Martha Stewart: For a top garden, seeding is believing

Source: Philadelphia Inquirer ( Original Article ) I have been gardening for many years, and, looking back, I am surprised at the evolution that has occurred in my techniques and methods. In one of my first attempts at starting seeds, I sowed them in handmade wooden flats in my basement and jerry-rigged a dozen or so fluorescent "gro" lights over the tables. Then I set the lights on timers so the emerging seedlings would have sufficient "daylight" to grow into plants large and healthy enough to be replanted into the garden after the danger of frost had passed. This method worked, but I knew it could be improved. In a refinement, I attached a small lean-to greenhouse to my outdoor kitchen. There I grew tomatoes, cabbages, eggplants and peppers in small grow pots made of compressed peat. Daylight certainly made a difference to the sturdiness of the plants. They fared just a bit better than my basement-grown seedlings after they were set out into the fertile garden...