I start most of my vegetables and flowers from seed indoors.  Prior to being placed in the garden, most plants need to grow 4 to 6 weeks after germinating.  Starting seeds indoors while gardening at high altitudes requires the same basic techniques as other areas but, since our gardening season is so short,  we must sow our seed much later in the spring.

When I sow my seed indoors depends on how I plan to provide light for the seedlings.

• Sunny Window.  In my early gardening efforts, I placed my seedling in a south facing sunny window.  I usually planted my seeds in late April, only 3 to 4 weeks prior to planting the seedlings outside because the plants had a tendency to become leggy.  I turned the plant trays every day to minimize the tendency of seedlings to lean toward the light source which is, because of the limitations of the window, not directly overhead.

  The plants needed to be hardened off at least a week prior to planting outside.  One year, I had my seedlings sitting in a shady place on one of our lower decks.  The local chipmunks decided to try them out for lunch and ate every one.  Another year, I had my seedling outside, this time on our higher, front deck.  We went for a quick shopping trip and a hail storm blew in.  Every one of my seedling was mashed to a pulp.  The moral of these sad tales is that you have to carefully monitor your plants when hardening them off in the great outdoors.

  Many of you will understand why my husband Jack says my gardening efforts are the "triumph of hope over reality".  However, I am always ready to try again after a large dose of reality hits my gardening efforts.

   

• Florescent Lights.  I have also used full spectrum florescent lights placed over my plants.  Again, I usually planted my seed 3 to 4 weeks prior to outside planting.  As long as I left the lights on for at least 12 hours and kept the bulbs a few inches above the plants, the small seedling did fine.  The biggest problem I had with the florescent lights is the space limitation under the lights;  I could not start as many seedling as I wished.  At least a week before placing the plants in the garden, I would begin to "harden" them off by putting the plants in a sheltered area outdoors during the day.

   

• Cold Frame.  I have never had a functional cold frame but my Father (a truly master gardener and my role model) uses a cold frame for his plants in New Jersey.  He places his plants in the cold frame soon after they germinate.  Every night he covers the cold frame with old blankets to hold in the warmth.  Has any gardener here at high altitude had success with a cold frame?  Perhaps you could share your experiences with me.

   

• Greenhouse.  About 10 years ago (after the hail incident) I invested in one of those inexpensive, temporary greenhouses.  The greenhouse consists of a plastic sheeting shell on a PVC pipe frame and is relatively easy to put up.  I start my seeds in early- to mid-April, 6 to 8 weeks prior to outside planting.  The greenhouse provides good light and the plants stay compact and stocky.  Hail storms do not affect my seedling any more, although the hail has put some holes in the plastic.  Chipmunks remain a problem but I place aluminum foil around the greenhouse and that tends to keep them out. You can read more about my greenhouse experiences here.

• Garden Soil.  I have used amended soil directly from the garden.  While this works ok, I found the soil tended to dry out quickly and compacted easily.

   

• Compost.  One year, I screened compost from my outdoor compost pile and used the fine dirt for germinating my seeds.  I lost most of the seedling to damping off.  Perhaps, if I had sterilized the soil in the oven prior to sowing the seeds, I could have eliminated this problem.

   

• Seed Starting Mixes.  Although I attempt to garden economically, I now purchase seed starting mixes such as Ferti-Mix or Redi-Earth Seed Starter.  I have found the moisture holding properties of these soils is ideal and I have less damping off problems.  I purchased an enormous bag (3 cubic feet) of Redi-Earth Seed Starter mix from Rocky Mountain Seed Company (1325 15th Street, Denver CO 80202-1605, telephone: 303-623-6223) for $18.50 plus tax.  This hugh bag of soil lasts me 3 to 4 years.

• Paper or Plastic Cups.  As long as I put a hole in the bottom of the cup to drain excess water , these worked ok for me.  I have large plastic watertight trays in which I placed the cups.  I covered the cups with a sheet of plastic wrap to hold in the moisture until the seeds germinated.

   

• Small Plastic Pots.  A long time ago, I grew and propagated african violets.  I purchased about 200 small and medium plastic pots from an african violet supplier whose name I have forgotten.  These pots were inexpensive and work the same as small paper or plastic cups but last from year to year.

   

• Accelerated Propagation System (APS).  These are seed starting systems sold by Gardeners Supply Company.  I have seen similar systems sold by other gardener suppliers.  The system consists of a water reservoir in which a styrofoam platform sits.  A piece of wicking material lays on the upper side of the styrofoam platform, with one edge of the material placed in the water reservoir.  A styrofoam growing tray with cells for holding the soil and seeds sits on the wicking material.  A clear plastic cover fits over the growing cells to hold in the moisture.

  I have APS-40's and APS- 24s; both systems sell for $9.95 each plus shipping.  I agree, this seems like a lot of money for seed starters.  As I have mentioned, I am an economical gardener but I have found these systems to be far superior to any other method for starting seeds and have been purchasing one or two a year for many years.  I have used some of mine since the early 1980's.  As long as I take care not to break the styrofoam, I think my APS seed starters will last indefinitely.

   

• Cut Off Plastic Bottles.  This year I am trying something new.  I am germinating collected seeds such as ponderosa pines and douglas fir trees.  I needed small flats (such as the jiffy flats that are 4 by 8 inches which purchased plants sometimes come in) that are not too deep.  My larger flower pots (6 or 8 inch in diameter) are too deep and would take too much soil.  So I cut off some plastic bottles about 4 inches from the bottom and punched holes in the bottom for drainage.  I placed wicking material in the drain holes and filled the "flats" with soil.  After planting the seeds, I balanced the "flats" on small pots in a plastic tray.  I then filled the tray with water; the wicks take the moisture to the "flats" and the "flats" do not sit directly in the water.  I have the "flats" covered with plastic wrap to hold in the moisture.  I will comment later this summer on how well this method worked.