Tomato Blow Out

Um, yeah, so I guess maybe I planted too many tomato seeds?

 Here they are looking all crowded together in their little pods.  Look at all those cute little leaves!  This is a very happy moment, because they finally smell like tomato plants!  Yay!  They're definitely ready for some direct sunlight, but before I move them I'd like to transplant them into bigger pots.

This isn't a necessary step - I didn't do it last year.  I'm hoping to grow them really big though, and maybe even sell a few, so I'm experimenting.  I thought that these yogurt containers would be just right, so I poked holes in the bottom with a screwdriver, added a layer of hay, a layer of compost, and a layer of ordinary garden dirt.  I put two seedlings in each container.  I planted over 60 seedlings, I'm out of containers, and I've still got 2/3 of my tomato plants to go...  So I haven't quite figured out where I'm going from here...

They look great, though!

Garden of Will & Charlie

My seedlings are finally starting to grow their true leaves - the third and fourth leaves that indicate an ability to photosynthesize.  Flora childhood is so fleeting!  I'm planning to move them to a sunnier location this weekend.

For those of you running a bit behind, it is almost - but not quite - too late to start your seeds indoors.  So get a move on!  Check out these inspirational photos of my good friends, Will and Charlie:

Will, left, age 5, and Charlie, age 3, prepare the "greenhouse" by watering the pods.

Will, whose attention span is significantly longer, adds the seeds.  Can you believe he's never done this before?!  He's already planting like a pro - And so can you!

Planting is done!  Will is extremely confident, while Charlie's expression conveys a cautious optimism that will be familiar to my fellow gardeners...

Great job, boys!  Keep us posted!