Seeds for the outdoor garden must be sown at once (March) or it will be too late to get a headstart indoors. Four to eight weeks before the last frost in your area is the ideal time.
To curb the tendency to sow more seeds than you have room for, you can use peat pots for each variety. Usually one small pot of fine seeds like snapdragons or petunias will yield enough plants to fill two flats when transplanted.
Sow seeds in a well drained potting mix – I go for a bagged potting soil and add in a little perlite. The mix should be moist but not wet.
Most annuals and vegetables germinate quickly at 60′ to 65″. After germination, a lower temperature of 55′ at night and 65 to 70 degrees by day will produce stocky plants. Harden them off by a few weeks in the coldframe before the final move outdoors. After transplanting keep shaded and well watered until roots take hold.
