If you find yourself dreaming of flowers and fresh vegetables during this time of the year, then you are a gardener! While it is a bit early to start planting outside, you can get a head start, and a gardening fix, by starting some summer crops indoors.

Seed starting is a very scalable project; while you might long for a greenhouse, a waterproof table next to a bright window or a few lights can offer you the opportunity to start a few seeds indoors. A middle ground might be a utility shelf unit with some lights mounted above each shelf.

Newly germinated seedlings need about 12 hours a day of direct light; you can use incandescent grow lights, LEDs or fluorescent bulbs.

You will need soilless seed-starting medium and some small containers (plant plug trays work well but there are lots of other options). The idea is to germinate the seed in small containers and then, once true leaves and roots emerge, transplant to larger containers.

Moisture levels are critical to success; using vented covers can be very helpful. Some seeds need to be in warm soil to germinate, and heat mats are helpful for them. Room temperature should be 60-70 degrees.

The most important step is to read the instructions on the back of the seed packet. The packet will tell you what conditions the seed requires to germinate and how soon to plant the seeds indoors. In our region, the third week in May is a good bet for our last frost date. Timing seed planting is quite important. Start too early and plants may outgrow containers before the weather permits transplant into the garden; start too late and plants may not be ready for transplant.

Annual flowers are fun to start indoors. Marigolds, zinnias and calendula are among many that are easy to start. Perennial flowers can also be started from seed, but not all will bloom the first year.

Native plants can be started from seed, though many require a special treatment called cold stratification.

Basically, you have to subject the seed to winterlike conditions, usually by putting it in your refrigerator for a few weeks. There is a method, winter sowing, which uses milk jugs outside in the cold to accomplish the stratification and then germination of seeds that require that treatment.

Tomatoes and basil probably top the list of vegetables and herbs gardeners like to start indoors. Pay attention to days to maturity for tomatoes — that is days from transplant to harvest. Because we suffer late spring and early fall frosts, varieties that are longer than 85 days might offer a very short harvest window.

For lots more information:

Seeds from Colorado State University

• Growing Plants from Seed – Fact Sheet #7.409

• Seed Storage – Planttalk #2020

• Starting Seeds Indoors – Planttalk #1034

• Storing of Vegetable and Flower Seeds – Fact Sheet #7.221

Winter Sowing from Penn State University

Starting Seeds in Winter https://extension.psu.edu/starting-seeds-in-winter

If you have gardening questions, please submit them to our email: Csumg2@elpasoco.com. For more gardening information, please “like” our Facebook page: facebook.com/ColoradoMasterGardeners.EPC. For classes, please visit: epcextension.eventbrite.com.

Colorful annual flowers such as these Benarys Giant Orange Zinnia are easy to grow from seed.

Fredricka Bogardus, Colorado Master Gardener