Gardeners know indoor sowing is worthwhile

If you have the urge to plant seeds, yet it's too cold or damp outdoors, plant some indoors. Indoor sowing might also be the only way to have in your garden that special variety -- Violet Queen purple broccoli or Border Beauty zinnia, for example -- that you'll rarely find for sale as transplants.

The ideal transplant, when ready to go out in the garden, is stocky and dark green. Growing such a plant takes a combination of art and science.

For quick germination, seeds need warmth, moisture, and, in some cases, light. Any container about 2 inches deep is suitable, as long as it has holes in the bottom for drainage. Fill the container with potting soil, sow the seeds to a depth equal to twice their thickness, then firm the soil. Water from below by setting the containers in a pan with an inch of water in it.

Cover the container with a piece of clear plastic, then set it somewhere warm. Seventy degrees Fahrenheit is a good average temperature to suit most seeds. No need to put the container near a sunny window at this point. Even seeds that need light to germinate are sufficiently stimulated by relatively little light, the amount in an average room being sufficient.

Once shoots poke through the soil, the plants need the brightest possible light and cooler temperatures. Now is the time to put the plants by a sunny, south window or with their tops within a few inches of a bank of fluorescent lamps. At this stage also, either thin out the seedlings so that they are not crowded in their container, or else carefully transplant each seedling to its own container.

The goal now is to keep the plant growing slowly and strongly. The more light the plant gets, the more fertilizer, water, and warmth the plant can use without growing thin and sappy.