Gardening! What Seeds Should You Start Indoors Now?

Every day I am resisting the urge to get out there and plant some seeds in the ground! My basil plants have sprouted in my kitchen window, and this is the year that I VOW to follow through on my plans to grow a few things in the house so that I can fight off the winter doldrums and have a few fresh veggies to pick when the prices at the grocery store skyrocket!

I think for indoors I am going to keep one Anaheim pepper plant, I'm going to attempt an eggplant and work very hard to keep some kind of lettuce going all year 'round. The Anaheim pepper plant is a very nice looking houseplant, as is the eggplant, and lettuce is so darn easy!

But back to outdoor gardening! That's where the fun begins. My shoulders and chest will now be red and/or peeling until late September (yes, I know, I need to wear sunscreen) and I will be sporting the classic "farmer tan." It's already bad enough with increased running outside but it will get much worse here shortly!

I was talking to my good friend Lisa about starting seeds indoors, and I'll give you my little personal list of what should and should not be started indoors, and the benefits and drawbacks to each.

If you plan to plant broccoli, tomatoes, or peppers, I recommend starting these indoors, and pretty darn soon, at that. The best way I have found to start seeds is to use old cardboard egg cartons. You can put the entire "cup" with the seedling into the ground and it will just break down in the soil, so you don't have to disturb the roots when it comes time to transplant.

The important thing about starting seeds indoors is if you're not familiar with what the plants look like when sprouted then LABEL CAREFULLY! I can't tell you how many mystery gardens I've planted! Fun, but not so good if you're trying plan what plants are going where. So pick one egg carton for each type of seed.

The next important consideration is hardening. Also can't tell you how many tomato and pepper plants I've carefully grown indoors only to immediately kill as soon as I took them outside. Most of the time I take them outside to harden during the day and forget and leave them out there. DOH! So, harden off gradually before transplanting into the garden.

And the best advice I could give to myself that I wouldn't probably heed because I never do, is to be patient! I am always to anxious to get my seedlings into the ground that I rarely wait long enough. Peppers, tomatoes and basil especially like the hot weather, so even though it feels warm to you, it may not be warm enough at night for these hot weather lovers!

The most important part about gardening is to just enjoy it!