Seeds need to stratify for 3 months, so now would be a good time to be thinking about buying them & leaving them in some damp sand in the garage over winter. They're a really vigorous tree & respond well to pruning and root pruning. Here's one grown in the ground for 2 or 3 years & then chopped at about 2.5 m. I use a die grinder with a wood bit to hollow the wound slightly, then trim the edges of the cambium with a grafting knife sharp as a scalpel so they are perfectly smooth . Here, I've packed the wound with New Zealand Sphagnum moss to speed up wound closure: Al

Hi Nancy, Not knowing what size cup the seedlings are planted in - as long as they appear to be growing well, green and increasing, then they are doing well and you don't have to transplant them immediately, IMO. I personally feel that trying to transplant in high heat will set them back more than waiting for a little while longer for cooler weather. I usually get a good growth spurt in the fall as things cool off. This is the ideal planting time I feel. You could probably show your hubby how to water the seedlings. Just stress to use a gentle shower of water and give him a schedule. Most of us guys are trainable! ;0) When you are ready to leave for CA, put a swatch of panty hose, nylon cloth or even cheese cloth over each pod and twist tie them on. The seeds will be contained and waiting when you return. I shell my pods in the evening. Inspect the seeds for any empty or soft seeds and cull those. Let the seeds dry in an open cup overnight. Next day, I write the cross and date collected on a 2x3 ziploc bag and insert the seeds. I store them in the fridge till ready to sprout. I do have some stored for over a year in the fridge and they seem to be fine. I do like to store seeds for 4 weeks before sprouting. They seem to sprout more uniformly when I do. If you add damp anything to the bags, you may have sprouted seeds when you return. I usually don't add anything, preferring to start the sprouting process when I want. When I'm ready to start my seeds, I dump the starting mix in big tub and work it, adding water till its throughly moist, but not wet. Fill the flats, tamping the mix slightly into each pot. I put on average, four seeds into a 3 1/2 square pot about 1/2" deep. Firm the mix over the seeds and then gently water each flat. Down here, with 80% relative humidity+, I don't have a big problem with them drying out. But you might cover them or bag them to keep the moisture in. After a week, un-bag and you should have lots of sprouts! Good luck, Ed

Well, I transplanted my peppers today. Two trays are now 4 trays. I did notice a few that have obviously been overwatered. Their stems were weak and they were not as healthy as the others. Any idea why some cells are dry and some stay wet? I bottom water. Since the tomatoes are growing so fast I'll probably need to transplant them in a week or two. Good luck RJ. Rick

Magic secret #1 about tomatoes: Smaller transplants that are healthy and in the proper growth phase will outproduce larger transplants 2 to 1 or even more. Why is this? Tomatoes go through several phases of growth from the initial soft stem seedling to a rapid growth phase and then to a reproductive phase. If you set out transplants that are already in the reproductive phase, they don't grow as large or set as many flowers as the smaller plants. By comparison, the smaller plants will go through a rapid growth phase where the plant produces vigorous leaves and stems before it sets blossoms. The result is a much bigger plant that keeps expanding as it supports an increasing fruit load. Should you throw out the small seedlings? Not on your life! They will be the most productive tomatoes you have. The comments above re seedlings being too close together are correct. The varieties you named are indeterminate. They will produce best if they have at least 3 feet between plants. The tomato growers mantra should be Small But Healthy! Fusion