Sowing Seeds Indoors
Yes, it's time to think about starting those seeds indoors. You could be thinking of giving your gorgeous flowers a head start or your veggies or herbs a jump start so that you can either take  advantage of a double planting season or maybe harvest sooner or even have a short planting season if you are in the great, white tundra.  Some people have the mistaken idea that they need to go out and buy all kinds of stuff for this . . . peat pots, topsoil, fertilizers, yada yada.  I've had pretty good luck doing this on the cheap and I've found some pretty cool inexpensive ideas as well.  Egg shells, egg cartons, plastic fruit containers, and milk cartons all make excellent plant containers for the new seeds.  The egg shells are my favorites because you can put those directly into the soil and crumble them up as you transplant them.  Another option that is really nice 
and you can move directly into the garden, is the little pots made of newspaper.  I found an excellent tutorial online that gives step by step instructions for even the very blackest thumbed gardeners.  (Newspaper seedling pot instructions)


Let's talk for a minute about those seeds while we're at it.  You might have some seeds left over from last year.  Don't throw them out.  Test them out to see if they're any good first.  You may be surprised!  

1. Put about 5 or 6 seeds between 2 paper towels and spray them with a water bottle with water until wet but not sopping.
2. Fold or roll up the paper towel and put in a plastic baggie and label with date.
3. Place in a warm place and check after a few days.
4. The back of the seed packet tells how long it should take for germination.  If it is taking a lot longer than this for you to see the seeds sprout, they are likely not viable any longer.
5. If 2 of the 6 germinate, then you will need to sow 3 times as many seeds as you want plants to grow.  

These germination charts should help you to know what to expect from your seeds:

Germination Time for Common Seed-Grown Annuals

Common Name	Germination Time
Ageratum	5 to 14 days
Alyssum	7 to 14 days
Baby Blue Eyes	7 to 14 days
Baby's Breath	10 to 15 days
Bachelor's Button	7 to 14 days
Bells of Ireland	25 to 35 days
Black Eyed Susan Vine	10 to 15 days
Calendula	7 to 14 days
Celosia	3 to 6 days
China Aster	8 to 14 days
Cleome	10 to 14 days
Coleus	10 to 15 days
Cosmos	5 to 10 days
Geranium	10 to 14 days
Globe Amaranth	10 to 21 days
Impatiens	10 days
Larkspur	15 to 20 days
Love-in-a-Mist	10 to 15 days
Love-Lies-Bleeding	10 to 15 days
Marigold	5 to 7 days
Mealy-Cup Sage	14 to 21 days
Mexican Sunflower	7 to 14 days
Morning Glory	5 to 10 days
Nasturtium	9 to 14 days
Nicotiana	14 to 21 days
Petunia	10 to 14 days
Poppy	8 to 10 days
Purple Hyacinth Bean Vine	7 to 14 days
Scarlet Runner Bean Vine	7 to 14 days
Snapdragon	7 to 14 days
Sunflower	5 to 12 days
Sweet Pea	14 to 21 days
Verbena	14 to 21 days
Viola	10 to 20 days
Zinnia	7 to 10 days

Germination Times for Common Seed-Grown Herbs and Vegetables

Crop	Germination Time
Basil	7 to 10 days
Bean	7 to 14 days
Beet	10 to 14 days
Broccoli	7 to 10 days
Brussels Sprout	7 to 10 days
Cabbage	10 to 14 days
Cantaloupe	5 to 7 days
Carrot	10 to 14 days
Catnip	7 to 14 days
Cauliflower	5 to 7 days
Chervil	14 to 28 days
Corn	5 to 7 days
Cucumber	7 to 14 days
Dill	10 to 21 days
Eggplant	7 to 10 days
Fennel	10 to 21 days
German Chamomile	10 to 15 days
Lettuce	4 to 6 days
Mint	12 to 15 days
Parsley	21 to 28 days
Pea	7 to 10 days
Pepper	7 to 10 days
Pumpkin	7 to 10 days
Radish	3 to 5 days
Spinach	7 to 21 days
Squash, Winter	7 to 10 days
Tomato	7 to 14 days
Watermelon	5 to 7 days

Flower cart from Provence in France