My cucumbers, zucchini, and okra all sprouted in 2 days. Now (4th day), my tomatoes are sprouting. Only thing that hasn't sprouted yet are my peppers and eggplant. Tomatos should be started from seed 5 or 6 weeks before being set out. Some start earlier if they plan for large plants (needs more than a floro light can provide). You ideally want 6-8" plants when put into the ground. Peppers you want to start about 8 weeks before planting outside. Not sure about eggplant or Okra as I don't grow or eat either. Your cukes and zukes are way too early to have started if you are looking mid to late May for plant out. You want plants that just set their 3rd set of true leaves at plant out time. Any later and explosive root growth begins and being in a small container limits root growth not to mention it's hard to get enough light to them as they grow huge. Starting 3 weeks before plant out date is good. Where I'm a little confused is what to do next. I understand that I should wait until the seedlings produce a "true pair" of leaves and then transplant them into bigger containers. How big? Is 4" big enough? I need to grow these guys until around memorial day before they are planted without the danger of frost. Also I could use some recommendations as to where to get some cheap 4" pots. I like to use 20 oz. disposable cups from the store. You can also use smaller for the peppers, but the 20 oz cups with a drain hole poked in the bottom have served me well over the years. After I transplant the seedlings into their pots, am I supposed to feed them? What can I feed them with? I have access to horticultural lime (white fine powder), alfalfa meal, bone meal, coffee grounds and corn meal (I bought some a few months ago and left it in the fridge, does it go bad?). Correct me if I'm wrong but I wouldn't want to use corn meal until the seedlings are more developed because it inhibits growth? Anyways how much of what and how (tea or mulch)? Yes, once true leaves grow the seedling is on it's own and the comfort of the seed is gone. For most veggies it is enough to give any old fert at half strength one time before planting out. Nothing you listed is good for seedlings indoors, but fine outside. For any containerized plant seedling or not a water soluble fertilizer is preferred as it gives nutrients right away and doesn't rely upon natural processes to make the nutrients available. I noticed that you used worm castings in the starting media. That should be enough until they are planted outside. It has had time to start releasing nutrients so you should be just fine. Lastly once again I'm growing zucchini, cucumbers, eggplant, tomatoes, okra and peppers. I will be planting them in a newly created lasagna garden (which I will be creating soon). Is there anything I want to avoid putting in the lasagna garden that could stun their growth or burn them? I will be using straw, leaves, coffee grounds, and 6 month old horse manure. Sounds good. Keep any eye on leaf coloration though. If it lightens/yellows add some fast acting fertilizer. Lack of Nitrogen *may* be a concern in the first season due to the browns composting. If so add the corn or coffee grounds in greater amounts.

Diane, Like almost all fast-growing trees, Silver Maples tend to be weak-wooded and prone to disease. It also has surface roots that worsen over the years as the tree grows ever larger. The surface roots won't be a huge issue unless the tree is near enough to the house, a patio or a sidewalk to lift the concrete and cause damage. Although it is not my favorite tree, I don't especially dislike it. We kept the one in Fort Worth because its shade was the only shade we had on the west side of our house and I felt like the kitchen would have been unbearably hot on summer afternoons without it. I couldn't get anything much to grow in the soil under it because those big surface roots took up most of the space and apparently greedily sucked up the water too. Even normally rampant ground cover type plants couldn't compete with it and survive under it. So, whether to remove it or not is, to me, a personal thing based on whether you like the look of it, whether it gives you any trouble, or whether you'd just like to replace it with a better-quality tree now as opposed to 5 or 10 years from now when it develops pest or disease issues. Also, if it is anywhere near a planting bed of any type, when it sheds its seeds, they tend to pop up everywhere and have to be pulled out. I think if it were in my yard near the house and it was not essential for shading the house, I'd take it out and replace it with a high-quality tree. Fort Worth organic gardening guru Howard Garrett, aka The Dirt Doctor, is very blunt and tells it like it is. I've linked the description of the Silver Maple from his website because it makes me laugh every time I read it. He doesn't sugarcoat things, and when people would call in to his radio show with problems with silver maples, as you might imagine, he'd tell them to get rid of the tree and replace it with a better one. As you'll notice, he disses the mimosa in his answer, and I absolutely love mimosa and planted one here years ago for the hummingbirds, so I don't always agree with The Dirt Doctor. However, my mimosa is near my garden so I can watch the hummers visit its flowers, and it is not in a prominent place in the landscape. I wouldn't have put it up close to the house because, like almost all fast-growing trees, it too is weak-wooded and prone to insect problems. That doesn't make me love it any less, it just makes me keep it more in an out-of-the-way location. Dawn Here is a link that might be useful: Silver Maple Tree Info From Howard Garrett's Website

WOW! Thanks for the quick response everybody!! Didn't expect that. Anyway, I have attached some pictures and explanations. These plants are all 8-16 weeks old (bhuts started early february). I have really tried not to overwater them, generally waiting until they are either starting to droop/wilt a tiny bit or at least until the container feels super light and looks dry on the bottom vents. I originally was soaking them at that point pretty good but when some of them started yellowing I started being more careful and only watering with the spray bottle which takes forever with all these plants (yes I have way too many peppers, underestimated my success with the first try from seed). I have been using something called BioRoot from General Organics pretty much every watering but only a tsp per gallon so very light - this is what the grow shop suggested I do, is that too much nutrients? I have been hardening as much as weather allows over the past couple of weeks, keeping them inside when too windy (which is often) or too cold or too rainy. I think they are ready to go outside but I was going to wait until around Memorial Day as that seems to be recommended in zone 5a (Chicago suburbs). Anyway, on to the pictures.... In the below image see the wilting dried up leaves on the tomato plant. I have already yanked off the bottom branches on my tomato plants because they have all either yellowed and sagged or just completely dried out http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/153/img20110519131645.jpg/ In the below image see the lower leaves are yellowing... http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/7/img20110519131710.jpg/ In the below you can see my bunch of bhut jolakia plants...almost all of them are either yellowing or have brown nasty spots either on the tips or somewhere on the leaves http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/715/img20110519131721.jpg/ In the below image you can see a sweet pepper and a habanero that are both starting to curl up - I just watered the sweet pepper last night - the container is pretty light now like most of the water has evaporated but there is still a little bit of moisture! http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/580/img20110519132743.jpg/

It's a great variety George and I'm glad you shared it with me so I could have my seed producers do the seed saving, and I could offer it to others elsewhere and I did send it for trial to a couple of places I think, fingers crossed. Carolyn, who just checked Tania's site but no listing for it yet. It almost always taked a few years from when someone commercial can up th eseed production and offer a variety.