Hi golfcole, "How do you keep your zinnias so compact?" I think the most important thing is to give them enough light. That means keep the fluorescent lights within a few inches of them. And I have my timers set to give them very long "days", with 18 hours of light and 6 hours of dark. This time of year the sun is higher in the sky and you probably won't get any significant amount of direct sunlight through a window, so just concentrate on keeping the fluorescent tubes close to them. Nutrition-wise, use a balanced formula, fairly dilute. I give them an initial dose of Better-Gro Orchid Plus, one teaspoon per gallon. Then I switch to one-quarter teaspoon per gallon for maintenance. When they start to bud out, I blend Better-Gro Orchid Plus with Better-Gro Orchid Blooming formula, which has a higher percentage of Phosphorous. Zinnias are heavy feeders, and in containers you can expect to have to feed them every two or three days. Be on the lookout for deficiency symptoms. You might need to add some soluble Calcium, like Calcium nitrate, if your water supply doesn't contain some soluble Calcium. My Premier ProMix has a little Calcium in it, but only enough for about three weeks of zinnia growth. Also, be on the lookout for Boron deficiency symptoms. Good complete nutrient formulas contain some Boron, but apparently zinnias like twice as much Boron as orchids. I use a little Boric Acid powder purchased from a drugstore. I make a stock solution of one-quarter teaspoon Boric Acid per gallon, and add one cup of that stock solution to each gallon of complete nutrients for the initial treatment and half a cup per gallon for maintenance. Boric acid powder dissolves very slowly in cold water, so I heat a cup of water in the microwave, pour that in an empty water bottle, add the quarter teaspoon of Boric acid powder to the hot water, swish it around until it dissolves, and add that to the gallon jug and fill it up to create a gallon of stock Boric acid solution. Discard the water bottle. You don't want to drink any of the Boric acid. Some water supplies have plenty of Boron and Calcium in the water, so it can be helpful to have access to an analysis sheet for your water. I have to add both to our well water. ZM This post was edited by zenman on Wed, Apr 24, 13 at 1:39

It's not necessarily the peat that is the problem, but the pellets are encased in a netting that can inhibit root growth in spite of what the manufacturers say. If you use them to start your plants, cut and carefully peel the netting off when you pot up or transplant to the garden. Don't use 'garden soil' as it will carry bugs and pathogens that can kill your seedlings. Straight peat can compact, dry out and crust up, or hold too much moisture...starting mix has peat with vermiculite and other stuff(perlite?)mixed in. It is also sterile. I use Jiffy starting mix in cell packs, then use potting mix when I pot up to 8oz cups after a few sets of true leaves. As for peppers, you can find a lot of info perusing the Hot Pepper forum(growing info applies to sweet peppers too). There will be as many different methods as there are posters, and no way is THE way. What works for one may not work for another. Don't forget to read the FAQs at the top of the forum page. Peppers seeds need warmth to germinate, about 85 degrees is ideal, but they will eventually sprout at temps a bit lower. Keep the medium moist, but not wet. Some varieties will take longer to germinate than others and I've found it's best to keep different varieties in their own cell packs or pots so you can take sprouted ones off of the heat without disturbing the others. Don't fertilize your seedlings until they have a couple of sets of true leaves, and then do so with a very weak solution. Also, you don't say where your location is, if you're starting your seeds indoors, what kind of light source you have(lights, bright window?)and that info would help with feedback. Hope this gives you a starting point. Here is a link that might be useful: hot pepper forum

Well the only "brand" of plants available around here is Bonnie's Plants as they are the biggest plant grower/supplier in the south. Otherwise you have to buy your plants from a local grower who sells at the farmer's market or one of the few local nurseries who grow their own. So when it comes to plant brands there are few choices. Varieties of tomato plants is also somewhat limited as the growers usually only grow the common varieties or what was a big seller the previous year or years. So any unusual varieties or heirloom varieties will be hard to find as plants. That's why so many now grow from seed. Around here you can almost always find Beefsteak, Juliet, Sweet Million Cherry, Bradley, Better Boy, Big Boy, Celebrity, Early Girl, Patio, Lemon Boy, Arkansas Travelers, maybe Jet Star, Rutgers, a few Brandywine, and a few selected others. Of those, the only ones I would be personally interested in growing are the AR Travelers, Brandywine, Rutgers, and Jet Star. But many others seem to like Early Girl, Celebrity and Better Boy because they sure sell alot of those plants. Dave

Planting seed: The right time to plant tomato seed is 10 to 12 weeks prior to your average last frost date. Tomato seedlings are susceptible to damping off, so a warm area, soiless mixes amended with a small amount of bone meal and a fresh new florescent light bulb set close to the tops of plants is in order. By close I mean no more than six inches from the growing tip of the plant. The debate of 16 hours of light vs. 24 constant light per day may never be satisfactorily won by one side or the other. However cold soil leads to damping off, so when the lights are off the seedlings still need to be warm (75 to 85F). At home that may be on top of your refrigerator, at night. Plan on potting up at least once from what ever you use to start seedlings in. In fact twice (i.e. from a six pack to a 4" pot, to a 6" pot) every time the roots start to wind around in their pot. Never ever use a loess soil based "potting soil" to start tomatoes, the soil particle size is too small to permit good gas exchange in the roots. Use a soiless mix or homemade equivalents, made of 2 part peat moss, 2 part finished compost, and 1 part vermiculite or pearlite, and a dash of bone meal. Pure peat--peat pots work for some people I find them more than averagely susceptible to damping-off problems. Mixes containing milled sphagnum have a natural antifungal effect, resulting in less damping-off. Planting plants: Hardening seedlings is an art. The short of this subsection is to gradually let your plants become accustomed to full sunlight and wind, find a very protected area and start on days above 60F with wind protection. Expect it to take 10 to 14 days of hardening off. From 2 weeks before your last average frost date and two weeks after you will want to plant to field. If you must strive for the first ripe tomatoes on your block and you do not have a very protected microclimate in your garden you must look to things like wall'o'water towers or some kind of temporary cold frame to erect around your seedlings. If terms like 'micro-climate' are greek to you, plan for a later planting date rather than an earlier one. You should be planting in a well drained bed that has been prepared in advance of planting. Wet cold gooey soil means that not much growing is going to happen. Corn and tomatoes both like soil that is warmed to 60F. Trellis: These are particularly helpfull for indeterminate plants which can weight in excess of 100 pounds each. I recommend the stoutest and tallest trellis you can afford to build.