Re: best time for broadcasting papaver seed

Another good way to get Calif. poppies established in your garden is to plant one plant and let it go to seed. If they are small enough, Calif. poppies can be transplanted successfully -- you need to get the whole taproot. (I wouldn't buy one from a nursery, it's likely to be too big to transplant successfully, though you could keep it in a container and hope it goes to seed.) Then let it go to seed, and you'll have them forever. You can ask on your local freecycle for some plants to transplant. At my community garden, they grow like weeds, and I've dug up and given away some that have successfully propagated themselves.
I did this with globe gilia, another easy native. It's an annual, but with water it's been blooming almost year-round for me. I planted one plant in early spring last year, and this spring collected half a cup of seeds (each smaller than a poppyseed), after letting the birds have a generous share and letting them reseed freely. I've restricted it to a 5 x 2 ft. space, but it would spread more if it could. 

Tanya Kucak
Palo Alto, Calif.
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