Dottie- you could always very carefully cut the pot away from the soil of the rooted thru plants. I've had that happen before, but it's never been where i wanted to leave something, so i end up yanking it up. One poor viburnum did it like 3x, til i got wise and put the pot on cement where it couldn't do that anymore until i could get it in the ground. Shame on me it took me that long. Ryan- you're getting a good start. I've not had issues with my oregano in red clay, but it's in a raised, well drained bed which has reverted to clay, so maybe that makes a difference. At one point it was amended but the clay long ago gobbled all the good stuff. Everyone knows sand gobbles compost, but clay does it almost as bad. I find that many things will grow in the clay as long as it's been amended once when you plant and then mulched each year after (which keep working down into the soil). So long as clay can stay moist, not soggy or dry, most plants do fine in it. It does hold nutrients and water better than potting soil mixes or sand either one. In droughty years that is a huge plus. Mulching seems to be key to keeping the clay evenly moist- and not too thickly, either, or it will repel too much water. I lay down a very thin layer of well composted horse manure or home compost and then mulch on top of that with about an inch or so of double shred or whatever i can get my hands on once or twice a year as i get to it. The compost seems to really help fertilize and make the clay more amenable to moisture- it's amazing what such a thin layer does- and the mulch keeps it in. As for seeds, i really like the winter sowing technique, and for other things like veggies, cell packs better than jiffy pots. I've always had trouble with the jiffys wicking or getting too dry and being hard to rewet and then being too restrictive in the soil. If you have to peel off the pot, the point of doing the jiffys is moot, so why not use cells or slightly larger plastic pots. Most things can handle being handled a little- for the things that can't you can try making newspaper pot or something similar. You absolutely have to feed seedlings with a weak solution of plant food or they just sit there. Easiest way i've found is to put a dilute solution of whichever brand you prefer in a spray bottle and spray them lightly once or twice a week- let the seedlings' stage and growth be your guide. That gives them a gentle foliar feed, which gets them going fast. You do need to wait til they have true leaves to do it, but that doesn't take long for most things. I don't fertilize my winter sown stuff unless i want to grow it big before i set it out- most things that do well with winter sowing can go in the garden at small sizes and fare well that way. You can use potting soil that has some food in it for those seeds too- i put it in the bottom of the containers so the roots reach for it, but it doesn't burn them when they first emerge. There's a whole forum for & about winter sowing, if you're interested. Highly recommend reading the FAQ's and going from there. It's much easier than any other way i've tried and there have been plenty!

Two comments: First, only indeterminate (vining) tomatoes can be grown in 1 sq. ft. I think that Roma tomatoes are determinate (bush) and cannot be trained up a trellis. You can replace it with an indeterminate paste tomato such as San Marzano or sausage. Second. I don't know the orientation of your garden, but consider that a wall of tomato plants casts a substantial shadow. For this reason it is generally reccomended that the trellis be placed along the north side of your bed. As you've laid it out, the tomatoes will shade either your herbs or your peas (which won't be bad if your peas are spent by the time the tomatoes reach a good size). Also, cukes and tomatoes sharing a trellis can work (it has for me), but the cukes might not get as much light as they need to be super productive.

Lissa, I wasn't using anything for fertilizer on a regular basis, then one day my 74 year old dad came out to the garden and (as usual) gave me advice, whether I wanted it or not. He said "Looks to me like you need to put some fertilizer on that there stuff, see how yeller them leaves are?" He has a very short memory, and had forgot that it had rained 6-8 inches in 2 days the week before.(Of course, I had already put miracle grow on the week before it rained so much). But, anyway - About a week later I put some more on there, and the next day he said "told you so, see how much better everthang's lookin?" I just smiled, and said "I can't do enough for you, dad." Oh well, helping me with the garden gives him something else to do, besides stir up the anthills in the yard with his walking cane. He says he enjoys aggravating them.

An 8 x 3 bed of pink eye purple hull peas (PEPH) should be plenty for a family of 6. But I would caution you about planting 9 per square. It also depends on the variety of PEPH peas you are growing. I grow Top Pick PEPH and they are very bushy and you could not grow 9 per square. But they do have some varieties that are more vining or running which may be able to fit 9 per square but I would not do it. They attract aphids and you have to be able to see the plant in order to try to combat the aphids. Here is a 4 x 8 bed of PEPH Top Pick peas. Although I do square foot gardening I do not follow the spacing rules on all plants. This is a 4 x 8 bed. I planted 4 rows about a foot apart and the individual plants are 4 to 6 inches apart so that is about 2 to 3 plants per square. Look at the base of the plants, there is no way you could get 9 per square foot with this variety.