Yellowknife (May 05/04) - With the snow still shrinking away in the backyard, green thumbs are beginning to twitch.

Jerry Vandebilche, with the Yellowknife Gardening Centre, says while it's still too early to plant, there are a few things eager gardeners can do to make the most of Yellowknife's short growing season.

Since many herbs and vegetables like broccoli and tomatoes take a long time to grow, it's better to get started as soon as possible, says Vandebilche.

"You can start your seeds, either in a little pot with some potting soil or little Jiffy pots with peat pellets," says Vandebilche.

He has been holding gardening classes every Saturday for three weeks and says the enthusiasm to get growing is beginning to boil over.

"They are a lot of fun," says Vandebilche.

"There were 25 people there last week who wanted to talk about nothing else than gardening."

Darwin Rudkevitch, a partner in Arctic Farmer Landscaping, says the time is right to get gladiola bulbs started.

The trick, he says, is to start them indoors and then gradually begin taking them outside during warmer days to get them acclimatized --"hardening them off" in gardening lingo.

"The plants will suffer from shock if they are immediately brought outside from inside," says Rudkevitch.

Another trick is to avoid starting plants too early.

"Otherwise, they'll become greenhoused," says Rudkevitch, meaning simply that they've been kept inside too long.

Rudkevitch is particularly excited about this year's gardening season.

That's because, for the first time, the company will be opening its retail store and greenhouse. The store opened May 1; the greenhouse, May 24. He promises the new store has plenty to offer novices and experts. "We're bringing in a line of shovels and rakes with a five-year warranty on them," says Rudkevitch.

"They're what you'd call the Ferrari of rakes and shovels."