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[EarthNSky <erthnsky AT bellsouth.net>]

Today was the day I was supposed to plant my peas outside, but the
ground is still half frozen from yesterday so I guess it will have to
wait another day.  That's a real bummer.  I should have mulched that
area earlier, but with all the planning I did, I forgot that little
detail. grrrr...
I did manage to sow my tomatoes and peppers in peat pots today.  DH
bought some of those little peat disks that expand in water...I don't
know if I will like these or not-first time I've used them...do any of
y'all use/like these little pots?  To me, the big advantage might be the
plastic lid which acts like a mini-greenhouse.  What say ye?
Anyway, I planted mostly paste tomatoes, Roma, Opalka, and Sausage, but
I also planted one slicing variety, Mortgage Lifter, and quite a few
tomatillos, Green Husk.
For the peppers, I am just planting Anaheim, Jalepenos, and
Ancho/Poblano peppers.  I still have plenty of dried cayennes and habs
and such.  I may plant a few additional paprika peppers if I can find my
seeds. DH wants to do that.

For the cole crops I planted last week, everything has germinated except
those damned Brussel sprouts(Long Island).  I'm guessing the seed was
old, but the pak choi was the same year, same source, same storage, and
it germinated, so I don't know.  I has only been 10 days, so I will give
it a full 2 weeks before I give up on them.  I have some new seed,
Catskill variety, but I think I will save it for one last try in the
Fall garden.  I may give up on the Brussel Sprouts if I can't harvest
enough for at least a meal in 2009.

Here's a question for those of you who sow seed indoors like me..
Do you use a special plant fluorescent bulb or just the regular type
fluorescent?  Being cheap, I have always just used the regular bulbs,
but am thinking of buying the blue plant lights.  DH wants to make a
dedicated plant stand so that I can get the plants directly under the
light and closer to it.  No way I will buy one of those stations like
they sell in the catalogs...yikes the price!  My brassicas are still in
the house, in the kitchen, and they, as usual, are rather leggy even
though they are within inches of the light.  My windows are north
facing, so that doesn't help.  Once they get to the greenhouse-probably
next week(I like to see true leaves before they leave the house) they
get plenty of sun but I am trying to prevent this initial legginess and
was wondering if blue lights might be what I need.
You guys would laugh if you saw my contraptions...
I have fluorescent under cabinet lighting in the kitchen..my seed trays
are sitting on top of the bread machine, the toaster, and a big
tupperware type container I store my hot chocolate mix in...lol...I've
created planks up near the lights using my various assortment of cutting
boards and I put the seed trays on that.  It works, however unsightly
and inefficient it is.  I'm quite sure there are much better ways...I am
just cheap.  However, now that DH is interested, maybe he will build
something...and if he builds it, I want blue<g>.

Oh, and sadly, I report that I lost a chick last night.  I think he may
have died night before last and I just did not find him then.  It got
down to 7 yesterday morning...even the pipes in the house froze(but did
not break luckily)..poor baby was frozen to the ground.  Chicken count
is now 65.  Did I mention that I have a buyer for 10 of the half grown
birds??  Yup..selling those birds paid for the electricity for all of
the hatches.  PLUS, since he doesn't care about breed or color, I cull
my white birds...love it!

Bev
--
"Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will
not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful people with talent. Genius
will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the
world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone
are omnipotent. The slogan 'press on' has solved and always will solve
the problems of the human race"

~ Calvin Coolidge