The major big-box hardware stores (Lowes, Home Depot and sometimes Ace) have seed starting flats or "seed greenhouses", they aren't as high-quantity as the ones you've got linked there, but they come with a bottom and a top cover (clear) and usually run about 72 cells total. I linked a version below. Ferry Morse makes them, as do a coupel other well known companies. Just get your seed starter mix, pour it off into the cells, add water, add your seeds. Works well. Not extremely space-effective (would be better if it were 144 cells), but it works and it's cheap, and recylcable. Here is a link that might be useful: Jiffy Seed Starter Greenhouse

Thanks coffeemom. I made it to the Fairchild sale the last day of April and bought a couple things at the IRFC booth. The people i talked to were very helpful and it sounds like a great sale this weekend. I'm not sure I can get up to Broward, but it's at the top of my list! This forum is also a great resource for tales and trades and I suppose I should just obtain the seeds online, but aren't there any Miami gardeners' clubs that meet in person now and then?

I went into that urban garden place about two months ago. I was driving to merrits and saw it and felt the need to stop thinking "OH GARDENING STUFF YAY!" Lets just say that they do not really cater to veggie gardeners very well. Most of their stuff seemed to be geared for hydroponic gardens and high powered small scale production of things that make the law abiding part of me cringe and the rebel hippy part of me giggle. Definate patchouli place. They had a small greenhouse and I glanced in it and wasnt real impressed. Admittedly it was the off season for most garden places and so they just may have not been geared up for those of us who dont really need helicopters buzzing our backyards... If they have heirlooms though I might give it another look as so long as I scan the area first to make sure my license plate number is not being noted by the police ^_^ Hit up the local farmers markets. I know the one on cherry street usually has someone out there selling seedlings. Check with Duck creek. Gary seems to have a huge selection so you can find what you want typically.

Hi again Mark, What's going on with your garden and landscaping? Here are a few highlights of my doings. On a Quartz Mountain trip of 5 years ago I pocketed a few acorns and grew a QM fusiformis. It's been slow to gain size but seemed to speed up last summer gaining some size. I bet you have not seen a mature Italian Cypress (Cupressus sempervirens 'Stricta') for years since that bitter winter spell of December 1983 killed every last specimen. I planted my specimen from a 1 gallon container in 1990. It's been very cold hardy surviving cold low as -3*f during a spell of Feb 1996. I have started to spot Italian Cypress around town but none large as mine. They are a nice landscape tree provided we don't have another 1983 like winter event. Skyrocket Juniper is a rather poor imitation of the real thing Italian Cyperss. For years I have been dabbling with cold hardy palms. The cold hardiest palm I have found through years of experience is the Rhapidophyllum hystrix common name Needle palm. Back in the bitter cold winters of those terrible 1980's Needle Palm would withstand below zero without any damage. The specimen pictured below has really gained size over the years. The link below is a short video showing a long row of hardy sabal palms I planted 15 years ago. Just click the link and a video will play. Row Of Sabals Video Click Here