Thanks dave! Last year I tried a homeade trellis for my cukes, and they didn't do well with it. I think they grow better on the ground- although it takes up space in my small garden and growing on trellis reduces dx, Last year the only plant that did well was an extra I put out among tomato plants that sprawled on the ground. The ones next to trellis didn't really seem to want to climb it, and never produced a lot of cukes. In fact, hardly any. Of course it wasn't an ideal growing season, late spring, lots of rain, not enough sun. Also, tho, those plants I grew from seed in peat pots and buried the pot and all. I think now that was a bad idea. Hey, I'm a novice. Thanks Dave for the tips about direct seeding- I was a little intimidated since I've never done it before.

It would help to know a few more things, such as how many plants you want to start this way -- a few dozen, a few hundred, a few thousand or more than, say 10,000. It would also help to know what your outdoor climate is like, whether you've got something like a screen porch, and so on. That said, here are some ideas: The typical setup you see at garden centers and big-box stores -- a solid- bottom flat, an insert with 72 cells that can be separated into 12 packs of 6 cells each and a humidity dome works pretty well if you're talking about quantities up to the low thousands of plants. You can buy the pieces separately, and at case prices they're much cheaper than as assembled sets. Furthermore, you can get by with fewer humidity domes than the number of inserts -- you take the domes off as soon as you get germination, and the dome from the first sets you start can be switched to the next sets. Also get some flats with non-solid bottoms if you will be putting the packs outdoors where they will be subject to downpours. Finally, although 72 is the most common number of cells you'll find in stores, you can order sheets of inserts with different numbers -- say, 36, or 48. You can usually get gowing medium that's fine for starting seeds in fair-size bags or small bales at home-improvement stores and garden centers. Read the labels -- you want something that says it's ok for starting seeds. Some potting soil has a lot of large chunks of bark in it and would have to be worked through a sieve before it's usable. You can make your own mix from finely milled peat and pearlite if you wish. I buy compressed bales of Sunshine Mix #1 from a large-scale grower -- of there's a large garden center that raises its own stock near you, you might be able to do the same. To sow seeds in the size cell we're talking about here, you don't need any special equipment. Some people are very good at shaking even tiny seeds out of a packet 1-3 at a time; others might empty seeds from the packet onto a folded piece of 3x5 card and then use a pencil or pen to tick off a seed or group of seeds into the cells. I actually use a small, shallow Japanese sauce dish with a small pouring lip to hold the seeds and a pencil to push a seed or three at a time onto the medium. (I usually sow 3 seeds per cell and then thin to 1 after they germinate.) If you want, you can sow seeds in flats without the cells, but I think you would have to prick them out and put them into some kind of small container to grow on before they were ready to go in the ground. I think that system works better if you can devote a lot of time to the project and/or aren't sowing a lot of different kinds. If you go that route, I'd recommend a flat that has a fairly solid bottom but with some holes in it for drainage and bottom-watering. Large-scale growers often start with a plug trays that have more and tinier cells in about the same space as the 72's -- maybe up to around 400 cells, and they tyically use machinery to fill the cells with growing medium and quite likely to add seeds to the cells. I think this is overkill for any home situation. In your climate, I would think that as soon as things germinate you can place them outside. (Room light is adequate up until the time things sprout, even for seeds that require light for germination.) Many annuals will survive outdoors at temperatures in the 30s and 40s, even if they need temperatures in the 60s to 70 for optimal germination. You can give them protection from drying wind by putting them in an open-topped cardboard for a few days, and I'd start their outdoor stay in a shady spot. As long as it doesn't freeze, most can stay outdoors at night. Seed packets, catalogs and the web should tell you which annuals need higher-than-room-temperature heat for best germination and which ones are set back severely or killed by temps in, say the 40s. When your seedlings reach the point where they've filled their spaces and their leaves are touching, you can usually plant them in the ground. I know there are a lot of things I haven't described very thoroughly, if at all, and some of this is guesswork about your climate (I have to do things differently in the midwest), but I'm sure others can correct that and fill in the gaps, or have better suggestions. I just wanted to get this started. As for seed sources, I'd suggest Stokes, which has a fairly good selection, reasonable prices, pretty good instructions on their packets and offers both small and grower-sized packets. If you're thinking of relatively small numbers -- say, 10 flat's worth, 720 plants, getting the packages from Home Depot or your local garden center might be your best bet. For larger quantities, you can order flats, inserts, etc. from places like Pinetree Gardens and Charlie's Greenhouses, but since shipping can be expensive, you might be better off with a grower's supply company located near you. There's a link to a California outfit below. I've never used them, since I order from Midwest suppliers. Others will probably have better suggestions. Good luck Here is a link that might be useful: American Horticulture

Outsmarting the tree rats (squirrels) around my house is a full time job. This past spring I hit on a new idea. When I plant a container I invert an empty wire hanging basket over the container and the plant gets sun and can be watered but the squirrels can't dig in it. Another idea: I bring in a lot of plants to "over winter" under lights in my garage. I have so many that it is hard to reach my hand under the lights (4 shop lights) to the middle for watering. So I bought a pump sprayer with a long wand and it works great! In late winter I add a little liquid Dawn detergent, few drops, to each gallon of water and not only does the soil get wet easier but the worms that are waiting to hatch into distructive pets just don't hatch. Don't know what it costs me to run those four shop lights all winter but I don't care. It is a small price to pay to be able to "garden" every weekend in the garage. Many people have mentioned that they mark their outdoor plants with a "permanent Sharpie". In my experience there isn't a "permanent Sharpie", they all fade and quickly too. A grease pencil/china marker or expensive "no fade" garden center marker are the only markers I have found that won't disappoint you by fading. Eight years ago I decided to learn about gardening so I tapped into my local library. I checked out nearly every book they had on gardening and learned so much. The Gardenweb forums are also a wealth of information and entertainment. There is always something new to learn and I appreciate all of you who take the time to write in your ideas. One last idea from me...I keep a small notebook on my computer table and jot down any idea I find that's new and I will want to try. Little pieces of paper get lost but I always know where my notebook is and also use it when I order "on line" so I will remember the name of the company and the order date. Tina or Trowelgal

I wished something like McGroaty's business plan would work here, but I'm skeptical. First, there's plenty of competition. Without lots of background knowledge or some special angle, what makes me or you better at this than them. Then there's my buddies in the business that tell me that if they had it to do over, they'd do something else and that the money is very tight. I've got good friends in both small local nurseries and in medium size wholesale growing businesses, so the scale of the business doesn't really seem to be the answer. I'm inclined to think it might be able to pay for your supplies and help you break even with your hobby, but I really doubt it's going to be anything that will allow you to make lots of money. I bet Tony Avent's book might have some good information about this! Of course, I'm here working a boring 8 to 5 job instead of enjoying the fresh air.....