tender types of sea oats, so that one depends on which kind you have.

The garage theyÂre in needs to be COLD! If itÂs heated, move them somewhere else where itÂs cold, or move them back outside and cover them up with an old blanket.

All your stuff will be fine! Everybody worries the first year!

;-)
Skybird

Thanks Skybird -- you have been SO helpful. I have been lurking for months and see your name pop up a lot with great support and advise.

My garage is not heated and pretty drafty. I will go check to make sure it is not too warm...

Thanks for patting my hand through my first year. :) It is so exciting to see my milk jug ghetto take off so well!

Camontour - Leave those seed buckets outside! The snow won't hurt them; actually acts as insulation. They will sprout when they are good and ready. Other questions? Check w/ the folks on the Winter Sowing forum, they are very friendly and knowledgeable.

Here is a link that might be useful: Winter Sowing

Skybird - What is the reason for it needing to be very cold? Is it so they don't get "shocked" by the sudden warmth inside? Or something else? Just curious, mine went into the garage, which is not heated at all, but is not nearly as cold as outside. Thanks!

The problem isnÂt the warm when you bring them in, Sis, itÂs the COLD when you take them back out!

If you bring the plants/seedlings inside and they become acclimated to the warm, they lose their ability to handle the cold, and then if you put them back outside they really are likely to freeze. If theyÂre in a place thatÂs too warm for too long, you need to "harden them off" all over again, before they can be safely left outside again. Even with the warm days weÂve had lately, itÂs been getting cold enough over nite for them to maintain their ability to handle the cold, but warm days AND nites will really mess with that ability. And, I donÂt know this for sure, but I suspect the winter sown things that have come up and grown in the cold are even better able to handle the cold than things youÂve started inside and then hardened off to put outside. I suspect even the annuals would be ok, but IÂm not positive, and I really, really donÂt want to mess up somebodyÂs baby plants, but I think leaving them outside with a cover of some sort (blanket or layers of newspaperÂwhich would obviously blow away today!) would be way plenty to keep them safe. I always have some reseeded annuals coming up in my yard every year, and I give them absolutely no protection whatsoever, and they always do just fineÂunless I pull them out! ;-) And theyÂre not even in a little winter sown "tent!" Our warm temps this year have probably tricked a few things, but most things wonÂt germinate and come up until itÂs "their time!" ThatÂs why winter sowing works!

But, in any event, even if youÂve started something outside, if you bring it in for more than a day or two, be sure you gradually harden it off again before leaving it outside again.

Most plants are very good at taking care of themselves,
Skybird