Whether to start with seeds or not is a question that constantly plagues the beginning gardener. Early in the year, the seed companies begin sending their catalogs. The mouth watering pictures of vegetables and the teenage girl or aged old man proudly displaying their prize winning melon or pumpkin lead all us to believe that starting from seed is easy.

Needles to say it's not. Some gardening references mentioned in this primer suggest that you start with seedlings from your local nursery not seeds. While I agree that it's not simple, I believe that even the beginner can start with seeds and succeed. The formula for success includes seeds, soil, water and light. The degree to which you're capable of supplying those four ingredients easily will determine your likelihood of success.

Seeds - Once you determine that you'll garden and what vegetables you'll use, you need to find the seeds that will help you do your best. Some varieties listed in the seed catalogs show that they're resistant to certain pests or diseases. Use those as much as possible. It's not that you can't recover from the pests or diseases to which other seeds are susceptible. It's just that you're so new to gardening that the problems will suddenly appear and damage your crops before you even know what happened. That's not much fun, so use the resistant varieties now, the others later if you want.

Soil - It's important that you have the correct soil for seeds and for the plants that we discussed earlier. I didn't feel comfortable with the various methods of mixing soil so I took the easy route. I used Jiffy Sevens. Jiffy Sevens are little brown discs about the size of a silver dollar. Simply add water and the pot expands to be 2 to 3 inches high and is ready and waiting for a seed.

Jiffy Sevens will help later as well. When transplanting, the entire seedling and Jiffy Seven soil cube go into the garden. Therefore, there will be no worry of shock from transplanting. Also, since they hold about seven times their weight in water, they'll keep your seeds from drying out if you miss a watering. It worked well for me to place six Jiffy Sevens on each half of an inverted egg carton (the cardboard kind with masking tape used to plug the holes). Using cardboard cartons helped because the wet cardboard has a darker tint than the dry. That makes it easy to see it's time to water.

Water - During the seed germination and early seedling period, it's important that they get the proper amount of water. If you place the seeds near a water source, it will be quite simple to keep them moist. However, carting water back and forth can be a very annoying task. An easy way to keep seeds watered with limited hassle is to use a sprayer or mister. I use a plastic sprayer that has a capacity of one gallon. It gives me plenty of water where it's needed and it's very simple to use. Simply fill it with water, pump a few times, adjust the nozzle for a steady stream instead of a mist, squeeze the trigger and the plants get just the amount they need. This same sprayer is used later when the seedlings get their first fertilization as well.

Light - If you plan to place seeds and seedlings in a South facing window in an unheated room or basement and you live where early Spring temperatures drop at night, I'd also suggest that you skip the seeds and buy seedlings to get started.

The best way to start with seeds is by using a fluorescent light. Not the expensive 'grow lights', but a simple workshop light available at any discount hardware store. The light should be controlled by a timer like the ones you'd use when turning lights on when you're not at home. Run the lights about 14 -18 hours a day, preferably through the night. Put the seedlings up close to the lights as well. That way, the light will provide heat when the room temperature drops.

Well that's it, seeds, soil, water and light. If these aren't easy to provide, it's probably best to start with seedlings from a local nursery. Nonetheless, be certain to get resistant varieties to make things a little easier, and a little more enjoyable. Also, don't forget to 'harden off' the seedlings before transplanting. That is, put them outside during the day for the two weeks before transplanting.

And, use cutworm collars for the seedlings. They are a protective barrier to keep cutworms from getting to the seedlings as they can eat the stems. I used a 2 to 3 inch cut of a long narrow box like Saltines or Health Valley Oat Bran Cookies. Simply burry the box around each seedling as a wall about 2 inches high to protect them from the cutworms. If you use Jiffy Sevens, cut the box, wrap it around the seven and plant them together. Try to keep it a simple as possible and you'll be certain to do it for each and every seedling you plant.

For more information on starting from seed, be sure to check the bibliography.