by Jaimie L. SC

Created on: March 04, 2009

It's Gardening time! Don't you just love gardening. It is a time to give back to the earth what many take out of it. It is also helpful to grow some of your own fruits and vegetables rather then buy them all from the store. Gardening can be a fun activity for you and your whole family to do together, but sometimes you can't always start gardening outside. Due to the cold and other reasons many people have to start their seeds inside. I normally start all my seeds inside, simply because I beileve that plants grow better when started inside. I find the best way to start seeds inside is the way I did it while I was growing up.

Step One: (Supplies)

You need a few supplies. If you have them that is great, but if not a trip to the store or a neighbor that will let you borrow the supplies is in order. You will need to get the following items (per type of seed): a paper plate, four paper towels, a zip-lock bag, and the seeds themselves. I find that any zip-lock bag works, but the freezer zip-lock bags keep in more of the moisture then the storage zip-lock bags.

(Tip # 1: If you do not have paper towels you can use napkins, but use two napkins instead of four. You also need to make sure the napkins are the same size of your plate.)

(Tip # 2: You need to be sure that the paper plate can fit into the plastic bag: if you have a small plate, get a small zip-lock bag and if you get a big paper plate, get a big zip-lock bag.)

Step Two: (Layer)

Now that you have all of your supplies you can take the next step to starting you seeds inside. Place your plate on a flat surface. Put two paper towels on top of the plate. Make sure the paper towels cover the whole plate. Now place the seeds all over the top paper towel (Try to keep them the seeds a little apart from each other). Now take the last two paper towels and place them on top of the seeds. You should have a layered thing going on: plate, paper towel, paper towel, seeds, paper towel, paper towel. If you are using napkins it will be: plate, napkin, seeds, napkin.

Step Three: (Zip-lock Bag)

Now that you have step two done you now need to place the plate into the zip-lock bag. When you put the plate into the bag try to keep the plate flat. Turning the plate will dump all the seeds or move the seeds all around. The seeds could end up right next to each other and that would be bad when they start to grow. Before you close the zip-lock bag you need to add some water. Make sure you don't put to much. You only need to put just enough to make the paper towels damp.

Step Four: (Window Seal)

Close the zip-lock bag and place it into a window seal. Every few days you will need to check and see if you need to add more water. You should always keep the paper towels damp. In a week or so (depending on size and the type of your seeds) you should see your seeds start to open and start to grow. When this happens it is time to plant them in starter pots.

Happy Gardening! I hope this helps you start your seeds inside.

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