Growing things

These are tomato seedlings; they germinated overnight.  I purchased this seed tray at Home Depot, and I like it.  When it's time to put them in the garden, I can plant the whole pot.    

The pepper seeds I planted the same day aren't showing signs of life yet, but I'm sure in the next day or two they'll rise to the occasion.   This is the Walmart seed-starting greenhouse.  This will be the third year I've used one of these, so obviously I like it.  When it's time to transplant, the little peat bundle lifts right out.  This is the cheapest greenhouse I've used, by far.  You can also buy replacement peat pellets and use the same tray next year.  Win/win.  

The lettuce seeds I planted in the garden over three weeks ago were waiting for a day of sunshine with temperatures in the 60's.  While Cliff and I were enjoying a motorcycle ride to Chillicothe, tiny lettuce seedlings peeked through the topsoil.  

Yesterday I started "hardening off" the cabbage plants that have been residing in the house.  I'll leave them out a little longer each day and hopefully set them out by next weekend.  This seed-starter tray is from Home Depot, and I don't really care for it.  The soil that came with it is loose inside each little plastic pot, and I'm not sure how I'll go about removing them when it's time to plant them.  I may use a spoon or something.  Even when wet, the soil is very loose.   


Oh, and check out this link from The Old Farmer's Almanac that tells how to have an herb garden in a bag.  Click HERE.   Looks pretty much foolproof, and would be great for a city gardener with little space.
  

Odds and ends

Cliff mentioned something he needed from town today, and I said, excitedly, "We're going to town?  We really have to go someplace?"  
He took the hint; we went to Home Depot.  As soon as we walked inside, I saw mini-greenhouses similar to the ones I always use to start my tomato plants inside.  That's all I needed to really got excited!  

I got two different kinds, to find out whether I liked one better than the other.  I'm sure I could have gotten a cheaper kind at Walmart, but these were right in front of me; a bird in the hand, you know.  I figure I shouldn't start my tomato and pepper plants until March first or so, but I'm glad I have them here, ready.  
Guess what else I got?  

 An indoor herb garden!  I planted chives, parsley, and basil.  The pots, seeds, and potting soil were all in the package.  The seeds should germinate in seven to ten days.  Last summer I learned to love fresh basil from the garden; it has lots more flavor than the dried stuff.  Now maybe I'll soon have something I can watch growing, snow or no snow.   
We went in Target to see our granddaughter briefly (she works there), and I spent a while in Petco trying to find a ball that Iris can't tear up.  Good luck with that, I tell myself.  We'll see if she can destroy the three new ones I got.  
I went for a walk in the snow yesterday; Cliff declined:  he said walking in snow eight inches deep made his knees hurt.  For some reason, when I'm walking in deep snow I wander all over the place, rather than going in a straight line.  

I think it's partly because I'm looking down at my feet, rather than where I'm headed.  In some places the snow is deeper than my Muck boots.  A lot of thawing took place today.  The snow is just right for a snowman, but I think I'll pass on building one.