Thanks for that link Sandra, I looked it up and they do sell those in my area, I will have to check it out!

Liz, we keep them covered until they've sprouted and then uncover them, but they have little heating mats underneath the trays. We have it set up in the basement so use the lighting and heating mats. When it gets warmer we start moving the containers out onto the patio since natural sunlight is still best, but we can take them in if it will frost or get too cold.

Last year we raised some plants from seed and then bought a few to fill in. The seed-raised plants grew so much bigger and healthier, we will probably just do all seed-grown on the garden unless we lose some plants for some reason.

Here are a few pictures of some of last year's produce.

Onions


Jalapeno peppers still on the plants


A few tomatoes, some apples from the apple trees behind them.


Some jalapenos, bell pepper, and tomatoes


It's a very fun and rewarding experience. The soil here is very rich naturally and plants really thrive well with fairly minimal care.