Never tried planting anything from seed before? Here's a quick how-to.

1. First, gather your supplies.

Buy some lightweight seed starting mix. You'll also need some shallow containers with holes in the bottoms. Egg carton bottoms work well if you have a tray they can sit on. Add waxed paper, plastic silverware and a permanent marker. And remember to bring along the seeds you're going to plant.

2. The seed starting mix must be wet before you do anything. Fill the container to within an inch of the top with the soil-less mix. Dip the whole thing in a sink full of water until the water floods the entire container. Lift the container out and let it drain.

3. Make shallow indentations with the tip of a pencil. These are your "furrows."

4. Drop seeds sparingly into the little holes. Cover with only enough soil to equal the seed's width. The No. 1 mistake by novice gardeners is covering their seeds with too much soil, said Ed Hume, of Ed Hume Seeds.

5. Check the seed packet to see if your seeds like light to germinate (sprout). If they do, press them lightly into the soil and don't cover them at all. If not, cover them with a little soil.

6. Mist the surface with water to settle the seeds.

7. Make your plant labels before you forget which seed is which. It doesn't matter whether you use a plastic spoon, fork or knife. Write the name of the seed and the date on the handle and stick into a corner of each container. If you use a fine-point permanent marker, this plant label will not run or fade.

8. Cover the containers loosely with a sheet of waxed paper. If your seeds want light, put them about two or three inches below fluorescent lights or in a bright window sill. If not, on top of the refrigerator or under the waterbed are good places for seeds to sprout. The warmth helps speed things up. Be sure to check them every day.

9. When the seedlings emerge, take off the waxed paper. They need light and air at this point.

10. Keep the soil evenly moist, not soggy. Water from the bottom by setting the containers back in the sink as before. Take them out as soon as you see moisture come to the surface of the mix.

Tips

The National Garden Bureau sends along these tips for starting seeds:

* Water your new plants from the bottom until they grow to be three or four inches tall. Then you can begin to water from the top. But be careful n the force from water pouring out of a watering spout can topple tender sprouts. You might like to use your mister for a while.

* Feed as you water by diluting a water-soluble fertilizer to half strength.

* You do not need to move most flowering plants into larger pots before setting them outdoors in the garden. Some vegetables, such as tomatoes, produce huge root systems and grow quickly into lush plants. Transplant them at least once before the weather warms up enough to put them outside.

* To encourage compact, bushy plants, occasionally pinch off the growing tips of herbs and most flowering plants.

What's bugging your garden? Write to Catherine in care of this newspaper or e-mail her at: Catherine.walworth@casperstartribune.net.