BrianLanning People will give you advice about various things, so I'll do some little ones. Before you put your lights in place, you might consider suspending them high enough from the table-surface to accommodate relatively tall plants, maybe 18 inches. Then, instead of worrying about raising and lowering the light, get some stable materials (wooden blocks or old books etc.) that you can use initially to elevate your seedlings up toward the lights where they need to be. This also accommodates seedlings that grow at different rates and are different heights. As they grow, you can remove the supports in layers to lower the plants and still have the tops of the seedlings close to the light. Don't worry about not saving those yoghurt cups! :-) Many of us use large and small plastic or styrofoam drink-cups (buy them in sleeves for $1 at dollar stores) to transfer seedlings into until they're ready to be set into the garden. Make sure you also have a way to mark your seedlings -- with 2-3 people working around a lot of seedlings, you need to know they won't get mixed up. We've had many cries of distress over the years from those who didn't mark their seedlings and somebody or something messed up the order! That's why I like the styrofoam cups. They're easy to write on with a ballpoint pen (pressing down so if the ink fades later you can still read the indentation). But the plastic cups work just as well for seedlings and you can put labels in the seedling soil for marking them. As for where to buy seeds, you need to make your garden plan first, decide what you want to grow, how much for your large family, etc. I'd order the seeds right away as soon as that's done. Depending on what you want to grow, there are several seed companies that you may find please you more than the large ones that sell seeds in the big box stores. (Though most of us buy seeds whenever we see something we want.) Some of the smaller reputable seed companies sell mainly one crop, like beans or tomatoes or potatoes or onions. Other reputable companies carry a variety of seeds, often very handy for gardeners just getting started, though the number of varieties of seeds is not as large as the "specialty" seed vendors. Just do a GardenWeb search for seed vendors that carry various seeds that you know you'll want. They all have on-line catalogs that you can access. And of course you can purchase whatever you see that you want in local stores. By going to various GardenWeb forums, like Tomatoes, or Beans, etc., you can read what varieties of vegetables people like and where they buy the seeds. GW also has seed exchanges that you can access from each forum for open pollinated vegetables and herbs. To access the seed exchange forums, see this at the top of each forum page just above where the threads start: Messages: On-Topic Discussions [Switch to: Exchanges : Gallery : Conversations] Click on "Exchanges".

remember don't panic they are seeds and it should be FUN to grow them - that is the best advice i can give you other then that i have been starting my seeds in containers from wendy's salads (the lids snap on nice - i have a cat where i grom mine also) and i put them under lights soon after planting them i think the extra warmth helps to get them going - the size of these fit nicely under regular 4' shop lights (to bad they are round) i would get them started and ask questions as they come up - some one here is sure to give you a good answer quickly forgot to mention i wash the wendy's containers in my dishwasher without a problem (i was really worried the first time)

I've only been starting seeds for a couple of years, and I've found tomatoes remarkabaly easy. The first year I did not have a heat mat, and they still sprouted, they just took a little longer. When you do put them under lights, keep them about 2" from the light. Also, don't overwater, I've made that mistake and you can get dampening off, which will kill the seedlings. Keep a fan blowing lightly on the seedlings, that helps air circulation and helps the stems to get stronger. If you have a timer, the easiest way to set up the light is to plug it into a timer with 16hrs on and 8 hrs off. And, bottom water if you can. Fill the bottom of your tray with water and wait until the soil at the top of each cup gets wet, then pour the rest of the water out of the tray. Re-pot the seedlings into bigger cups when they get 2 true leaves. Also, if you had more than 1 seedling come up in each cup, cut the weaker one at the soil line before re-potting, to give the stronger one more room since you don't want 2 in a pot and if you try to separate them you risk damaging the roots. I think the hardest thing to resist is overwatering, and that is the main reason seedlings don't survive. Good luck! Be careful, seed starting is addictive :)

bon100 I don't know if that would do it or not but you can certainly try it. If you're covering the germination container with plastic, just be sure to remove each seedling immediately after it germinates and plant it in a container. And make sure the plastic cover has some air-holes in it. The problem is what to do with the germinated seedlings if it works. They need light and heat both to continue developing, and you say you don't have them inside. I'd suggest you "winter-sow" them instead. Just plant your seeds in containers, like 2-liter soda bottles with the cut-off top, about the top four inches, taped back on (provide drainage holes and leave the screw-on lid off) or milk containers done the same way, and set them in the sun outside to stay, night and day. Keep the soil moist, not wet. When they germinate, you can gradually expose them to the elements by untaping the top and "giving them air" on balmy days. When they're growing well, just leave the tops off and plant when the time is right. Actually, my advice is pretty spotty, so you'd be better off going to the Winter Sowing forum for better details and timing. Trudi has even provided how-to-make container pictures you can use for seed germination. As I say, I'd recommend this way of seed starting if you don't have indoor heat and light for them. With your method, I'd worry about what to do with the seedlings if they germinated, particularly if outside conditions are not optimal for setting them outside permanently. With winter sowing, the seedlings germinate when everything's "go" and they can stay outside with a little care, hardening off naturally.