If this mild weather has you itching for spring, you are not alone. Even though the temperature has dropped again, I've decided winter is officially over and I can't wait to get out in the garden and start working.

Unfortunately Mother Nature has other designs, and it's still too cold and damp to actually start working the soil. However, it's the perfect time to start certain seeds indoors and get a head start on the growing season.

If you're growing veggies, seeds that can be started now include broccoli, cauliflower and cabbage. In mid-month you can start your tomatoes, peppers, and even some lettuces to get a jump start on your lettuce crop. Spinach can be direct seeded in the garden a little later in the month. Onions and leeks should have been started in February, but you can still get them going early in the month and plant them outdoors in several weeks. Peas are traditionally planted in the garden on St. Patrick's Day and ready for harvest in May.

Perennial seeds that can be started this month include Bergenia, perennial bachelor's button, Clematis, Penstemon, black-eyed Susan, Helianthus, hardy sweet pea, primrose, spiderwort and violets, among others. Annual flowers can also be started indoors this month, with the exact timing based on the individual germination time of a particular species.

If you've never started your own seeds before, keep in mind that it is a learning process and you might not have success with every seed you try. Through trial and error you'll figure out what works best with the growing conditions in your home and what plants you are better off buying as seedlings.

READ MORE http://livingston.patch.com/articles/stirrings-of-spring-its-time-t...