Hi, I just joined today and I'm so glad I found this forum! I've used many different methods to start seeds in- the best so far, and one that I've been using for a couple years is soil blocks. You can purchase them at Johnny's or Territorial Seed. They are really great for plants that benefit from being 'potted on' a few times before going to their permanent home- like tomatoes. They are great for seeds that hate their roots disturbed- you know the ones some stay away from because the packet says direct sow and then you forget about them. They are great for seeds that take forever to germinate! There are 3 that you can buy. You start your really small seeds or ones that take forever to germinate in the micro soil block maker. After they germinate and have grown for about 5-7 days, you 'up-block' them to the next size soil block- the 2" sized. The 2" soil block maker comes with inserts that you put in and when you make them it leaves a square hole in the top that is the same size as the micro soil block! Then there is the 4". You move your plants to it from the 2" the same way. These are nice for a few different reasons- but the most important is that the roots get naturally air pruned when they grow to the edge of the soil block, they stop. They don't have anything to wrap around like a pot. Because of this, when you plant them in the ground they take off! Little to no transplant shock. I have built simple wooden trays to hold them- one side open. These make it easier to water. If you go to my blog (in my profile) read the posts about these- directions are in there including a small video and how to build the wooden flats. If you have any questions about these you can email me. Happy Gardening! Tessa (aka dirtdigr) Here is a link that might be useful: Blunders with shoots, blossoms 'n roots

Watch for fungus when you work with humidity on your side. Otherwise, a warm humid "tenting chamber" should do the very best I would tend to think. Someone sent me begonia houseplant seeds in 2007 (don't know anything about viability, so) I placed them with my conifer grafts and while it took a month or so, I have 200 or more, possibly 400 germinating plants. I do spray every two weeks with a fungicide/algaecide. Personally, I'm learning to start most everything I do in gallon + containers first and then do the transplanting. These are everything and anything in my greenhouse. It would truely do the same for you to "winter sow" - a process where seeds are sown in winter and are set outdoors to germinate. It takes all the work out of the equation. I'll remind that some seeds have the ability to break dormancy either during winter or early. You should always research, first. Chow, Dax

Donna, Since you have the option of starting seeds both indoors and out in the greenhouse, why not start half inside the house under lights and the other half out in the greenhouse. Then you can compare notes and see which way works best for you or makes you happiest or whatever. I have used lots of experimentation like that over the years to find the methods that work best for me or that I like the most. With lights, if you put the lights so close to the seed flats that they almost but not quite touch the plants, that alone will help eliminate most of the legginess. It also is important to grow on the seedlings at 60-65 degrees after they sprout because hotter temps will make them grow more quickly and get leggy. Running a fan so they have good air flow will thicken up their main stems and make them stronger too. Of all the veggies you listed that you want to grow, only the tomatoes, peppers and eggplants "have to" be started inside under lights in order to get the maximum performance from your plants. With all the others, starting indoors is an option and you may or may not find it to be a worthwhile one. It already is warm enough to direct-sow lettuce, kale and onion seed into the ground if your soil is well-draining. Swiss chard can be direct-sown but I prefer to start it indoors. Each Swiss chard seed actually is a fruit containing several seeds, so I find it easier to let them sprout in flats and then separate them and pot them up in separate containers once they have a couple of leaves. If you choose to direct-sow Swiss chard, you can thin them by pulling up the excess ones or by cutting them off with scissors at the soil once the plants are up and growing. Corn is more typically direct-sown when air temps and soil temps are in the right range. If you choose to start it inside or in the greenhouse, start it in plantable pots and transplant it while it is still very small--just an inch or two tall. It really isn't crazy about being transplanted, but usually will tolerate it as long as you plant before it gets too big. Watermelon and cantaloupe can be either direct-sown or raised as seedlings and transplanted using plantable pots. They also are not crazy about being transplanted. Most people who start them inside start them too early and then the plants are getting too big to stay indoors and have to be put into the ground while it is still too early for them, so don't get in a big hurry for these two because they need warm soil. Peas and beans can be started inside, but also do just fine when direct-sown. With both of them, you can presprout them using the baggie/coffee filter method and put the sprouts right into the ground, or you can raise them in plantable pots. I start peas inside but put them into the ground while they still are very small. As for all those tomato plants....I probably will put only 150 plants or so into the ground, and a lot of those will be paste tomatoes for salsa-making. I raise plenty of extra ones and have them for back-up in the early weeks in case of wicked weather. When it is time for the Spring Fling, I take my extras and back-ups to the fling and give them away. I also give plants to friends, neighbors, family members, etc. People generally do not turn down an offer of free tomato plants. We can a lot. I hope to make 100-120 jars of Annie's Salsa this year and that takes a lot of tomatoes. We eat a lot, preserve a lot and give away a lot. Dorothy, I hope to have a heated germination bench by next year. This year I have started everything indoors so far, but now that the greenhouse is finished and operational, I'd likely start the next round of seeds out there. I hope to move the tomato plants from the light shelf to the greenhouse on Sunday after we get through the next two cold nights. We are having fun with the greenhouse, which the cats happen to think is a cat resort/spa where they can curl up and sleep all nice and warm and protected from the wind. The only drawback so far is that once I'm in the nice, warm greenhouse, it is hard for me to force myself to go back outside into the cold wind. Dawn

Hello there. This too is my first year and attempt @ propagation from seed. (I do not know what my babies are or will be. I don't even know the mother plant(s) of my seeds. I gathered seeds from several locations in my area with mother(s) unknown.) I think, from research and the method I have used, I would just let them stay in the fridge. I live in Idaho with approx. 8 inches of snow on the ground, thus I don't think I should try germinating outdoors in my area. To date I have had approx. 65-ish seeds germinate in the fridge over the past 4 months. I first soaked the seeds in water and peroxide:1 part peroxide, 9 parts water, for just a few hours. Then, placed the seeds in a paper towel damp with the water/peroxide solution. Placed the paper towel and seeds in a plastic lidded container in the bottom drawer of fridge. I would check the seeds every so often and give them a misting with the water/peroxide solution, just a little, not too much, not too often. Around 12 weeks after placing them in the fridge I had a few seeds begin to germinate. Here are a few of my germinated seed, seedlings: Here is my biggest baby, 1st pic:12/28/05, 2nd pic:01/16/06 3rd pic:01/19/06: Good luck. Hope my opinion has helped. The Lioness :o)