Since this is the Vegetable Gardening Forum I'll stick to talking about the tomato seeds. Check out the Bulbs and the many flower forums for more info on them. ;) The tomatoes can be started from seed 6-8 weeks before your plant out date - which usually 1-2 weeks after your last frost date. In your zone I am guessing that is the end of May? That would make it too late to start tomatoes from seed for the best results. But if you have some seeds for some early varieties you could try them and still get fruit from them before your first fall frost. Otherwise I think I'd plan to go with tomato transplants this year and save the seeds for next year. Good luck with your garden. Dave

I am colder than you are but here's what I do. As the water temp starts cooling in the fall I switch to a cold water food, then when the water temp reaches about 50 degrees I stop feeding them. According to what I have read, their digestive systems start shutting down around 50 degrees. If they are hungry there is always algae or insects of some kind available. I have tried different techniques through the winter. I always shut down the stream and waterfalls as the ice would make them overflow and empty the pond. Sometimes I have just dropped the hose into the pond and left the pump running. Sometimes I have used a bubbler, but last winter I think it quit or froze up. All my fish died, so I'm not doing that again. I may go back to using the pump and add a de-icer to keep a hole open. I usually cover the pond because it is only 2 1/2 feet deep and a severe winter might freeze it too much. In the spring, after the ice has melted, I put the thermometer in. After the water has warmed up to 50 degrees I start feeding the cold water food and then switch over to regular food as it gets over 65 degrees. I dont know if any of this is "right" but it is what I do. Anne

Jenny check out winter sowing forum FAQ, easy way to get rid of your winter blues ;) growing plants indoor will take some effort and money- no matter how easy your set up is, also watering and damp off could be an issue. Having said that I have my set up up and running and presently growing bunch of plants. I am in zone 5 so my timing is calculated for my zone. Majority perennials won't bloom first year so you can start them anytime but realize that once your plants start growing they will need more space and light, I have been known to run out of space by mid Feb ;) Lots of annuals will start blooming in 10-12 weeks, some will take as long as 20-24 weeks to bloom- those are usually more expensive annuals/ tender perennials sold in stores. Reseach plants you want to start, time accordingly. Lets say you want pansy. Time to flower from seed mostly 12 weeks. Give or take 1-2 weeks for germination calculate when you need to start it considering that while it will take some cold weather it needs some warmth to be put outside- so know your frost date, pansy will go out for me 1,5 months prior to my last frost which is May 15. I plant them in containers so in case of severe weather I could bring it in. Snapdragon- 16-18 weeks to bloom, likes cool weather. Impatiens-7-8 weeks. linaria 9-10 cool weather etc.... if you want to grow vine- consider that it quickly becomes tall and start twining so will need a support to do so.

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