Well, I've finally got things in the "ground" I've done a bit of companion planting, but nothing drastic. I have two apx 10 gallon pots with 1 tomato each, but since they are really deep, and the tomatoes are still pretty small, I've planted a few nasturtiums, and am going to try to grow carrots on the outer edges (I'm assuming by the time the tomatoes get big enough, the carrots should be ready to pull) I've planted my cucumbers in long containers (apx 2" long, 1" deep), and am starting carrots in one of them. I'll do lettuce in the other. Haven't gotten a big pot for my eggplant yet, but I think it's going to live on its own. Peppers also got their own pots. Thanks for the advice, though. I'm trying to maximize planting space, without horribly overcrowding. Peggy

It's still small sprouts - the lettuce finally sprouted, as did the carrots, but the spinach and bok choy are an inch or so high. I started way too late ... shoulda done it in September. Bok choi cooking? I harvest a head of it, slice it and stir fry it. Also works good in soba noodle soup. So far the quail have not figured out how to get under the bird netting, nor has my bunny. A cottontail has moved in, but we have hawks and owls so it may not last long.

I put down plastic mulch and row covers on valentines day and have tomatoes up to my knees, and will pick the first summer squash this week. Pepper transplants just sat there and so did basil , watermelon transplants lost vigor and I pulled them an put in more tomato plants. I potted the rest of the peppers up because I don't want to lose them. They are going to be big when they finally go in. Leeks at various stages and short day onions and intermediate day onions are going...mint is good to go. I am going to put in bush beans and italian purple pote beans today. It's a little bit of a gamble, but oh well, It seems worth it. There is one 38 cell flat of lemon cucumbers, marketmore cucumbers and butternut squash each that will go in in about a week. A variety of summer squashes too, in a cold frame in 4" pots. I can still do cabbage and broccoli and have lots of those to go in. ..not sure if I want to bother with direct seeding root crops ....any thing not transplanted is always so vulnerable to pests and requires lots of defensive strategies since I live in a wild land area. I have a table garden with lettuces , mustard, kale and arugala...and am going to try to keep those kinds of greens going at least until tomatoes are ready . One last thing starting is a sweet potato for slips. Probably end up doing more, or buying some ...this will be a first!

That's why we try to get them into the ground as soon as we can...when they are ready to grow, they're gonna grow and it is important to get them into the ground before they get rootbound. Once they reach a certain point with a certain number of leaves, growth just explodes....as you can see with your root growth just this week. To a certain extent you can slow down plant growth by keeping the plants at a slightly cooler temperature. People often grow their seedlings at too high of an indoor temperature and get very rapid growth. While it seems cool at the time, it isn't necessarily a good thing. Plants that grow too fast indoors can get rootbound and stall. I have tried to keep mine from getting too tall too fast by moving them out to the greenhouse when they were tiny and had only 2 true leaves. It worked up to a point....but once the daytime highs were in the 70s, their growth accelerated even though the nights in the greenhouse usually were in the 40s or low 50s. Inside the house I try to keep them at 60-65 degrees and no warmer, which usually means closing off the heating vent in the room where the light shelf is because that many lights make enough heat on their own. Sometimes I even close off that room from the rest of the house and open windows to let some cool outdoors air come in to cool down the room. I'll link the soil temperatures below. You should go by the 3-day average, but it will seem low because it is reflecting the cold days/nights we just had. You could look at the 1-day and see what a difference a warm day and night makes. With the nice weather we're having now, the 3-day averages will climb pretty fast, at least until next week's cold front rolls through. Dawn Here is a link that might be useful: 3-Day Ave Soil Temps At 4