There probably aren't many perennials capable of tolerating your winters (after planting out) that will do well over-wintering indoors, because that's usually their resting (dormant) time, which most of the hardy perennials will need to do well in the subsequent growth cycle. Is there a fall-back plan on the wish list we can help with? Al

Hi HS, My guess as to why the plants got leggy in the first place is because they simply were not getting enough light; they had to reach for more light. Most folks leave their fluorescent lights on at least 16 hours a day and probably more often 18 hours a day. The distance of the lights (3 to 4 inches above the seedlings) was probably okay, but a little closer (2 to 3 inches) may have been better. I just don't think 12 hours of light was enough. Regarding your thoughts about trying to "simulate the same daylight they will get when moved outdoors in April", you really can't compare artificial lighting to the amount of sunlight they'll get when you put them outside. When moved outside, it's true the amount of time they will receive light will be reduced (from say 18 hours to 12). However, the amount of light will be increased. The sun will supply more light in 12 hours than your lights can do in 18 hours. Blooming and fruiting, of course, will be influenced by whether the plants are short-day or long-day plants, but I'd leave that to the plants once they're outside. They know exactly what they're doing :-) My suggestion is to increase the length of time you leave your lights on. But whatever you end up doing, I wish you the best of luck with starting your seeds indoors for the first time. Sounds like you're off to a good start! Art

I start all my garden in pots made from newpaper strips. My garden is growing before it ever sees the garden. I have 3 foot of snow i on my garden. It will be weeks before I can put anything in the garden. I use any potting soil the store has on hand. If the soil doesn't kill it, all is well. As for the floating row cover, it will work. I will keep the birds from pulling the new plants. Four legged animals, floating row covers will not help. You might want to sprout the corn seeds in water before your put them in the soil. Plant them as soon as the seed swells and you can see the root bulge. If you wait till the roots are too long, you will break them off when you cover them with soil. They won't all sprout at the same time so you will be planting every day till your bed is full. I do peas the same way. I never have empty spaces where the seeds didn't come up. Pre-sprouting takes 3 days, and will save you 8 to 10 days growing time.

Seed starting does not take up much room. I have mine in various salvaged plastic containers on top of my refrigerator. I started some on top of my hot water heater it is only warm there not hot. Don't forget to check them because the minute they start pushing up, you need to get them under a light. After they get their true leaves, you transplant them to bigger cups. You can start saving soda cups; I have some black plastic 3 and 4 inch nursery containers from plants I bought last year. If you haven't grown your own from seed before, the hardening off part is very critical as DigDirt said. You already know what size you want if you have purchased plants and how to protect from frost and cutworms. Do a search for hardening off plants; it isn't hard to do but is a step where you can lose your plants.