The tallest tomato plant is almost 7" today.
The tallest pepper plant is just under 5" today.
The tallest tomatillo plant is around 6" today.
I got all of my seedling flats up on their shelves in the kitchen. 
...look at the little hairs standing up on this baby tomato plant....so happy to be here with me...I am so lucky.
~.~ the purple sprout
We all started out working together on the first of four sets of shelves. Then I needed to change a diaper....and they worked on...
....I needed to nurse my Sunshine...and get him down for a nap....and they continued on...
....I had to prepare lunch....clean up after lunch...make a few phone calls...
...the shelves were finished! 
Every year it seems like my hubby and I spend a ton of money on buying beautiful annuals...only to have them die once winter sets in. My goal for this next year is to bring all of my annuals (except for some of the veggies, of course) inside during the cold season. We'll see if it happens.
I gently removed them from the vases and laid them out on some newspaper (please ignore the ads, apparently it was doggy week somewhere).
I like terra cotta pots...not just the way they look, but the way that they feel, the way that they smell (when they are wet, you can smell the earthiness of their content), and the fact that they have such an Italian name.....beatitudine!
Inevitably, I have at least 2 or 3 terra cotta pots break every year, usually due to children knocking them over or the extreme temps causing them to crack. So I smash them up and use these shards in the bottom of my future pots. The shards keep the soil from draining out of the hole in the bottom of the pot and also keep the plants' roots from sitting in water and drowning (plants don't like waterlogged feet anymore than you or I do).
Once I got to this point, I separated the cuttings from each other and laid them out next to their future home. 
I then put a thin layer of potting soil over the shards.
And began placing the roots into the pot, one at a time.
Until they were all composed in an arrangement to my liking...then I covered them with more potting soil and reached for my Dr. Earth fertilizer... 
Only to find this hibernating wolf spider, who was quite surprised at my unannounced visit to his winter home. I apologized for the intrusion and escorted him to my garden.
I added some Dr. Earth fertilizer (which I love because it is all natural, even though it smells like turkey manure).
Finally, I added water to the soil....slowly....until it was thoroughly drenched...in the process, washing off the spider egg sacs and dust that had accumulated all over the outside of my wonderful terra cotta pot during the winter. I let it drain completely.
And...Vuala! I know that they look kind of spindly now, but give these cuttings a few months, and they will be looking mighty purty!! 
We went on an impromptu vacation to California this past week. While we were gone, my friend, the Garden Guru, babysat all 168 of my tomato and pepper seedlings. I don't know who was more insane; myself, for asking such a seemingly ridiculous request, or her, for her willingness to actually allow me to transport my lighted shelves and plants over to her home for her to take care of for the week. She obviously understood my deep desire to take care of my other babies (it was a huge sacrifice, going to Disneyland and the beach) and the dilemma I created when I decided to start such a silly project....glad I know such an awesome lady. I am happy to say that, between her great care and the fact that my seeds seemed to be quite viable this year, most of my babies are still alive and doing very well....
Now that most of them have their "true" leaves and seem pretty green, I'm moving them off of the light shelves and into the sunshine in the kitchen bay window...
And hopefully they will continue to grow well for the next couple of months...
I love the fact that they are kind of fuzzy...and that when I brush my fingers along their leaves, producing that wonderful smell of tomato plants, I am swept away to summertime...and the fact that I am going to be eating some yummy tomatoes in a few months time...
so worth all of this effort.
~.~ the purple sprout
I think every gardener out there will agree that, next to the excitement of actually harvesting their produce, watching a seed transform into a seedling is one of the greatest joys to partake in. The process is still amazing to me, no matter how many times I have seen it. It helps to remind me of how even the teeniest things in life are so important to watch and to appreciate. Since there isn't always enough sunlight streaming in through my windows to give my babies what they need to get off to a great start, I am using artificial lighting. Having a good set of shelves with some fluorescent lights can help you to get a jump start on your garden. You can purchase some cheap shelves (the seedlings won't know the difference, believe me). And the lights seem to last for quite a while. I am not an expert on any of it, but you don't have to be a rocket scientist to figure out the basic needs of a plant. Soil, water, light...and a little bit of love (and I have got it all).
It has been nine years since I have grown tomatoes and peppers from seed. I pulled out the shelves that I used back then....the lights were still attached and still working....WOO HOO!
I bought 3 more fluorescent lights (for around $13 a piece) and (my hubby) hooked them up on this cheap particle board shelf system that I wasn't using for anything else...
It is important for there to be ample amounts of moisture during the germination process. I mist my seeds/seedlings with a water spray bottle for the first few weeks, after they have emerged, until they are strong enough to stand up to a little stream of water. Notice the condensation on the lid? This is a good sign that they are staying moist. Once the seedlings are tall enough to bump into the lids, they should have enough of a root system to keep in their moisture from regular watering...
I love watching seedlings and their efforts to grow. One of my most favorite things to see is the seed still attached to the seedling...patiently waiting for the newborn plant to build up the strength to burst that little incubator right off...
Wouldn't miss it for the world!
~.~ the purple sprout
Since I promised myself I would plant peas this year, come snow or hail, I began by looking online and asking everyone who gardens when I needed to get them in the ground. No matter where I turned, I got the same response...."as soon as you can work the soil". Well, I could work my soil as early as January, thanks to my raised boxes and the awesome growing mix that I use for my veggies (I will share more about Square Foot Gardening, for those of you who haven't heard of this technique, in another post). Patiently I waited until I had a few sunny days and most of the snow was gone from my beds to really get excited about putting them in the ground.
I put the seeds in some water to soak overnight, all 250 or so peas. I was determined to get an awesome yield this year! They were so plump and beautiful after the nightlong soak, Strider asked if he could try one.....and, being the awesome mom that I am, I let him....then I had to try one as well....just to say I had (the peer pressure was horrible). And they weren't half bad....other than being completely tasteless...I guess that is why the birds are out there scavenging them when they can.
I placed the inoculant in some ziplock bags, dumped my peas in, zipped them up...all ready to shake, shake, shake, shake your baggy!
Strider was seriously serious about his job as the pea inoculating shaker...so serious...and that table seriously needs to be sanded and refinished...maybe this year, even.
He seriously enjoyed the experience...don't let the bored look fool you. He's really contemplating the universe and the role that the pea plays in the grand scheme of things.
He didn't realize it could be so much fun to roll a bunch of swollen peas around in some brown dust...we should all have more pea planting parties.
When he was done, Strider kept commenting about how they looked like little bunny pellets. I thought they looked like mini truffles. Needless to say, there would be no more tasting of the seeds after they took on their nitrogen fixing dust.
This is the inoculant that we used....and the only reason I used it all up was because the expiration date is December of this year. There was enough in there that I could have easily used it for all 500 or so peas, but I felt like 500 peas may be going a little bit overboard.
Shriveled, plump, and coated....from a bag, to a cup, to a bag.
I worked the soil with Shooter and Strider, which was very easy to do, only because the soil in these boxes ROCKS the soil world! After about 20 minutes of working the soil (with our hands, not a tiller, hoe, or a shovel), we were ready to begin planting. We all made holes in the grow boxes for the peas...we put the peas in, one by one....until the boxes were full (my hands were a little too dirty and cold at this point to actually get any pictures of the process, but you get the picture, right?).
I put the tomato cages in for future support, in the hopes that they would somehow coax the little sprouts out of their long winter's sleep.
The little prongs you can barely see poking up out of the soil....they're my own little crazy invention. You see, I have cats in my neighborhood. I created these little cat deterrents so I don't end up with my beds dug up and kitty nuggets instead of peas. I definitely love my neighbors more than I love gardening. I even love their cats. Hey, they can't help it if my garden appears to be a huge grouping of litter boxes laid out just for them.
The best part? Since the soil was already moist, I didn't worry about watering after I planted them...and hopefully I won't need to worry until March...
I'll let you know if it was indeed worth getting them in so much earlier. And before they are ready to harvest, I hope to have lots of yummy recipes and techniques for preserving peas.
Every winter, I watch the snow falling outside my window, anticipating the coming spring. I dream of the sun warming my back as I knead the earth with my bare hands and lovingly prepare my yard for the season of growth and harvest. I crave the smell of rich soil and the herbs that I adore....lavender, catmint, rosemary, cinnamon basil, pineapple sage, and Corsican mint (just to name a few), all within my reach. I yearn for evening strolls through my vegetable garden, where I snack on warm cherry tomatoes, while watering my homegrown produce. I miss the smell of fennel and chives (okay, not so much the chives) on the breath of my young ones when they come in from playing out of doors. I eagerly await the opportunities of watching the simple and complex lives of completely oblivious insects, that I am blessed (and not so blessed), to encounter through my gardening experiences...
Strider is my wolf (cub scout), so it's his job to help me plan out our vegetable garden this year. He started by using a little math while he laid out all of the recycled pots and got them ready for soil. Sweety is just there to smile...and the blanket of snow in the background is there to remind me that it was winter when I began this year...
Strider even rolled up his sleeves and really dug in....
Look, he has finished 136! Only around 152 more to go....and this is just the tomatoes and peppers. Once he filled up the pots with the soil, I got to wet the soil down, my all time LEAST favorite job related to gardening (other than axing out the ancient rose bushes that seem to resurrect themselves every year, despite all of my efforts and sore muscles). Wetting down bone dry seedling soil is very B-O-R-I-N-G. Once the soil was thoroughly wet down, each of the boys got to plant their flats up, which took all of 5 minutes time. Then we put the flats under the growing shelves in my room....
We put them in our bedroom, so they would be out of the little crawling SiGuy's reach....
But nothing can stop the SiGuy from getting his sample of dirt....nothing. Wow! A tie dyed baby playing in the dirt and growing plants under fluorescent lights in the backroom....yeah, we're obviously hip.
