by Ross Voorhees

Created on: March 08, 2009   Last Updated: April 22, 2009

The interest in home gardening has been growing tremendously in recent years, and with our current economy, a whole new generation is turning their attention to growing food, beautifying their homes, and rediscovering the joy of home gardens. While many people are content to wait for their local stores to start carrying flats of ground-ready plants, why not give yourself a head start by growing your own seedlings indoors? It's inexpensive, easy, and fun!

You DON'T need expensive equipment or elaborate lighting setups, and you certainly don't need to shell out big bucks, and yet the results will yield a wider variety of plants than what's normally available when buying ready to plant seedlings. It's also fun, rewarding, and a fantastic activity that the whole family can enjoy.

All you'll need are seeds, potting soil, containers for your plants, and a good source of light. Seeds and potting soil are easy, as you can find a wide variety of both at your local hardware or home store, and in many cases, within supermarkets or merchandise stores that have garden departments. I highly recommend Miracle Grow potting soil, which contains a good blend of compost, peat moss, and fertilizer. I picked up a 16 quart bag for $5.99 locally. Good seeds are often on sale, and I found many stands at various stores with a wide variety of melons, vegetables, herbs, and flowers for .19 a packet. A visit to your local garden store will give you more exotic choices of plant and vegetable seeds. They cost a bit more, but are well worth it.

Next, you'll need containers for your seedlings. You can find pre-formed pint containers made from decomposable materials at many gardening centers. These give the benefit of both ease of use and the ability to plant the entire pot within your garden without first removing your seedling. While some people find these pre-formed containers worth the cost, many others prefer to use a variety of things that are quite easily found around the house or even thrown away regularly. Cut the top off of an empty plastic soft drink bottle and you have a perfect ready-made container. Plastic milk jugs also work great. Large paper cups and cardboard milk containers are better yet (I use left-over paper cups from birthday parties), because the paper will decompose just like the pre-formed store bought containers. Just poke a hole or two in the bottom to drain excess water and you're set.

Finally, you'll need a good source of light. Quite often, a well lit window that

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