Should I sow seeds in winter or spring?

I'd like to sow some grass or flower seeds on muddy soil and I've read that they should be sown in the winter but others say to sow seeds in spring. My only experience is sowing Canada Green grass in the soil outdoors and indoors in a pot which is now outside (attached photo). I mixed 2 parts soil and 1 part seed and put a 1/8 inch layer on top of tilled soil and added 1/8 inch soil on top. During summer and autumn the grass sprouts in 3 days and the blades are 1 inch high by the 6th day.

I'm considering planting sedge in the muddy shaded area or perhaps a flower. I don't want to propagate the seeds indoors. Does anyone have experience with sowing seeds in a cold climate woodland bog?

DoGooder

Does the area stay pretty wet over the winter? If so, wouldn't the seeds rot? Just wondering. Could you start a small bed in the spring strictly for digging up clumps to transfer to the bog area? Are you also meaning to grow lawn grass in muddy soil? Best time to start a cool-season lawn grass is mid-August to mid-September. Summer heat is too much stress for a cool-season lawn grass started in the spring.

CindyMzone5, yes the area is muddy all year unless there is a summer drought more than 2 months. I was thinking if sowing seeds of plants that thrive in mud, so maybe those seeds will be protected from rot. As for starting seedlings in another area I'm considering that but I was hoping to fill the area next year and it's about 300 square feet so I figured it would be easier to sow the seeds all at once.

Regarding the lawn grass, I had mentioned that because grass is the only other type of plant I've grown by seed and I made mistakes during three attempts before I finally figured out a way to sow the seeds successfully. And my final mistake is leaving the pot of grass outside during a 36-hour rain storm and now it's flat. Also, the grass was sown during the warm season, so I don't have any experience wintersowing.

DoGooder

Wow - a whole 'nother technique of seed-sowing - way out of my league but it's an interesting possibility. It does sound like you need some bog grasses/plants. And the only info I've seen on rain gardens requires planting already-sprouted plants. Hmm - what about delving into the Prairie Moon Nursery website? They have plants and seeds, videos, info on restoring wild habitats but what caught my eye is that they also cover wetlands. They're situated up in MN (?) but techniques and info might apply to the East Coast as well.

CindyMzone5, yes, I would like some bog plants but the area is full of chipmunks, squirrels and rabbits so now I'm trying to figure out what kinds of plants they don't like to eat. Also, I've visited the Prairie Moon Nursery web site. They are highly recommended at Dave's Garden.

DoGooder

I have chipmunks and squirrels (wooded lot) but they don't seem to eat any of my plants. Chipmunks dig a little but don't consume the plants. Rabbits - I don't think I've heard of a rabbit that doesn't like to nibble. You might have to use a deterrent of some type for the rabbits.

CindyMzone5, the critters near our home are very aggressive. They climb onto our deck and porch and uproot potted plants. During autumn when the chipmunks are most active, they create several holes per week in our garden.

You're lucky that they don't do much damage to your garden. Maybe it's because most of our plants are in shade and chipmunks prefer shade. I was looking forward to dahlia and begonia blooms next year but after researching that chipmunks like bulbs I have to re-plan my flower design.

DoGooder

The critters that do the most damage here are raccoons. Between tearing up the lawn looking for grubs and digging plants both out of pots and out of the ground, they keep me patrolling to minimize plant death. Most of my bulbs are daffodils so maybe the chipmunks don't care for them so much.

CindyMzone5, Thanks for telling me the chipmunks don't eat the daffodils in your garden. Maybe I will plant those. When I first started gardening I never considered how much damage critters can do. This morning I found a 6 inch tuber of my favorite giant hosta that had been partially eaten and left on the ground.

DoGooder

Wow! I don't know which critter would be responsible for that. Groundhog maybe? Never had established plants dug up and eaten. I planted a lot of daffodils mainly because of the deer not liking them (yes, I have deer as well) and also because I didn't want to have to dig up bulbs in the fall (not focused enough for that). I let the daffs naturalize for the past 20 years and only dig and divide when they don't bloom well.

CindyMzone5, I'm not sure what animal did that but it happens often here. The last time a critter dug up small rhizomes (1/2 inch-1 inch) from a potted sedum on our deck. It ate the ends and left the rest on the soil. I assume it was a small animal because it chewed off a tiny part of the rhizomes.

Next year I plan on putting a water-permeable barrier over the soil around the potted plants. I might also add a barrier to flowers planted in the ground because those are attacked too, though not as often. I guess the critters prefer to eat the deck plants because that area is shaded and quiet.

DoGooder

I do find that when I set out newly planted pots, critters (probably raccoon) will dig it up but not eat it. Maybe they smell disturbed soil and are looking for something yummy to eat. Sometimes the same pot or plant will be disturbed a couple of times but as the season goes along, it rarely happens, almost like the critters decided there's nothing yummy after all.

CindyMzone5, that happens to my plants too. Often the same pot is dug up several times. Also, I noticed that if I put fresh mulch on a potted plant that attracts animals. At least a dozen times I noticed that after I flattened the soil or put on fresh mulch a critter would dig a hole in the pot less than an hour later.

DoGooder

I should mention that the chipmunks like to hide bird seed in some of my pots. I never notice it until some of the seeds have sprouted but they're easy to pull out. I think any critter is interested in anything new or where soil's been disturbed but the newness wears off after a while.