 Welcome to Alabama Smart Yards. We're creating beautiful landscapes that protect natural environments. Today, Mallory Kelly will talk about seed starting. She has a few tips to help your garden grow. Growing from seed can be very rewarding. Not only is it economically beneficial, but it can provide much more variety for your garden. Purchased seed packets are ready to germinate, but oftentimes, soaking seeds overnight will increase your germination success. Sow seeds indoors in late winter to get a jump start come spring. Heat mats and grow lights are needed for indoors, which can be expensive. Make sure you calculate the germination time and days to maturity before sowing. Otherwise, your transplants may grow too big before the temperatures are right to plant outdoors. Summer and fall seeds can be sown directly in the soil of your garden. Prepare the soil and fertilize before planting. Your biggest challenge will be even and consistent irrigation to keep the soil and seeds from drying out. Plant seeds to a depth of two times the diameter of the seed. This can be tricky with really tiny seeds. You can purchase seeds that are pelletized for easier handling and better plant spacing. For more even seed spacing and less thinning after germination, mix tiny seeds in corn meal and sprinkle the mixture in the prepared bed. Another method to increase seed germination and even plant spacing is to create a seed gel. Heat water, not quite to a bull. For every cup of water, mix in two tablespoons of corn starch. Continue to stir until it forms a gel, about three minutes. Once the gel is room temp, mix the seeds into the gel and pour into a zip top bag. Then pipe the seed gel into the prepared bed and lightly cover with soil. I hope these tips increase your seed starting success for next season.