I've started Stevia from seed. The germination rate is VERY low, and it's really slow in the beginning, but it takes off once outside. One thing about starting from seed I didn't know the first year: a lot of plants (stevia, basil, etc but not peppers or tomatoes) need to have their growing tips snipped so they'll grow bushy. My stevia were kinda sad that first year - rangy. If you're in zone 10, your growing season is longer than mine here in New Hampshire. But I did want to make sure you knew that many of the things you've mentioned are usually started already by now. I started my peppers weeks ago, for instance. And the parsely - sheesh - that you have to start in late winter here. Your local Cooperative Extension service should have something on the web or that they can mail to you with typical seed starting schedules for your area. It's all based on the average last frost date. Please don't despair about your garden dreams if you decide it's too late! This year you could buy some things already started and foucus on getting your soil built up, learn how to care for them once in the ground, etc. Parsely makes me cranky, so I'm thinking of giving up after this year. Or I may just start more. It's a biennial, so the one grace is that last year's always comes up, too. Chamomile I've also had some trouble with - it needs cold stratification. Looks like I have some seedlings coming up where last year's were, though - and they look better than last year's. You can make sweet potato slips from sweet potatoes in the store, but many people order them, too. This is my first year for sweet potatoes, so I can't offer advice about which is best. I ordered slips so I could make sure I had ones for northern climates - it's pushing it to try to grow them here. Rosemary's supposed to be very hard to germinate. I haven't tried, and I'll try hard stuff. Peppermint is sterile, and so peppermint seed isn't really peppermint seed. I've grown spearmint from seed, but the one I bought at my local garden store is yummier. Mint is something it's good to buy local. Mint is highly variable, and what's often suggested is that you crush and sample a leaf to make sure you are getting one that appeals to you. Stevia might be better this way, too - I'm not sure. Mine's ok from seed. Don't buy lettuce started - seeds are cheap, and it starts easily. Basil, too. I usually have close to 100% germination with my basil - heat mats help. Root veggies like carrots and beets are usually started where they will be grown because they don't transplant well at all. Carrots needs to be kept moist to start. It sounds to me like you're pretty interested in this. A good reference about veggies and basic herbs is The Vegetable Gardener's Bible by Ed Smith. He has good info about starting them from seed. For flowers, this year I bought The A-Z Guide to Growing Flowers from Seed to Bloom by Eileen Powell. It's also amazing, and helpful - good info about their requirements (temps, light or dark, etc) and how hard each is. You might also think about adding marigolds to that list. They're easy to start from seed, and good companions for your veggies. The "Gem" marigolds, or tagetes tenuifolia are edible, too.

This thread makes me laugh. I worked at Niche Gardens and had the honor and pleasure of helping to propagate some of the plants for the North American area. And just recently, I saw lots of plants we had helped grow at BBs that were doing beautifully in the Africa area. And, speaking of the black bamboo, I too have always drooled over it, and at a recent trip, I saw some of the horticulturists pulling out a whole stand of it. I spoke with them and begged for a little smidgen. They gave me some (I used my plant person cv, and was very careful that no one saw me hide it in my jacket), and it is a little ol' thing so far, but I know it will get going, so it's in a container. On another note, sorry I can't make the swap. Hope you all have a great time!!! -amy

Don't bother growing spearmint from seed. It will not be as good as named varieties grown from cuttings. Peppermint cannot be grown from seed, it is a sterile plant. Seed that are sold as peppermint will turn out to be a poor form of spearmint. There are many types of strawberries. The alpine strawberries are absolutely terrific. They are small, don't store well and don't produce heavily but they can be grown from seed and will produce the first year when sown in the spring. Johhny's Select Seed has alpine strawberries. F. DeBaggio

Thank you, guys, for the recommendations! I just spent FIVE HOURS looking up TOMATOES online! Possibly I'm even more undecided now! Here's what I've found and what I'm thinkin' so far! Jaune Flamme orange 2-3 oz - only! Tatiana's says 2 oz (another report says 4-6 oz) 55 days ? excellent sharp taste Sounds good, but I am hoping for something larger---but I'm finding conflicting reports about size as you can see above! So far, probably because of the soil (CLAY), my tomatoes are ALWAYS smaller than they're "supposed to be," so I think I might be disappointed with this. And I definitely don't want "tough" skin---your opinion of that on this one, Jay? Bonnie, haven't you grown this one in the past? Opinion as to size and skin? Woodle Orange orange 5-5 oz -- Tatiana's says 1 lb 85 days very good flavor This one's definitely in the running! Pictures look good and it sounds good! BUT, the only place I'm finding seed available is Baker Creek, and I wasn't planning to get anything from them, so with shipping, 25 seeds would be VERY expensive. I've already looked a lot, but might try a little bit more! (Where was yours from, Digit? You use Baker Creek, don't ya?) The 1884 Yellow Pink Heart (which I found mostly as Yellow 1884 Pink Heart) has the same problem with seed availability as the Woodle! Might look a little bit more to see what I can find on that one too! From what I've found, Lemon Plum sounds like it's better for cooking than eating fresh, and while I hope to have enough to do that some day---probably when my soil gets better---for now I barely get enough to eat fresh (and not even enough to give any away!), so I'm gonna stick with things that sound like they're more for "take the salt shaker out into the garden with you!" But thank you for the recommendation, GJ! Your comments about the KB are interesting, Bonnie! In my explorations today I also found a place where people were rating it, and the flavor ranged from mostly non-existant to excellent! I am more and more convinced that the flavor of any one tomato variety has much more to do with the soil and growing conditions than with the actual variety, and my experience with it last year was pretty much similar to yours, but I've heard enough good things about it here on RMG that I'm gonna try it one more year! This year is Sink or Swim for Kellogg's Breakfast in my yard! BTW, if I was still able to salivate, your picture would have me dripping all over my keyboard! With the few and poor tomatoes I got last summer, I am SO ready for a year of GOOD production and GOOD flavor! Can't come soon enough for me!!! Does anybody know anything about the Dr. Wyche's Yellow? I found that one last year sometime, and it sounded good enough to remember the name "for future reference!" AND in my lengthy explorations today, I found (wasn't looking for more -- honest!) several more possibilities for yellow/orange tomatoes! Any comments or opinions about any of these? As I mentioned above, which ones I wind up getting is going to depend at least in part about which varieties I can get where! The more I can get from one place, obviously the cheaper they'll be since I won't have to pay shipping from a bunch of different companies. I really like the "old time taste" description with this one -- but not wild about the skin description! Dejena Lee's Golden Girl (Heritage Seed) yellow/orange "medium" -or- "large" -or- 8-10 oz -or- 3" fruit 80 days 1929 - 1st prize at Chicago Fair for 10 years! ? delicious old-time taste, sweet, tangy flavor semi-thick skin! Earl of Edgecombe orange 6-12 oz 80 days taste is excellent, not too sweet, not too tart, just right dwarf growing habit - tree type Amana Orange orange 4-8 oz -or- 12-16 oz ? "beefsteak" 80-90 days very good sweet mild flavor And this one sounds really good because of the 60 days! but it was called determinate on one site, and indeterminate on another! Anybody know anything about it? (Might be a problem finding seed for this one too!) Orange Blossom DETERMINATE or indeterminate??? yellow/orange 6-7 oz 60 DAYS! Thanks for the help, everyone! Oh, how I wish I had an acre to plant with tomatoes! SOME of them would have to come out good! Skybird P.S. I'm sorry you don't know nothin', Digit! I'll pray for you!!! ;-) And thank for chiming in here! The more discussion the better---altho it should be obvious by now that I'll just keep getting confuseder and confuseder!