Pippi, it sounds like you took a very simple process (direct sowing) and tried your best to make it complicated.
When learning about wintersowing, you most likely heard of the possible hazards of direct sowing- washing away with rain or snow, being eaten by critters, etc. But it does work well for some seeds. I had much better results with directly sowing larkspur than wintersowing. But I sowed them in late summer/early fall so they'd sprout then winter over as seedlings. I'd just recommend sowing enough of them to allow for some loss. All you need to do is loosen the soil with a stiff rake, remove obvious big debris like big stones or big chunks of mulch. Scatter the seeds, cover lightly, mist with water to keep moist. Hope for the best. Not all will sprout, and some loss is inevitable.
I do think it's late to direct sow larkspur. They might sprout in spring and grow well, they just won't be as big as if you'd sown them earlier and let them spend the winter out there as tiny seedlings.
Re: the peat pots, did you intend to transplant? Then you might as well wintersow them, right? Am I missing something? And I have little experience with peat pots but they're supposed to rot away after planting.
Karen
