Julia, you can definitely wintersow things that don't need cold strat, or that only need a short strat period. You can use the method for annuals too. I do my annuals according to the weather trends at the time, but usually not until mid March. Some I do even as late as April. Technically, that's not winter any more but the method is the same, except for maybe extra air vents to prevent overheating.
Karen
