We live in a climate of extremes: unavoidable summer heat of 100+ degrees with high humidity (with complimentary mosquitoes thrown in just for the fun of it!) and excruciating winter temperatures of 26 degrees below zero, with wind chills of 60 below zero and lower (just for kicks & giggles!). We call it The Land of Shovel and Swat! So, in order to have a garden here in the land we call home, we are forced to start our garden plants indoors while it's still winter (today it is mid-February and the outside temp is a crisp 20 degrees below zero) or purchase the no-choice varieties local greenhouses offer in bedding plants. Our last frost date is May 20th, so gardening here all revolves around that significant date. We can still have a killing frost way into June, but we're used to going out in the middle of the night with all the bed sheets we can muster to cover and protect our precious new plant life.

Each year I want unique varieties of plants that the local greenhouses here never offer so I always start my own seeds around the first of March. My budget likes this peculiarity of mine and I am willing to invest the extra time to get atypical, healthy, robust plants with strong root systems that will survive and thrive. My colossal started plants make the store bought bedding plants look like preemies!

You only need a few things to embark on your seed starting craft: seeds packed for the current year, clean containers with covers (or use clear plastic bags), vermiculite (a sterile planting medium that thwarts damping off), water and heat.

Begin by wetting the vermiculite in a clean bucket get it good and wet but not dripping. Next, layer about an inch of wet vermiculite in the bottom of a meticulously clean old cake pan and press it down firmly; place individual seeds an inch or so apart on top of the vermiculite; cover the seeds with another layer of vermiculite that is equal to four times the size of the seed; press firmly again and cover. Keep the pans warm (on top of the refrigerator, on top of a heating pad set on very low, behind your wood burner) until the first green sprouts appear, no light is required yet. After the first signs of life show, the sprouts will need 12 16 hours of light a day, which can best accomplished with a special broad spectrum grow light. Don't be tempted to start seeds in a South window, the sun is too intense for the seedlings to begin with, they need to adjust to the extreme rays gradually. The plants

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