It's just thrilling. Gardening that is. The fact that I now have the plant stand with grow lights all scrubbed clean. That it is near a clean, cool window. That there are now three kinds of tomatoes, artichokes and lettuce under those very lights. That, for me, the gardening season has begun. Thrilling.

If you are insistent on growing your own seedlings, the above mentioned are the prime ones to start. These plants are being started in the house, under lights, in anticipation of being moved to the heated greenhouse by the third week in March.

It is always a mistake to move into the greenhouse then. I have made this same mistake every year for at least six years. I can't seem to help myself. I am hoping that our apparent climate change will hold out and this will be the March of no mistakes.

March just seems to get really, really cold. I mean really cold, like 10 degrees, just when you think something like that won't happen again. The heater in the greenhouse will not, absolutely not, keep up with that kind of cold. In the meantime, I have every intention to be ready to move into the greenhouse in spite of myself.

But I am hedging my bets. If it is really, really cold, my seedlings will be just as happy under the lights.

They are planted in four packs. This size seems to afford the seedlings the room for root growth that they so very much need at this point of their life. Their roots will not be crowded so if they need to stay put they can do so quite successfully.

The Green Globe artichokes will start out in four-inch pots. These plants are huge from the get go. Even the seeds are big. Once they germinate and are looking like plants they will go to the cold frame.

But, I am getting ahead of myself, of us, really.

The first thing is to get the seeds going so that you will have lovely, strong, healthy seedlings to set out come spring. You will need supplemental lighting. There are reasonably priced shop light fixtures and you can install one cool and one warm florescent light or grow lights.

The use of four packs has already been determined, now you need soil. I do like Whitney Farms potting soil. It is organic and I just cross my fingers that their idea of organic and mine is the same. I do know that the seedlings seem quite happy.

Moisten the soil thoroughly, using a pencil, make a hole and drop the seed in. At this point I cut open recycled produce bags so they will lay flat over the top of the flats. Then it all goes under the lights. I do not wait for the seeds to germinate, I just put them really close to the lights and leave the lights on continuously. When they do germinate, I will move them farther from the lights, but not much. I keep a small watering can at the ready and will water almost every day until they move to the greenhouse.

Central heating is not a friend of seedlings. If I could keep them cooler I would be happier and they would not need as much water. But these five star houses are not favorable for growing seedlings. Gone are the drafts. Gone are cold corners. Gone are good growing areas.

There, you now have your tomatoes, artichokes and lettuce all started. Keep in mind that tomatoes are like weeds and you will be harvesting more tomatoes than you thought humanly possible sooner than you imagined. Have faith.

I have yet to mention the reason you are starting lettuce. These will fill in around your young tomatoes and you will be harvesting salads in a matter of weeks. When the tomato gets large enough that it needs all of its growing area to itself, you will be gardening outside and won't need to have lettuce inside anymore. Remember to plant more lettuce every 10 days so that you will have a steady supply all summer long. Excellent thought isn't it?

Now for your tuberous begonias. These lovelies are near and dear to my heart. They do really well on the north side of the house, a difficult spot to make happy. It just so happens that I have a lone flower box and it is located on the north side. I like to stuff it with three tuberous begonias, pansies, lobelia and whatever else looks appealing as I shop around the nurseries.

But my favorite begonia is roseform, "rose." The color goes perfectly with the bleeding hearts that are planted in the ground all across the north side of the house. Last year I made the jarring error of planting what I thought were pink begonias only to discover they were "salmon." Ugh.

So this year I am determined to dig them out of the flower box and store them.

Which brings me to: Did you store your begonias? Get them out. I am hoping that they are firm and showing a few pink shoots. I like to plant them into four-inch pots, concave side up. If you get them going now they will reward you with gorgeous blooms all season long. What more could you possibly want?

All of your stored plants should now be seeing the light of day. If you kept your fuschia and geraniums, put them into fresh soil, give them a trim, water, a bright window and all will be well.

Rosemary Fitzpatrick has been gardening with gusto in Homer for 26 years.