Timing

• Sow seeds inside six to eight weeks before you plan to transplant them to your garden. In central Alaska, the last freezes occur anywhere from the end of April to the beginning of June. Gardens on the Kenai Peninsula and the North Slope experience far shorter growing seasons, making gardening indoors the only way to enjoy fresh flowers and vegetables.
  
  

Requirements

• If you don't have access to a greenhouse, plan to set out your pots of seeds in a sunny window with southern exposure or use cool-white fluorescent bulbs to coax your seeds to germinate. Almost any kind of pot will hold seeds, as long the container holds good potting soil. Eventually, you'll want to transplant the new plants into the garden or into bigger containers.
  
  

Plants to Start Indoors

• Flowers such as begonia, geranium, impatiens, marigolds, petunias and pansies all benefit from a head start indoors. Vegetables that require a longer growing season also need to be planted indoors, including broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, celery, peppers, tomatoes and Brussels sprouts.