It depends upon how much time you have to care for seedlings before they are tranplanted into permanent spots in the garden. If you are growing garden annuals that you want blooming as soon as they go into the ground they need to be started indoors several weeks ahead of your planting date. Seed packets will offer germination information to guide you...keep in mind that the information on the back of the packet is based upon ideal circumstances. Most garden perennials do not bloom their first year from seed so they can be started anytime. Starting indoors will require care to prevent damp-off and repotting if felt necessary. Outdoor germination you will need to protect the soil from desiccation by wind and sun, the seedlings should also be protected from slugs or snails, if a hail storm is coming you can help protect young direct-sown seedlings by turning an old laundry basket over them for the duration of the storm. Direct-sown seedlings are often a tasty treat for birds and bunnies. A scarecrow and fencing can help protect the seedlings from critter damage, however a starving animal will ignore devices used to deter or scare them away. Vegetable packets offer a "days to maturity" guideline to suggest when to sow your seeds. Those days are generally based upon how long it takes to grow the first ripe produce after a seedling is about four inches high, those dates are not indicative of how many days needed to produce ripe fruit after germination. Germination requirements can vary from species to species, though some plant families may have similar requirements. If you have no seed packet to read for germination requirements then you can look up the information on the internet by typing in the plant name + germination. The information may also be found in books at the library. Winter Sowing, done outdoors, goes on all throughout winter. See the Winter Sowing Forum FAQs for information. There is also forum with FAQs for Starting Seeds Under Lights.

You read a post heading and if it attracts you then click on it and open it up...Let's see how to make a trade with "Gardener_Jane" "HAVE: Marigolds, cosmos, banana melons, and others seeds." Okay.....you go ahead and click on the link and there's Jane's list and you like a few things on it. Let's see Jane's list.... I have these seeds to trade: ANNUALS: orange marigolds pink cosmos green nicotiana purple balsam PERENNIALS: blue sea holly pale pink halberd-leaved marshmallow black knight butterfly bush orange conflowers unknown vine with white trumpet flowers....nice VEGGIES AND HERBS: Banana melons habanero peppers (Ultra HOT!!) cherry peppers (hot) feverfew SO....you need to reply to the post. Here's some adaptable examples of good replies: Hi Gardener_Jane! I'd like to trade for your marigolds, cosmos, banana melons, and habanero peppers. I've got white zinnias, mixed morning glories, mixed portulaca, and heirloom yellow boy tomatoes. Please let me know if you would like to trade. Thanks, Overall_Jim OR...... Dear GJ, I like your list and I would like to trade for these seeds: marigolds cosmos banana melons habanero peppers Please look at my trade list on my member page. I hope we can trade.....let me know. Thanks, Overall_Jim Those post replies are very clear. Jim tells Jane exactly what he wants to trade for. Jane likes that, she's a busy person. She doesn't have to take the time to send extra emails and she can make her trades quickly and easily.

Occasionally trades go wrong, but that's very rare. If it happens you handle it in private emails with one or two letters (no public cussin' or "naming names" is allowed on the seed exchange). Eventually you get your seeds. If you don't then "so what".....it's just seeds...not sport cars or mortgages. It isn't worth getting aggravated over. Don't ever take a failed trade personally. More than likely the seeds got lost in the mail, a responsible trader will offer to replace them and send another set to you. Sometimes, sadly, a trade doesn't arrive because the trader on the other side may suddenly be having a brutal time with life and that awful distraction can be enough to drive a trade out of one's head....the responsibility of the trade could be insignificant to the agonizing matters at hand. So if you do ever have a trade that doesn't work out please be very-VERY kind to the other trader when you write that the seeds haven't arrived yet. Send one reminder email...wait a couple of weeks before sending another one if it's needed, then be just as kind as you were in the first one. After that DO NOT send another reminder. Just let it slide if the seeds never arrive. The vast majority of traders are extremely generous and in just a month of trading you'll have more seeds than you know what to do with.

"I don't know the botanical names of my seeds, what should I do?" Just make a well described list, that's all. Here's an example: Blue Bachelor Buttons Pink Cosmos Black-eyed Susans 3' annual plant with pink trumpet flowers, likes sun, very pretty! Yummy Cantaloupes from my Dad's garden Bush Tomato, meaty, sweet, not too acid ===================== That's a nice list!...I'd be happy to trade with you!