A great way to shake off the winter blues and get a jump on spring is to start plants from seed indoors. It's not only fun and easy to do but also rewarding, since it allows home gardeners the opportunity to grow plant varieties that may not be available from local plant growers. The opportunities are endless with many unique varieties of flowers, vegetables, and even ornamental vines available in seed form. Seed starting is a great winter activity to do with children.

To get started, come visit our seed department. Once you have made your selections, look on the back of the packet for basic information such as germination time and an estimate of how long to grow the plant indoors before transplanting into the garden. Find out the average safe date for transplanting your plant in our area (usually around mid-May in the Quad Cities area), and then count backwards to find out how early you can start your seeds. If you have a greenhouse or cold frame to transplant into, adjust accordingly.

The best containers to use are shallow seed starting trays with covers. Another option is to use peat pots, but plastic or clay pots will do just fine in a pinch. If using containers from a previous growing season, wash them with a solution of one part household bleach to nine parts water to sterilize them. This helps prevent the transfer of disease. Or, get everything you need in a convenient kit like the Burpee Seed Starting Greenhouse Kit. The kit is available in 36 or 72 cell sizes.

For good germination results, fill your containers with a light soil mix like Miracle Gro's Seed Starting Potting Mix that has good drainage and moisture retention properties. Do not use garden soil. Make sure to wet your soil mix and allow it to drain before sowing the seeds into your containers.

Find a warm location in your home with plenty of light, or an area where you can mount a light above the plants. Most plants only need moisture and warmth to germinate, but will need the light to grow once they sprout leaves. Plain fluorescent light bulbs are fine when starting seeds but consider using at least one "grow light" tube if you are going to keep the plants under lights for an extended time (if you are trying to get full-sized plants by transplant time, you'll need a grow light or a very bright window). Remember that seedlings will quickly become weak and leggy plants if they don't receive enough light.

Seeds generally need a soil temperature above 65º to germinate. If you have trouble maintaining that temperature, consider using a heating mat. Covering your containers with plastic will help hold in moisture and create a humid environment that encourages the seed to germinate. That's why covered seed starting trays are the easiest containers to use.

Make sure your plants don't get too hot under the plastic, especially if you have the containers in a sunny area or under a warm light. Remove the plastic as soon as you see any signs of germination. Keep the soil mix evenly moist, and use lukewarm water if possible. Water very gently to avoid disturbing the tender seedlings.

When your seed germinates, it will send up a sprout with two seed leaves called cotyledons. After that, true leaves will follow. Begin feeding your seedlings weekly with a half-strength solution of fertilizer (Wallace's recommends Miracle Gro All Purpose or Wallace's All Purpose Plant Food Water Soluble Fertilizer) when the first true leaves develop. Continue feeding the seedlings until they are ready to be transplanted. The plants will be ready when the entire root ball is held together by the plant roots.

Make sure to harden off your plants before transplanting them into the garden. "Hardening off" is the process of acclimating plants to the light, humidity, and temperatures found outdoors. Start by placing your seedling containers outdoors in a shaded, sheltered location for a couple of hours per day. Gradually increase the time spent outside by an hour each day for at least a week before transplanting the seedling. With the exception of tomatoes, plant the seedlings at the same level they were grown in their pot. Tomatoes can be buried deeper than they grew in the pot--they will grow roots from the buried portion of the stem.

After transplanting, if your neighbors ask where you bought all those wonderful plants, just tell them, "They're truly homegrown!"

Wallace's Garden Center is the official pick-up location for the Daffodil Days fundraiser for the American Cancer Society. Pick up days are March 14-17. You may also purchase daffodils from the pick-up location if you have not ordered.

For more information please go to www.cancer.org or call the Discovery Shop in Bettendorf at 563-355-0824. The Discovery shop is located at 2397 Cumberland Square Dr, Bettendorf, IA

Need to freshen up your home or office?

Let a plant do the dirty work. For instance, a spider plant gets rid of formaldehyde fumes from your new carpeting, thanks to microorganisms living in potting soil that use airborne toxins as a source of food. Plant roots absorb the waste produced by those microorganisms and release cleaner air in your home.

"Some plants work better because their root systems prefer pollutants and use them as food faster than others," says Bill Wolverton, Ph.D., who runs an environmental research firm in Picayune, MS.

Estimating the number of plants to best do the job isn't easy and he advises that you overestimate the number rather than underestimate it. However, it's easy to figure out the types of plants to use.

Here are 11 of the best--and easiest to maintain--household plants to hold down pollution levels in your home or office for better breathing and energy.

1. bamboo or areca palm
2. Boston fern (or any fern)
3. chrysanthemum
4. dracaena
5. English ivy (or any ivy)
6. gerbera daisy
7. golden pothos
8. peace lily
9. philodendron
10. snake plant
11. spider plant