It's Pre-Garden Time in Iowa

This week I am starting vegetable and flower plants inside.  My goal is to never have to buy another vegetable from the store. I love to can and preserve foods.  I'm an organic urban gardener.  I start as many vegetables as I can inside and then transplant them outdoors in the garden when the time and weather is right.  My first veggies will be tomatoes, green peppers, onions, cucumbers, broccoli and cauliflower.  I will also start marigolds. I use marigolds around my garden to help reduce the amount of bugs and mosquitoes.  I start my plants in the basement under plant lights.  I still have potatoes and squash left from last fall's harvest.  Any potatoes left when we get to the right time, will be planted back in the soil.  I also try to harvest seeds from veggies and dry them completely before packing them away to use in the spring.