Here's what I'm sowing over the next month:

verbena bonariensis
amsonia tabernaemontana
mesclun
aquilegia canadensis
aquilegia nigricans
blue vervain
astrantria 'Ruby Cloud'
prairie crocus
2 NOID aquilegias that popped up in a friends garden
a gazillion varieties of sominiferum poppies including alot of somniferum var. paeoniiflorum

That's a wonderful list, Dahlia.

You also might want to check out wintersown.org for plants that like a cold period/stratification before germination.

Thank you so much Linda. I surely will.

I liked the "Tip of the Day" about pushing a funnel into a few feet of very dry cut-off garden hose. (Or clear plastic tubing from a hardware store).

Drag the end of the hose along the ground while sprinkling seeds into the funnel, to beat the wind!

neat!

Ahhhhh, yes the wind.Always there in cold weather. Thats a great idea.

I tried WS last year and had about 90% success rate. This year I'm trying DS. I hope the seeds take as I'm sure I'll forget what I put where LOL Oh yeah, I did DS some left over Cosmos seeds last winter. I had completely forgotten about them until they came up this spring. The funny thing about that is the ones I WS and transplanted didn't do very well. They were micro plants, they flowered and stayed green but they were SO tiny. The ones I tossed out got HUGE. Don't really know why, they were the same kind.

This years attempt....

Standing Cypress
Poppies~multiple varieties
Hollyhock Creme De Cassis
Columbine~multiple varieties
Bachelor Buttons
Bronze Fennel

more to come

I am not an expert in DS so I only sow seeds I KNOW are hard to distroy.

I have had luck with poppies and Larkspur. Some cosmose and zinnia but sowed them in spring when the weather and earth were warmer.

I plan to direct sow quite a few things this Fall. Will also roll seed heads between my hands or fingers in locations as I walk around the yard. Not quite sure on a list just yet. Bronze Fennel will definitely be one, as well as Datura, Giant 4 o'clocks, and ???

I like the seedpod rolling idea.
DD#3 has a cosmose I want. Its bright orange.We will picnic there today,maybe I will get some from her and roll my own lol.

Do all of your daughters garden, JoAnn?

Nearly all,some better than others. DD#1 lives in rentals, has no permanent soil,does planters.
DDi live with does what she can,is very good at botany, has a big job and likes to do other things.
DD#3 is starting new gardens at her new house as of 2 years. She spends more time at it. DD #4 has some vedgs.

That's great!

Shall we bump this discussion up for 2013?

@CarolineScott great idea to bump this up.
I was not around when this conversation started and I have a lot to learn. I need to DS poppies in Savannah Georgia zone 8a-8b. Is it too soon?

I think later in the month, but even in Oct. I did larkspur and columbines last year. Well, foxglove too but they didn't germinate.

Calgary is zone 3 so we do fall sowing earlier.
Frost will probably come in the next week or two.
Last year, germination was best for seeds sown in December on the snow.

I hope to have 40 more days until frost, and maybe as many as 65 days until a 28-degree hard frost. I have snap peas and snow peas only 5-7 inches tall, and Bok Choy at the seedling stage.