March is great time to start flower and vegetable seeds inside. Just a few items and a little time, and you will be rewarded tenfold with plants you grew yourself. Seeds, some containers with drainage holes, seed starting soil, and a source of light, and you are on your way to an early garden adventure.

1. Fill your containers ¾ full with your seed starting mix.
2. Place the seeds on top and cover them with additional soil to the recommended amount listed on the packet.
3. Water thoroughly.
4. Keep the soil moist, not wet, through the entire growing process.

If using an artificial light source (recommended) such as an LED shoplight, keep the light fixture 4-6” above the top of the containers. 10-12 hours of light is ideal for this project. An automatic timer makes this task easy. A sunny windowsill can still be used to get things started. However, once the plants have germinated, artificial lighting is desired to complete the process. The continued use of windowsill light can produce stretched and weak plants. As the plants grow, raise your light fixture to maintain that 4-6” distance from the top of the plant. Within several weeks, your plants will be ready to be moved into a larger container or direct to the garden.

Happy Gardening!