Seed planting day

Well today I planted some seeds for the vegetable garden. On Saturday I attended my first Kitchen Garden group meeting. At this meeting we swapped seeds. It was with the understanding to do a study of the vegetables started and planted as well as save the seeds. Texas is losing its seed companies so this maybe the only way we will get seeds in the future. I planted 3 Sweet Bell Pepper Mix, 3 Italian Frying Pepper and 4 Purple Husk Tomatoes. I also planted 6 Valencia Tomatoes. These are orange and from what I hear are very tasty. Time will tell. I will keep you all informed on my progress with these seeds. I planted my Celebrity tomato seeds last week. For a bottom heat source I had them in my oven with the light on so that they would be under a constant heat. Our house has one propane heater so the days can be warm but nights are chilly. That isn't very good for starting seeds. With this method I am using now there seems to be some sprouting of the tomato seeds. Also at the meeting on Saturday I learned a trick to set up a under heat source for starting seeds that is far more affordable then a heat mat and will cover more surface. What you do is take a fluorescent light fixture and hang it upside down under you wire shelf. It should be a few inches from the shelf. The lights should produce enough heat to get your seed off to a good start. The person who shared this idea with us said her temp was approximately 70 degrees.