I know about improvement but was in no shape to mix all that stuff in myself. Was lucky to get someone to rototill it for me. We ground up all the grass and everything, the grass was healthy. Then it took several months to settle down to level as it was mounded for months (and bare). I have all that stuff you mentioned, but it is too late to do the whole works. My idea of gardening is dig, chop it up as fine as possible, plant, then use Miracle Gro (not on my new roses). I just had 12 roses planted spaced out there, the horticultural student who did that for me thought the soil was ok and drained well. Thanks for the advice, will read the link tomorrow. I'll worry about the other seeds later, but you did give me an idea. Baby's breath grows in a huge mound if you are lucky, don't need a whole row of the stuff, so I can scoop the soil out a few places and replace with potting soil. BB you cover 1/8 inch which is a little better than surface sow. My peat I found gets crusty when dry even mixed with the potting soil, probably mixed in too much the last batch. Maybe if I throw in some more pearlite that will help. The potting soil holds moisture better than anything yet I've worked with, and then I can mist like you said, although if it heats up again, it will be like four times a day and not every other day because the surrounding dry soil will grab the water before I put the hose away so I'll water that, too. Thanks a lot for the help. Maybe I can get it a little better, not sure how now, don't have a composter but can dress it with something at some point. Just can't work it in, it will have to leach down and let the plants do the work, maybe throw leaves on there in the fall, plenty of those. I wish I could do everything exactly the right way, but I have to do most of it by myself and do well to get anything done. I think I'm having more rototilling done, and this time I'll throw that stuff on there during the process and let it get worked in that way. I didn't know any better before. Sorry I'm so long-winded.

You will probably have better luck starting them indoors than out. I suggest using potting soil rather than seed starting mix. Avoid the use of the almost 100% peat mixes as they dry out and become difficult to re-wet. I tried pansies from seed indoors and wasn't successful, but the reason was they grew very slowly and I made the mistake of using terracotta pots which dried too fast with peat as the medium. Top watering killed a lot of the seedlings as the dry peat ponded water on top and drowed the little things. I wasn't too concerned about them so didn't give them much attention (the wife brought home one of those 'kits' well after I had already planted out everything I wanted from seed). I would recommend using a plastic flat like you see in nurseries, using regular potting soil as the medium and bottom watering. Keep the mix on the evenly moist side. I would probably move the flat outside without any cover as soon as they germinate and keep the tray with some water in it so the mix never dries. I would keep them as close to 70 degrees as possible, so in the shade if it is hotter out and back inside if the weather gets a really cold snap. I think the seedlings kind of need to be babied a bit until their growth rate 'takes off', but as I said, I only tried them once and I wasn't successful so prefer the advice of anyone who comes along and has had better results. As far as your zinnias, I am not sure how you killed those as they are fairly easy/hardy for me, but it is all good, every failure teaches us something, even if we don't immediately understand the lesson. Try to never get too discouraged, everyone has their failures, I personally have had enough for the both of us ;-) Good luck!

Ok. Next year, hopefully, is my first year of not buying plants, because I couldn't get the one's I wanted this year. I live in a 'Flyover' area so my resources are limited. I bought the best resource book I knew of, and I'm following their directions. I'm Midwestern and hot foods do not appeal to me. I garden mostly by the rules that I was taught by my grandmother in the back yard garden. I am a Master Gardener who learns something new about growing (and sometimes killing things) all the time, and tries to share it. This isn't a competition. I'm just trying to help. Peace. Blue Cat.

Yes I just read your message above Alicia, I would love to send you an SASE, I know what that is but iim brand new here so no clue how to send messages etc,...I did change my account to recieve messages,.... but let me know I'm trying so hard to get my place growing, I just moved here and open to all kinds of ideas, flowers or veggies......I have a few seeds to trade but not much you probably have all them already or better. Thanks so much in advance:) Jessica