neither temps.. seem to be warm enough.. for germination of many plants .... especially the 41 degrees at night ...

i am sure you can google germination temps for each plant ..

but i doubt.. any of the temps will kill the seed ...

sooo.. can you do it.. sure...

how long will they sit there.. until the soil warms.. who knows ...

the key is.. soil temps... for 24 hours .... 60 to 70 degrees during the day .. doenst mean much.. if with short days of winter ... 18 hours are spent below 60 degrees ...

the best way to learn.. is to just do it.. and keep records.. so that next year.. you have info.. more specific to your area .....

ken

you can sow everything except the hibiscus and the abutilon, some of those seeds like a little cold weather so now is the time to do it. that said, it really is easier to sow in containers. go to the winter sowing thread here on gw and see if that will work for you. and good luck-messing with seeds is wonderful. the hibiscus and abutilon require constant temps of about 70 to germinate. some of the other seeds might need to go in the fridge to get cold enough.

This post was edited by davids10 on Fri, Jan 16, 15 at 19:13

Phylis, depends on the plant. Most of the scabiosa, some of the aster, will benefit from the 40F temps of your nights that you describe and germination could be improved by sowing those while its cool. Echinacea aren't damaged by the cooler temps, but they may not necessarily need it and wouldn't germinate until conditions are warmer. The cool moist overnight temperatures could help to break dormancy of rudbeckia seed too....

I'll leave the vegetable sowing to someone else who grows in your zone, its too chilly to consider here farther up the coast. And last year, we had a cold snap in early February that was a surprise, a definite hard freeze into the teens a few consecutive nights.

See which specific varieties you have, then check them here for germination conditions and temps:

Here is a link that might be useful: Germination database

I have some rubekia that has sprouted a couple of weeks ago in the garden. they are small an not growing . I hope they are working on their roots. We have a few warm day and then it is cold again. highs right now in the upper 60's and low around 40. I expect a couple more hard freezes. Most of mine are sewn in the ground. I imagine that in CA. you want to get things going as early as possible to take advantage of all that beautiful rain. We are having the first dampish winter in a long time and I have been seeding perennials all over and seeing great results. I am talking about drylands gardening. I do not water and depend on the rain. Many of the ones that I use seem to come up when it is a bit cool . i.e. the penstemons. I am seeing them pop. God, you have to look carefully. I did get some wild asters popping to. I am seeing Dalea purpuria and Oenothera macrocarpa showing leaf. Generally , in Texas I try to get many perennials seeded in late fall and winter. I do suggest looking at germination temperature tables.

If you are in doubt, reserve some seed and do some later. I have seen that the west coast is projected for a warm winter.... if you can believe that. Believe it at your own peril. I am projected for 3-5 degrees below normal winter so I will throw some leaves over the babies if the cold one comes. So far it has been cool for longer but no real vicious cold snaps. It is still well above are our average minimum . Keep your eye on the 10 day forecast if you ate going to play the seeding outdoors game. I am seeing all sorts of seedlings in my garden sprouting . some I want and some I don't.