One of my favorite things about gardening is that you can easily see the results of your efforts. Those last six words can be addicting.

For those who wish to push a little deeper into gardening starting your own plants from seeds is one route to take. If this is a new venture, I would start with some of the easy ones.

Marigolds, cabbage (cole crops in general), tomatoes, zinnias, asters, salvia, and portulacas are the first seven easy ones that come to mind. Portulacas are easy, but illustrate one of the first problems you will meet. Some seeds are tiny.

For successful seed starting you need several basics. Most important is to use a fine grade potting soil. There are special seed mixes available. Garden soil will not work in a seed tray.

Next on my list is moisture. Too much and you invite disease, too little and the seeds will die from dehydration as they try to germinate. Several paragraphs back I suggested some easy ones to start with primarily because learning the proper use of water is the most difficult part of seed starting and growing young plants. On second thought, that's an issue with growing any plant.

A misting system works great, but is generally impractical in a home situation. You can get good results with a mist bottle if you put the seed tray in a plastic bag. Get rid of the bag once you see germination beginning.

The third issue is light. Grow lights work fine as does a small greenhouse. Next best is to find a bright spot with indirect sunlight. Direct sunlight makes it almost impossible to keep your seed flats moist without over-watering or overheating.

Most seeds should be covered lightly. The old rule of thumb is the larger the seed the deeper you should plant. Most seeds need a little bit of light to germinate. My daughter often lays the seeds on top of the potting soil and covers them with vermiculite.

Next you need to think about temperature. Bottom heat is best and temperature near 70 degrees is desirable for most plants.

Here comes a couple of quick lists. Seeds that germinate and grow rapidly include marigolds, zinnias, vine crops like cucumbers and melons, cabbage, and salvia. Plants that take a long time from seed to the garden include snapdragons, pansies and begonias. In between I would list tomatoes, peppers and impatiens.

Read the seed pack. That should help you navigate the last several paragraphs for a particular seed.

Finally here is a short list of plants I wouldn't include in my first try. They are gomphrena (requires soaking and a cold pretreatment) lobelia, alyssum, celosia and poppies. These last are slow and prone to a fungal disease commonly known as damping off. Most perennial seeds are difficult to germinate. Some are easy, but many are finicky and require well-defined procedures to produce success. Sometimes we have more seeds in our freezer than food.

I doubt that starting your own plants and avoiding the greenhouse will greatly fatten your wallet, but if you have the interest, it is a challenge you may wish to undertake. You can certainly seed the results of your efforts.