sbl

I start a lot of my veggie seeds on a saucer with a moist paper towel covered with plastic wrap. As soon as I see roots, I transfer them to potting media--usually in the clear plastic clam shell containers that fruit comes in--like plums or strawberries. Once they get a little bigger I transfer them to yougurt cups to grow until planting.

For very small seeds like a lot of flower seeds, I often start them directly in the clear plastic clamshell containers and then transfer to yogurt cups or spread them out in another clamshell container.

I store all my seeds in the freezer and they last for years--the jalapeno seeds I used this yr are from 2005--they all sprouted.

One other nice trick I have found for small seeds--like snapdragon--is to pack the media, sprinkle the seeds, cover with a couple layers of newspaper and then wet the paper thoroughly. The paper will keep the surface moist and can be watered without disturbing the seeds--when the seeds sprout they will push the paper up and it can be removed.