Grow Baby Grow

 

I feel like we are in the down hill stretch of seed starting and really we are.  This year I started a lot of seeds indoors, especially in the tomato department.  I currently have 96 plants if they all make it.  I know that sounds like a lot but to me it is just about right.  We will plant our normal batch in our garden which is usually around eighty of the same variety, a handful at the day care and the rest are late tomatoes that won't get planted until later.  This time I have about half Bradley, half Roma for the first batch planted.  I will can the Bradley's and make pasta sauce and make salsa from the Roma's.  The store on Etsy that I ordered my Bradley seeds from also sent a free packet of variety tomatoes, of which I planted them all like a good girl.  So really, my late tomatoes are a grab bag assortment and who knows what we will get.  The good part about that is that if we get something we like we can save our seeds for next year.

 

I also have cabbage and eggplant planted which is the first time I have begun both from seed.  They are doing great.  My green peppers did not come up so I will have to buy those plants. 

I have two dill plants which need a few more weeks, zinnias in two varieties who are ready for the ground, and a new flower that I've never grown before called Cleome. 

 

I have been caring for these little seeds, seedlings and plants for weeks upon weeks now, watering putting in sunny windows and moving them outside on sunny days and back in at night.  I actually get nervous when they are first planted in the ground like a little mother hen thinking a rain drop will drown them.  Our planting time seemed like it was taking it's sweet time getting here since we plant on May 10th or there-a-bouts.  This year we are already planning to wait another week or two.  The ground temperature is not warm enough nor dry enough to plant for our taste.  It takes warm ground to make these babies grow and I am not convinced that we won't have another frost.  I have to say it is ok with me right now that my plants have a couple of more weeks to mature.  If not, I would be stressing about not having them in the ground and might be tempted to plant them when I shouldn't.   Patience and gardening grow hand in hand.

 

Late tomatoes.

 

They look like they need water but really they don't.  I watered then decided that some needed a little more soil for support.